It started with a triumphal march into Jerusalem, the people singing Hosannas and laying down their coats or palm fronds in front of Jesus as he rode into town…on a donkey. The King of kings wasn’t in a chariot or on a horse, but on the ancient world equivalent of a Yugo or Chevette.
Jesus went from one humiliation to another: betrayed, tried by a crooked court, denied, mocked, whipped, and now, before the final humiliation, he was stripped of his clothes. It wasn’t enough for the Romans to brutally murder Jesus; they felt the need to put him on public display as a warning to all those who would defy Roman authority. And they stripped him to his underwear, a final insult meant to remove any shred of dignity he might have left.
Jesus could have called down legions of angels and quickly conquered all of Rome, made himself emperor, and forced his will upon the world. Instead, he allowed himself to be humiliated, derided, and betrayed; he allowed it and forgave it.
True power doesn’t come from making others submit to our will; it comes from God, and from forgiving and loving the way Jesus taught and lived.
The Rev. Jason Shelby
Rector
jason.shelby@stfrancispalosverdes.org