A Lack of Violence

 

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

Matthew 26:14 - 27:66

When Matthew tells the story of Jesus’s Passion he includes a vast array of minor characters: Peter, Judas, the High Priest, Pilate, his wife, Barabbas, Simon of Cyrene, the two thieves, and others.  There are a lot of side stories woven into the fabric of the main narrative. 

One thing noticeably absent in Matthew’s telling of this grisly event is any description of its violence.  The most graphic language is used to describe what happens to the High Priest’s slave – his ear is cut off.  When Matthew writes about Jesus, he is economical in what he says about the physical punishment Jesus endured:

They struck him; and some slapped him

So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over.

After twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head.

They took the reed and struck him.

And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves.

That is it.  There is no other comment or description about suffering.  And notice the second and last are cast in the past tense: “after flogging”, “when they had crucified.”  The focus of the other three is on humiliation more than physical wounding.  This is not Mel Gibson’s 2004 film The Passion of Christ, which was widely criticized for being excessively graphic to the point of being unwatchable for some.

 

We might want to ask why.  Why does Matthew not dwell on the gruesome details of what Jesus endured?

When I attended various youth group functions as a teenager I recall hearing any number of speakers talk in vivid detail about what Jesus underwent.  What it was like to be whipped.  What it was like to be nailed to a cross.  What it was like to be crucified.  The message was clear… use the gore to grab your audience’s attention and then tell us Jesus suffered greatly for your sins so you need to repent and give your life to him.  And it worked… for some.

So why does Matthew not take this approach?  To answer this question we need to remember Matthew is writing his Gospel to a Jewish audience.  He knows they know what happens at a crucifixion.  The Romans did it all the time and they made it a very public spectacle.  Its violent nature was used as a means of intimidation.  If you step out of line this is what will happen to you.  Mothers, if you don’t raise your sons to be compliant then you will have a front row seat at Golgotha.  Matthew refuses to be co-opted by the powers that be and to be a patsy in their campaign of terrorization.

Instead, he invites us to focus on the bit players; to see how some tried and failed, to see how others were not able to meet the moment, to see how some actively worked to bring down Jesus, to see how some walked with him and waited at his side throughout, and to see ourselves in all of them.  And Matthew invites us to look at Jesus throughout the Passion and to consider how he stands tall and stays true though it all; even to the point of sharing his final meal with the person who will betray him.  Matthew invites us to focus on the Savior, not on the suffering. 

It is a message we in 21^st Century America need to hear.  Kseniya Dmitrieva, a psychology student at the University of Rhode Island, contends today’s mass media presents violence crime in a way which blurs the line between news and entertainment.  News sources have the power to determine what stays “hot” and what will be overlooked altogether.  Serial killings, while horrific, account for less than 1% of all crime, and yet, based upon how they are covered, it appears they are much more rampant.  Dmitrieva calls this “the Frequency Paradox”, which he defines as “the irrational idea that random violent crimes are far more prevalent and commonplace than they actually are, due to the frequency and the dramatized way in which mass media outlets present them to the viewers.” 

Based on media programing, it appears our appetite for violence and crime is insatiable.  Just look at how many shows and movies focus on true crime and real life murder mysteries.  So one moment we are caught in a vortex of grief centered around the latest mass killing and the next we are mindlessly consuming an hour-long show about a person accused of murdering a spouse.

Perhaps we can glean some wisdom from today’s Passion reading and realize there is something fundamentally unhealthy about our obsession with violence.  Yes, it is real.  Yes, it happens.  And when it hits close to home it matters a great deal.  In the fifteen years I have served as your rector only one person in the parish has been the victim of a violent crime, so thankfully it is rare.  There is a great deal to be learned from focusing of Jesus; on who he was and how he lived and how he is present in our lives today.  There is a great deal to be gained by paying attention to those around us; considering the challenges they present and the blessings they impart.