Rethinking Palm Sunday and Holy Week
Yesterday was Palm Sunday and it marked the beginning of Holy Week, which for most Christians is one of our holiest time periods, but which is also unfortunately a week filled with covert and overt anti-semitism. The reality is that some of the most cherished Bible verses used during this week are filled with anti-semitic language and interpretations.
When the early Jesus movement began, it was part of Judaism, and so the language and context is one of conflict within Judaism. Don’t get me wrong, the conflict between the early Jesus movement and wider Judaism doesn’t excuse some of the horrific language used in the New Testament against Jewish people, it only explains why the original authors wrote them. But Christians today need to grapple with what it means to have these texts as part of our canon. Christians also need to acknowledge how these texts have been used in the past and into the present day to encourage mass violence against Jewish people.
However, too many Christians, including those who consider themselves to be advocates of social justice, often repeat the same anti-semitic tropes and interpretations that Christians have used for centuries as justification for antisemitism and violence.
For instance, Matthew 21:1-11, is often interpreted as the crowds welcoming Jesus on Sunday and then shouting for Jesus’ crucifixion later in the week. But as Dr. James McGrath, who serves as the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, points out on his facebook page, there is no evidence that these two crowds are the same. Someone responded to his post by saying that the crowd thought Jesus was a revolutionary in the vein of the Maccabees and that he would save them from the Romans. When Jesus did not do that, they turned on him. I am going to quote the full response of Dr. McGrath, because it is important;
That is the common problematic interpretation I am talking about. The reference to the Maccabees involves a very different situation. There had been few times if any during which the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were not part of a larger empire. The notion that most people in Jesus’ time were revolutionaries reflects the imagination of preachers unfamiliar with the historical context. That in and of itself would be problematic enough. So too would the fact that the Bible nowhere suggests the same people shouted “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” But worst of all is the failure to recognize the implausibility of Jewish crowds calling for a Roman procurator to crucify yet another Jew. The depiction of the crowds as bloodthirsty is an expression of longstanding Christian anti-Judaism.
To be sure, I have heard even the most progressive pastors discuss how the crowd that welcomes Jesus, wanted a violent revolutionary, but instead got Jesus, who sought to bring peace through nonviolence.
And to be honest, I have given that sermon a few times. When I preached this interpretation I thought, “well this represents how we as humans reject God’s call for nonviolence and to push back against Empire. It demonstrates how we as humans in general and Christians in particular, with one breath, proclaim God and the next we reject God.” My intent was to interpret this passage in a way that called Christians to account for how we reject Jesus’ messages, but my impact was to unintentionally reinforce anti-semitic interpretations
So what can we Christians do to ensure that one of our holiest weeks of the year, doesn’t continue to cause violence and harm to Jewish people?
Be willing to have our most cherished theological and Biblical interpretations challenged and let them go if they cause harm. It is understandable that when one’s deeply held beliefs are being challenged or called out, we would get defensive, but if we truly want to advocate for a more just and equitable world, we need to listen to those we have caused harm. whether that harm was intentional or not.
Reconsider the verses used during Lent and Holy Week-this is probably one of the most controversial suggestions for numerous reasons. One reason is that these texts have been used in congregations for a long time and people, for better or worse are attached to their traditions.
Another reason this may be controversial is that these verses are a part of the Christian Biblical canon, whether we like it or not. And not referencing them seems like a cop-out. But the reality is that most pastors don’t have the time or the will to explore the problematic nature of these verses in depth and guide their congregations on how to refrain from causing harm. As a result, if pastors cannot give these texts the care and thought they deserve, perhaps we need to figure something else out.
Research- The Bible really is a complicated text. There is a tendency amongst some forms of American Christianity to think that the “simplest” interpretation is the correct one, but the reality is that our interpretation of the Bible is not value-free. So much of our understanding of the Biblical text is rooted in anti-semitism and other forms of violence. As such we need to acknowledge that and then do the work to explore the context of the Biblical texts. The UCC has a resource page exploring anti-semitism during lent, with some helpful sources.
We are going to make mistakes-we can be accountable and learn from them. Engaging in the work of trying to create a more just and equitable world is difficult, and we will make mistakes. There is no avoiding that. However, what we do control is how we respond to our mistakes: will we pretend we never made them or will we seek to make amends?
Image: Blue background. Clipart of three people sitting on chairs. Text: Let’s talk about holy week and Christian antisemitism.