Homily – Palm Sunday, 3-25-18
Today’s lessons are, for a preacher, something of an embarrassment of riches. From Isiah to the Psalm to Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, there are any number of ideas that would be food for a month’s worth of sermons. But as rich as they are, they are but appetizer to the main course of the passion gospel from Mark. Here we have so many familiar stories, so many characters to discuss, so much learning, so much sacrifice. It can be almost overwhelming to listen to, much less to participate in as we do this morning. But fear not – I will refrain from doing an in-depth character study on each person mentioned in today’s gospel. If I did, we would be here until late this evening and I know that you want to go out and enjoy this lovely day.
But I cannot let the opportunity pass to delve a bit more deeply into one of the people in the story. While it may be tempting to talk about Peter or Judas or of course Jesus, that is not what we are going to do today. Instead I would rather we look at a more minor character, someone who can be often overlooked. I want to focus today on Joseph of Arimathaea.
“When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, Joseph of Arimathaea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”
We know almost nothing about Joseph aside from what is mentioned in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial. We are told that he was a member of the council, the Jewish Sanhedrin who were the leaders of the Jewish community. We are also told that he waited expectantly for the kingdom of God.
It would seem that Joseph was a man at odds with himself. As a member of the council he was certainly an upstanding member of the community and seen as a leader. One would assume that his position was important to him and that he would go to some lengths to protect it. He also seems, however, to have been a follower of Jesus. This put him at odds with the rest of the council and would have jeopardized his status and standing had it become known. So he kept his thoughts to himself and made no public mention of his belief.
It must have been quite difficult for him living this sort of double life. Especially when Jesus began to attract the attention of the council. Joseph must have been quite conflicted as the council debated what to do with the problem of Jesus of Nazareth. One can imagine that he would speak on his behalf, but gently and hesitantly so as not to arouse suspicion among the council members of where his sympathies actually lied. I would think he likely urged caution and tolerance, but was shouted down and chose not to make too public a statement of support for fear of losing his own position. Imagine the horror he must have felt when Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross. I can imagine him in somewhat of a state of shock as Jesus is dragged before Pilate and is forced to carry his cross to Golgotha.
The leader that he thought would usher in the kingdom of God was now a beaten and broken man. And Joseph had not spoken out. Afraid of what people would think of him, he kept silent while an innocent man was sentenced to death.
He was not alone in this of course. Jesus’ disciples, the brothers he had chosen to be with him and share in his ministry did exactly the same thing. Peter even denied Jesus three times. But the council would not have listened to the disciples even if they had spoken out. Joseph, however was a respected member of the council. I imagine he must have wondered to himself what would have happened if he had at least tried to intervene; to speak on Jesus’ behalf. But that is not what happened. Joseph said nothing and an innocent man was sent to death, a horrific death on a cross.
When it was over, Joseph had succeeded in what he wanted. He had maintained his silence and in so doing, protected his position and his prestige. Now that Jesus was dead, Josephs’ secret belief had died with him. Joseph was now safe.
But then a strange thing happened. Joseph went to Pilate and boldly asked for Jesus body. Why would he do that? He had nothing left to fear, he was secure in his position, and yet he threw it all away by his next actions.
It would seem that Joseph was so moved by the death of Jesus that he finally realized that his status and position were not the most important thing. Joseph recognized that a tragic miscarriage of justice had taken place. So he did the only thing he could do to serve Jesus. He claimed the corpse and cared for Jesus’ body according to the traditions of his faith. In so doing, he abandoned the status he had so carefully sought to preserve. He was now and forever identified as a follower of Jesus and would live with that for the rest of his life.
Joseph had been so moved by the death of Jesus that he was finally willing to lay aside his personal self and publicly claim Jesus. My question to each of us is this. If Jesus’ death was enough for Joseph to place his faith above his personal status, how much more are we called to do? We have the experience not just of Jesus’ death but also of Jesus’ resurrection. Are we willing, like Joseph, to step out in faith and publicly claim Jesus?
And if we are, what will that look like? The answer will be different for each of us, but I would suggest that it is a point well worth pondering as we embark upon this journey through Holy Week.