Jesus’ Colorful Passion – On a Stage Near YOU!

Every time someone gets up to proclaim the scriptures at worship lately, I’m reminded that a burglar ripped off our microphone, two cymbals, and a cymbal stand. I think they’re bad people.

Today I heard that our neighbor was robbed at gunpoint while working, during the middle of the day, in his tax office six blocks from here. I think that must have been a bad actor.

Now for sure, you can help me shift my attitude. In fact, I probably can’t do that without you.

But what I’m talking about now is something different. See, there are no bad people in this story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, sentencing, and execution (John 18-19). Everybody inside the story, the naïve, lazy disciples, the betraying Judas, the Temple police, the priests who sent them, even Pilate, all of them were acting with integrity – much like Jesus. The difference is, Jesus acted out of both integrity and humility. He not only moved truthfully, as he understood truth to be; he is grounded – that’s what humble means – he was grounded in God’s truth

These other folks acted true to character, but they were grounded in something other than the unfolding story of God’s way of freeing them from oppression and injustice. They were convinced that they were the authors and directors, rather than actors in the story authored and directed by God.

Everyday, we, like they, have many opportunities to portray our true colors. By what we say and do, how we decide and judge, who we show ourselves to be – we display our true colors. We’re either truthfully acting in the ground of God’s story, or we’re bit players in some other powers’ fantasy.