Far From the Madding Crowd

Sunday marked the Sunday of the Passion with the Liturgy of the Palms.  This was what used to be Palm Sunday when I was growing up.  Certainly, the entry in Jerusalem to the adulation of the crowd and the shouts of Hosanna in the Highest was important enough to have its own day in the church year.  The Passion was marked on Good Friday as it also is with our present liturgy and we will share in that story this coming Friday.  I have had difficulty with the combination of these two significant parts of the story of Jesus Christ.  I believe that each should be marked on their own as significant times in the Church year.   

However, there is value to marking both events.  An important part of both events in the life of Jesus, is the reaction of the crowd.  On Palm Sunday, the crowd is upholding and celebrating Jesus as the Messiah, the new king who was going to re-establish the glory of King David’s Kingdom of earth.  Good Friday shows the dark side of the crowd when they call for his execution.

Both of these events illustrate the danger of the crowd or the masses.  This was addressed in an interview with Eugene Peterson, the author/translator of the popular Message Bible.  The interview was an rebroadcast of an episode of On Being on NPR with Krista Tippett https://onbeing.org/programs/eugene-peterson-answering-god/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=6470d2a3-3ab7-498a-b281-88aaee187cde:

You wrote in The Pastor, your new memoir, I think you spoke to the phenomenon I’m talking about, which — we’re talking about how the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible bring every human aspect into the light, even the worst. And so that is a way of — you talk about crowds. And you said, “Classically, there are three ways in which humans try to find transcendence … through the ecstasy of alcohol and drugs” — chemically induced transcendence — and “recreational sex, and through the ecstasy of crowds.” And you said, “Church leaders frequently warn against the drugs and the sex, but, at least in America, almost never against the crowds.” And there’s something about the moment we inhabit, I think even globally, that that feels very resonant and psychologically astute.

This raises the issue of the danger of crowds.  When someone is part of a crowd, they are not themselves.  They are taken over by the identity of the crowd.  There is little of no consciousness by people who are part of a crowd.  I recall reading somewhere year ago that the average IQ of people who are part of a crowd decreases significantly.  Crowd psychology has been studied by many with the conclusion as noted in Wikipedia, “Crowd behavior is heavily influenced by the loss of responsibility of the individual and the impression of universality of behavior, both of which increase with crowd size.” 

This behaviour is very clearly evident in the violent storming of the United States Capital in January 6, 2021 because of an unfounded belief that the Presidential election was stolen, as well as the occupation of Ottawa in Canada by the so-called Freedom Convoy by individuals who believed that freedom not to be vaccinated or wear a mask trumped all other freedoms of the people in Ottawa if not Canada. 

So, in the Christian year we have crowds in both these significant events demonstrating the sin of crowd psychology where we are no longer the individuals that God created us to be.  The irony is that Jesus Christ was demonstrating that his relationship with his heavenly Father was a unique one which so frequently went against the popular way of acting and being.  He was often followed by crowds such as at the sermon on the mount or when he pissed off the crowd at the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth.  Jesus frequently angered the Pharisees by doing things such as healing people on the Sabbath.  He finally pissed off the authorities - both sacred and secular, which resulted in his execution.  Jesus called his followers to pick up their crosses can follow him.  This cannot be done as part of a crowd.  We each have our unique crosses to bear as Christians and we must find what it means to follow Jesus Christ.  We can only do that if we follow him consciously being aware of what we are called to do.

As Christians begin their journey with Jesus to the agony of the cross and the glory of the Resurrection, may each of you be blessed to know the path you are called to follow.

A Psalm for Holy Week

I recently attended a workshop – on Zoom of course – with the well-known composer of hymns and worship leader, John Bell.  The workshop was through the auspices of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in Toronto.   This workshop was not about hymns, not directly in any case―it was on the psalms.  Even though I would have enjoyed an exploration of some of John Bell’s many hymns, it was in no way a disappointment.  The journey of exploration of the psalm on which John took us was wonderful and gave me an appreciation of the psalm I hadn’t known previously.

As an aside, John started the workshop by apologizing for his somewhat shaggy appearance and noted that he was overdue for a haircut due to COVID restrictions in his home in Scotland.  This rather small point seemed to truly bring home to me how daily life has been disrupted by the pandemic in many countries in small ways as well as the very large ways which we know first hand.

One of the explorations of the psalms which particularly engaged me was on what is probably the best-known psalm – the 23^rd – you know, the one that begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  John noted that this psalm is a favourite for weddings and funerals.  I can attest that it is certainly a go-to psalm for funerals from my experience presiding at many funerals.  However, what I didn’t know was that this psalm was often used during Holy Week which Christians are marking this week.  Holy Week is the time between Palm Sunday when Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the waving of palm branches and shouts of ‘hosannah’, and the events that are celebrated on Easter with the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

John noted that Holy Week is the fulfillment of the 23^rd psalm.  Here it is in full from the King James Version:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

We have Jesus who proclaimed himself as the Good Shepherd in one of the ‘I am’ statements in the Gospel of John.  The passage gives a pastoral image of green pastures and still water that care of the sheep by the Good Shepherd who searches for the lost sheep in the parable of Jesus.  Jesus walked through the valley of death in the Garden of Gethsemane and did not fear the evil of the cross. 

The preparation of the table reminds us of the Last Supper which he shared with his disciples in the presence of Judas who betrayed him.  The anointing of his head with oil was fulfilled by the unnamed woman who anointed his head with costly nard to the objection of Judas who believed that this was an extravagant waste and the ointment should have been sold and the money spent of the poor. 

Goodness and mercy did follow him throughout his life through his care and healing of others.  On the cross Jesus assures the robber crucified with him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”   

For those of you who are on the journey with Jesus this Holy Week may you have the blessing of the 23^rd psalm as your companion.