What is Your Price?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
April 1st 2010
Maundy Thursday Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Luke 11:1-6
“What is Your Price?”


I read a definition of the word scapegoat that said the word “has come to mean a person, often innocent, who is blamed and punished for the sins, crimes, or sufferings of others, generally as a way of distracting attention from the real causes.” It seems to fit with what I am seeing at work these days. People are hungry. People are losing their houses. There appears to be money for Wall Street and not for Main Street. And there are plenty of people who seek to profit in dollars and power from this anger. The Tea Party movement has tapped into white middle and working class anxiety. But instead of pointing out that there are many people in the same boat it is easier to blame: The government, Obama-Pelosi-Reid, Socialists, Progressives, Immigrants, Black folk, Gay and Lesbian Folk, Divorce, Drugs, and the list can go on. There is a lot of scapegoating going on. But, this is not a new story. And tonight, we are about to see this ancient story at work. It is my hope that it will teach us something for just such a time as this.
In ancient Jerusalem, Jesus worked as a scapegoat for the religious and political leaders. The people have been stirred up all week. The people are angry at life under the Roman occupation. The people are angry at their religious and political leaders who seem more interested in power and privilege than the concerns on main street Jerusalem. So tomorrow they will exact revenge for their humiliation. But, as all of that rage and anger is directed toward Jesus, at the end of the day the current arrangements do not really change. But, for a while, the crowds will be satisfied. But the crowds are not the only ones who participate in the ancient social ritual.
I have come to believe that we good religious folk have been using our own spiritual scapegoat. Judas is our scapegoat. Think about this for a moment. No matter what we do in our lives we can sit back and say: “Well, at least I am not Judas.” Judas provides us with the luxury of sitting back with air of contempt and an air of self righteousness. When he dies in the field there is a part of each one of us that secretly cheers for the death of the traitor. Even if we fear naming that place in ourselves, it is there. But, unless we name it we will continue to scapegoat Judas.
But if we take an honest inventory of this story, Judas is not the only traitor. By the time Jesus is hanging on the cross everyone either stands at a distance or turns their back on the savior. No other disciple hangs on a cross next to Jesus. Not one. And, as New Testament scholar Gail O’Day says, let’s not canonize the female disciples because they only stood at a distance. I believe this should keep us from using Judas and ignoring the ways in which we betray Jesus. Yes, I really just said that.
I think the Gospel story is one that tells us that the life of a disciple is one where we will find ourselves standing at a distance. No one is willing to be crucified with Jesus. In other words, just like Judas, everyone has a price. Each one of us has something that stands between us and the cross. If we want to stop using Judas as a scapegoat and get deeper and more authentic in our lives we have to be honest. We have to be able to name what stands in our way. What is your price?
I promise there is good news in this. And it begins when we can name with certainty our inability to be crucified with Jesus. Once we come face to face with that reality we find out something powerful. We do not have to put ourselves on the cross. Jesus does not need more crucifixions, scapegoats and human sacrifice, despite news to the contrary. Jesus was the last sacrifice. It is no longer necessary to find someone to be our scapegoat. We can stand up to those who prey on anger and frustration, and suffering and say: “Enough.” Tell your friends there is another story. Tell people that God is not bloodthirsty and out to get us. Tell the world that we will all get it wrong. We will all fail; we will all fall short of the perfection we seek. So tonight, we hear once again that we can stop clinging to the illusion. We can put down our façades and get honest. May this be the story you hear and tell others as we stand in the shadow of the cross tonight. Amen?