Reading Francis

Where are you this Holy Week?

For those of you who are Catholic, Holy Week – starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter – includes a LOT of listening to Bible stories. Especially if you participate in the Triduum – marked by the services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Saturday night – you may find yourself zoning out a little as you sit for some really long stretches while someone reads a story that you probably know pretty well. Even if your pastor streamlines the Vigil readings (up to seven Old Testament readings, each with their own Psalm! I’ve never been so happy to get to one of Paul’s dense passages, since it marks the bell lap of this marathon), you’ll still probably get all seven days of the Genesis Creation story.

This year, may I invite you to join me in considering the minor characters in the Gospel passages for the week? Starting with Palm Sunday, I’ve been reading them, wondering to whom I most relate.

Palm Sunday – Luke 22:14-23:56

There are a bunch of great bit parts in Luke’s telling of the Passion, including several that only appear (or only have lines) in his version. You have Simon the Cyrenian, who helps Jesus carry his cross, and the two criminals who talk to Jesus while they’re sharing their execution, and the women of Jerusalem who treat this authorized lynching with the sadness it deserves. 

There’s Peter and Judas, both of whom sell Jesus out in different ways. The other disciples, who fall asleep in the Garden from the grief of it all. And of course Pilate and the chief priests and Herod and the centurion who testifies after Jesus’ death and Joseph of Arimathea.

For me, the person I gravitate to is Barabbas, the guy who the crowd wants released. I’m by no means breaking news to say that he is a stand-in for all of us. His name is generic (it means “son of a father”), and he’s described as having “been imprisoned for a rebellion and for murder.” There’s no attempt by Luke to offer exculpatory evidence, no reason to believe that he didn’t do what he was charged with doing, and obviously the Roman authorities would be eager to get rid of him. Instead of Jesus, an innocent man, being set free, Pilate lets Barabbas go and sends Jesus to His death. For many people, Barabbas’ role is a distillation of the whole Christian message.

Monday – John 12:1-11

Several of the gospels tell the story of a woman who washes Jesus’ feet with expensive oil and dries them with her hair. John sets this immediately after the raising of Lazarus and right before Palm Sunday. The main supporting roles are Mary, the foot-anointing, oil-wasting contemplative sister of Martha (who does all the work) and Lazarus (who is newly back among the living), and Judas, who questions why she would waste such expensive oil on a foot bath, instead of selling it and giving the proceeds to the poor. John goes out of his way to say that Judas really just wanted to get his hands on the money, but at least on the surface, he has a valid point to those of us who are used to maximizing efficiency. 

Where are we in this story? Mary, willing to waste valuable resources on Jesus? Judas, focused on maximizing return on investment? Martha, too busy serving to have an opinion? Or Lazarus, just happy to be alive, determined to stay close to Jesus at all costs?

Tuesday – John 13:21-33, 36-38

This is the part of John’s Last Supper story where Jesus sends Judas off to sell Him out and Peter claims he will never deny Jesus. There’s also a reference to “one of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,” who is right next to Jesus and gets Him to spill the beans that Judas is the turncoat. Tradition holds that that “beloved disciple” is John, because, you know, it’s his Gospel. But some Biblical scholars say that it might actually be Lazarus. Whether it’s John or Lazarus, I don’t think I’m close enough to Jesus to get Him to leak privileged information, so I’ll have to choose between Peter, Judas, or the nameless other disciples.

Wednesday – Matthew 26:14-25

This is traditionally called “Spy Wednesday”, because it’s the story of Judas making a deal with the religious leaders to sell out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew’s telling trims down the part where Jesus predicts that one of his followers will betray him, and everyone there asks “Surely not I?”, even Judas. You can go down the rabbit hole of different opinions on why Judas did this, or you can just reflect on the fact that none of Jesus’ disciples really make it through the whole story clean; they all ditch Jesus at some point in the story.

Holy Thursday – John 13:1-15

I’ve written before about the foot-washing ceremony that is the centerpiece of this passage, instead of the institution of the Eucharist. The story really is a two-person scene, with Jesus washing feet and Peter first protesting and then asking for a full bath. Peter’s ability to misunderstand the situation and almost consistently say the wrong thing is relatable, no?

Good Friday – John 18:1-19:42

John’s version of the Passion has some different characters, if you look for them, and it also has some different details. John names the guy that Peter whacks with a sword (Malchus). He doesn’t bring Herod into the narrative, but spends more time with the high priest Caiaphas and his father in law Annas. The other disciple (John or Lazarus) shows up to get Peter past the bouncers at the high priest’s house. Pilate has more to say, including the “What is truth?” line for which he is known, and also more explicitly calls Jesus the King of the Jews. Barabbas is just called a revolutionary. The religious leaders reject Jesus, saying “We have no king but Caesar,” which should give pause to anyone whose religious leaders get too cozy with political authorities of any stripe. There’s no Simon the Cyrenian, so Jesus carries his own cross, and no women wailing along the way. Joseph of Arimathea is joined by Nicodemus in the denouement (which I’ve also written about before.)

There are, however, four women and the disciple he loves staying close to him as he dies. Maybe today is an opportunity to reflect on the times we’ve accompanied people through sorrows we are powerless to stop, not because we think we can make suffering any more bearable by our presence, but just because love sticks around.

Easter Vigil – Luke 24:1-12 and Easter Morning – John 20:1-9

Luke names three women where John just has Mary Magdalene. Either way, it’s the women who discover the Miracle and the men (especially Peter) who are slow to believe them. Where are you in this story?

Hopefully, keeping an eye on the characters who aren’t in the center of the frame can give us a different way to move through this Holy Week. If you’re like me, the answer to the question “Where are you in this story?” might change through the week, and some days it might be uncomfortable.