March 19, 2008

the irony of law, even to the end

John's account of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus is full of interesting details; names, places, underlying reasons, etc. Probably the most interesting is the little note that comes when Jesus is presented before Pilate.

"Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover"

Even as they presented this man to Pilate on chumped up charges to save their own hides they were worried about "ritual defilement." There is a great deal of irony in that. To walk into the Roman headquarters with its graven images and exultation of Caesar, would have made the Jewish authorities unclean (by their own interpretation), but conspiring to have a man killed by the same Roman rulers operating under pagan Roman law meant they could slaughter their lambs, gird their loins, and enjoy the Passover feast - recalling all the while their people's freedom from oppression in Egypt.

It makes me once again think about the crazy, contradictory rules religions continue to setup. Every church that I have been a part of has them. Like the post-reformation emphasis on the priesthood of all believers that gets shoehorned into licensing processes for chalice bearers, home communion ministers, even in some places, lectors. My personal favorite is making the reading of the Gospel exclusive to the clergy; as if somehow in its being read by the laity, heresy will happen or the Spirit might not show up. Anyway, even as we walk with Jesus to the cross we are reminded of the insanity of the systems he came to oppose - not the Roman government, but the Temple system that devoured widows houses, made idols of the worship, and lost sight of God's overwhelming desire to see justice and righteousness lived out in this world. I love those little details.

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