Witnesses or part of the crowd? A sermon for Holy Week by Setri Nyomi

The following sermon was preached by Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi at Morning Prayer in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on Monday, March 16, 2008, the beginning of Holy Week.

Picture this. The great Passover celebrations were just around the corner. Then what may have looked like a demonstration was appearing on the scene.

The Crowds shouted – Hosanna – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven. The city of Jerusalem was excited. It may have crossed the minds of many in the crowds that this could be the promised Messiah. And so the procession went on with this kind of excitement. It does not matter that the centre of attraction was not riding a specially trained horse. He was riding on a donkey – a choice of transportation the high and lofty would not have made. The crowds could care less – their shouts were such that the Gospel writer could only describe it as the whole city was in turmoil.

Let us fast-forward the tape to a few days later.

In those few days, the same crowds have somehow changed their tune. Matthew indicates that they were convinced by the religious powers of the day. Yes, that same crowd which just a few days before were saying blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord were shouting – “Let him be crucified”. “Crucify Him”. What a difference a few days make!

These two pictures of course are a part of the story we have heard over and over again around this special week in the life of the church. The Western Christian calendar has just begun this special week. The first picture we looked at normally gets presented at the beginning of the week when we celebrate Palm Sunday. And the second picture we normally reserve until later in the week – on the trial of Jesus.

So what made a difference between the first day and a few days later to make the crowds change their tune from “Hosanna” to “crucify him”. What could make us who live in the 21st Century say one thing about our faith and yet when challenges come change our tune.? Why is it that far too often in both professional and private lives there is such a human tendency to sing the praises of someone or express commitment to a cause, and yet at the least possibility also participate in betraying. These are questions that we may not have all the answers to. But I invite us to reflect on these questions in this Holy week.

One pointer to the answer could be found in the difference between being in the crowd and being witnesses.

Being in the crowd, they could hail Jesus when everyone else seems to be hailing him, and condemn him to be crucified when everyone else is condemning him. That is crowd behaviour. A witness is different. A witness on the basis of what she or he has seen can do no other but stand with what has been seen, and articulate that clearly.

In the event of the first Holy week, unless one was a real witness to the meaning of things Jesus was doing, it would have been very easy to follow the dictates of a group of aggrieved leaders who have reason to put a different spin on who Jesus is. After all, they began the week being threatened by what looked like a more popular leader, who then went on to vividly break the chain of injustice around economic practices in the temple, and whose message was liberating. To add injury to insult, he then called them hypocrites. They had every reason to strategize for getting rid of such a person. And the best instrument in the hands of any such is a crowd, which unlike witnesses do not take time to really understand what they are seeing.

Today, we have a similar challenge. It is so easy to talk about justice in the world today. Everybody does – justice in the economy, gender justice, greater ecological responsibility, etc. It is easy to speak the language. And many in our pews can talk about this. That is until the powers of the world begin to paint these as extremist and unrealistic in the face of free market economy today. Then we begin to feel a need to shout crucify him to all the ideas that bring greater justice in the world. Unless! Unless! We understand our calling to be witnesses – martyrs prepared to stand by our Lord Jesus no matter what the social cost we have to pay.

A witness stands by what he/she has seen, and is prepared to go against the tide to proclaim it. A witness looks at the evil and injustice in society, and sees God’s call to be agents of transformation – and we can do no other. Someone who goes with the crowd, may when convenient speak the language of justice because we find ourselves in the company of people who are talking justice in this house – but when we are in another setting where people are condemning those who stand for justice as fanatic and ideological, we go along with the flow. It is easy to do.

Are we witnesses? Or we are parts of the crowds. It is only the spirit of being witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ that enables us to be consistent and which resists the temptation to join the crowds to seek to destroy or crucify others or to seek to betray the calling we have.

The Negro spiritual “Were you there when they crucified my Lord” in the tradition of such spirituals that come from the African American heritage articulates a double message. It brings our minds back to Passion week and challenges us to look at what our Lord Jesus went through. It also points to the existential situation of the era – where human beings were being unjustly crucified daily. While the crowds and the powerful people could not see it as a crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, these people of African descent were witnessing to a truth – As these things are being done to the least of these, it was being done to Jesus.

We too can look around and as part of the crowds ignore the injustices around us in our world – even sometimes in this very building – and remain unconcerned or even participate in perpetrating the crucifixion. Or we can be a part of Jesus witnesses, reversing that trend.

This year as we reflect in this passion week, let us reflect on who we are in relation to Jesus. May our reflections this week strengthen our resolve to be witnesses rather than merely participants in the crowd.

Amen.

Copyright: Setri Nyomi / World Alliance of Reformed Churches