Hermetic Homiletics

Luke 23.13-25, part 2

Something else struck me this morning in this passage. They may have thought themselves to be in crisis at first when it appeared that their hopes had been dashed. But perhaps the larger crisis came after Jesus reavealed himself and then disappeared. The text reads, "That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem." That makes it all sound easy, but how easy could the decision have been? After their hopes had been dashed, there was no reason to stick around. (And remember, since Jesus had been crucified for political crimes his associates were indeed in a bit of danger. Leaving Jerusalem was certainly safer.) That's a pretty easy decision. But to go back where it is potentially dangerous? This is a crisis moment. Do they choose the easy path or the hard one? In Jesus' Presence they find comfort and illumination. In Jesus' Absence they find a tough decision that may have taken them the better portion of an hour to make. I wonder what that conversation would have been like?

posted by irreverance @ 8:44 AM