Building Paradise Instead of Crucifying Neighbors
- Pastor Maggie
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
A Holy Week message from Pastor Maggie.
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I’m writing to you after Mass on Palm Sunday. Usually I have light dread about today’s Gospel reading because it’s just so long. Our readers always do such a nice job of making the words come to life; it’s not their fault there are so many words! However, tonight, instead of dread, I found myself moved.
I found myself wondering at the response of Jesus’s neighbors. So often we think of the struggle between Jesus and Empire. Frank touched on this a little when he explained our Palm Sunday parade tonight—the Roman government enacting a show of power on one end of town, while Jesus sets up an alternate (even satirical?) vision on the other end. Tonight, what struck me most was not the battle against Empire, but the inner battle of Jesus’s religious community. Strange as it may seem, Empire tried to save Jesus. Pilate tried again and again to give Jesus a slap on the wrist. It was Jesus’s own neighbors who insisted he be crucified.
As we live in our time, with our own potent version of inner religious conflict, I wonder who are the neighbors I’m willing to crucify? Who are the neighbors that I’m willing to sacrifice to defend my position and my “right” way of being? Christian Nationalism is not the Good News of Jesus and I do not ascribe to its logic, but the truth is that, in a culture of fear, I’m a lot more like Jesus’s neighbors than I want to be.
In our mainstream logic of self-preservation (or tribal-preservation) at any cost, who would I give up or trade or disappear to save my people? Does my hoped-for future include a place of belonging for my misguided neighbors? If I truly believe the way through this mess isn’t ideological purity, but coalition building (and I do) then how do I remain open enough to people who sit on the edge of a movement that scares me? How do I keep insisting (for myself, if for no one else) that their wellbeing and mine are intertwined? I don’t exactly know, but I have to try. Because, hard as it is to imagine, even on the cross, Jesus preached forgiveness, belonging, and welcome, saying, “Paradise is for you too.”
Things are scary. So many people are being hurt right now. It’s intended to be overwhelming. It’s intended to make us feel alienated and call for one another’s crucifixion. And as long as we recognize that, we can make different choices. We can build something different. Truthfully, the world will be very different on the other side of this. And all is not yet lost.
Remember, nearly 70% of people—through their vote or through their lack of participation—were not moved by the MAGA platform in 2024.[i] Even now, Project 2025 is incredibly unpopular, with only 13% of Americans in favor.[ii] People are finding ways to push back, big and small. You can too.[iii] You have power. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
We can do something. We can build coalitions without crucifying or othering our neighbors. Even now we press on toward a shared paradise, knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ—not angels or demons or powers or principalities. Those are not my words. Those are the words of the early church and its leaders—people who knew about dangerous times and hard work; people who kept choosing the unpopular way of Jesus. May we ground ourselves in our tradition and in our power. May we refuse to participate in any system that throws people away for any reason. May we love deeply and be people of forgiveness. And may we rise together in the days ahead.
Peace to you,
Pastor Maggie
[i] Roughly 245 million people were eligible to vote in 2024. 75 million (31% of eligible voters) voted for Harris/Walz. 77 million (32% of eligible voters) voted Trump/Vance. 3 million (1% of eligible voters) voted for other candidates. 89 million (36% of eligible voters) did not cast ballots. References: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election and https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/2024.
[iii] Some helpful ideas are available in these two articles: Stay Human: 80 Tiny Moves for Everyday Resistance in the Authoritarian Harm Complex and Resist: 75 Tiny Ways to Survive the Broligarchy, Fight Back, and Keep Your Sanity Somewhat Intact