From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Eighth Week after Pentecost
Matthew 27:32-44
As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
I want to suggest an alternative to reading this familiar passage about Jesus’ crucifixion. This passage, in my reading, is more concerned with Jesus’ executioners, and the mocking crowd, than it is about Jesus himself. It is as if Matthew wants us to see and know the brutality of power; how corrupted power revels in the shaming of its victim. Throughout this Gospel Matthew has presented the powers that be as capricious, dishonest, and violent. He is relentless in keeping in front of us Jesus’ life and ministry up and against the structural evil the movement opposes. You’ll remember that this Gospel begins with the Holy Family fleeing the murderous designs of Herod, taking exile in Egypt. The danger persists throughout the narrative.
Again, this is a depiction of shame, and the shame is not just limited to Jesus. The guards compel an innocent bystander to carry Jesus’ cross, signifying that the entire community is not immune to the shame and degradation perpetrated by imperial rule.
As I have said before, this narrative is as much about the shaming and death of a people, as much as it is about the death of the prophet, Jesus. Matthew is drawing, as he has from this Gospel’s beginning, on typology. Jesus is baptized, and then is tested in the desert for forty days. The typological allusion is obvious: Israel was tested in the Sinai desert for forty years and struggled to be faithful to Yahweh. Jesus is tested in the desert for forty days, and chooses loyalty and obedience. So one may read this passage, indeed the entire narrative, as the death of a people, a nation, at the hands of power. The people of Israel are the protagonist, in short; Jesus the archetype. And, as is always the case, it is not those in power who suffer, but the innocent, the least, the voiceless. Empire serves the interests of the powerful on the backs of the innocent.
Lest we miss the point, Matthew quotes Psalm 22 in this passage: “they cast lots for his clothing.” Psalm 22 is a Psalm of lament, mourning over the demise and death of the kingdom of Israel at another time in their history. We read it during Holy Week, on Maundy Thursday, or on Good Friday. Because we are so programmed in our hyper-individualistic culture to read the psalm as a “personal” lament, we often miss the point. It is a lament over the dissolution of a people, a people chosen by God to be the light of justice to the world. It is a visceral crying out for salvation, the salvation of a people, not a person. All this to say that salvation is not personal; it is corporate. Salvation has to do with the viability and health of a community, of a society. This is an epic story of a people.
The protests going on around our country are protests for salvation. They stand against the shame foisted upon those without voice and power. We say that crucifixion was a horrific practice by a primitive people in the distant past; but let me remind you that more than six thousand, six thousand! …of our black brothers and sisters were lynched in this country, just since 1955. Empire is still wielding its darkness.
To carry the plight of our brothers and sisters who are victims of power is to carry their cross of shame. To carry their cross is to no longer be bystanders along the way, but to accompany them to Golgotha. Psalm 22 quite unexpectedly ends in praise at the seemingly impossible prospect of new life. We are approaching a portal leading to new life in this country, in our world. May our lament over the present pandemonium become, one day soon, unceasing songs of praise. That, after all, is the pattern; and a promise.
A Prayer for the Human Family (BCP p. 815)
O God, you made us in your image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred that infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
