Chora Church/Museum, Istanbul,fresco,Anastasis, Harrowing of Hell and Resurrection – Public Domain
Easter, recently passed, is not a holiday I have ever celebrated in any way beyond the long-ago dyeing of eggs and covert disposal of sub-par milk chocolate rabbits. My mother had a mystical streak and, it being the early ‘60s in the US, she found camaraderie at the local Friends’ Meeting. She took us kids with her most Sundays. As I recall, we learned a lot more about the civil rights movement than we did about Jesus at Quaker Sunday School.
Which is to say: I have arrived at a venerable age carrying a very slim portfolio of Christian lore. Of course, I absorbed the basic stories because I grew up in an overwhelmingly Christian country, where Biblical references were made casually, seemingly with the understanding that everyone was well versed.
Here is my take on Easter: Jesus celebrates Passover with his mates, one of whom has betrayed him for the proverbial 30 pieces of silver, he is picked up by Roman soldiers, whip-marched up Calvary with a big wooden cross on his back and a mocking crown of thorns piercing his forehead. He is then nailed to the cross and left to die sandwiched between two common criminals. The women who love him mourn, and he is at length buried in a cave, a heavy boulder rolled across the entrance, guarded by soldiers. Three days later, the boulder has mysteriously moved and the body of Jesus is gone, proving that miraculously, he died for the salvation of mankind and yet, still lives.
I’m sure I am missing both a great deal of depth and mistaking much as well, but I think I have gotten close on the rudiments. A friend sent me an intriguing version of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion last night and as I listened, I gave more thought to the story of the Passion, to the time of Jesus’ betrayal, execution and resurrection, than I ever had previously. It dawned on me that this is a story as old as time and as current as this very moment. There is nothing miraculous, extraordinary or even unusual in terms of human behavior to see here, despite all the religious gloss.
A guy who gets some traction telling people to love one another–above all else–can cause a lot of trouble. Nothing threatens the status quo like the specter of no one caring much about money or power. People who have the capacity to conjure in others a longing for a life lived from the heart need to be stopped before they incite their listeners to abandon the very structure that allows the rich and famous to continue to be just that. What happens when no one even wants to be rich and powerful anymore? When all that accumulated wealth becomes an obstacle to happiness instead of its fulfillment? (And yes, I did encounter that rich man/camel/eye of the needle thing somewhere along the line.)
So, not only did Jesus have to quickly be made dead, but he had to be made an example of as well. After witnessing his fate, anyone who might be tempted to continue spreading his teachings—the really scary part for those money-lenders and priests– would think at least thrice before opening their mouth. Jesus had to be discredited, crucified smack dab in between two common criminals, an invented association with people whose mere existence would presumably undermine the testament of his life’s work. Not only did Jesus the man have to be killed, but the flames of his message had to be extinguished. Love and forgiveness had to be stamped out before they became a real threat to greed and domination.
In short, defiance of the hierarchy, based on love and equality is swiftly punished by disappearance, by death and perhaps more importantly, the deliberate distortion of all of one’s actions, motivations and devotions.
A small bit of good news: while this tactic may work in the short term, it is far from foolproof in the longer arc of time. Countless stories illustrating this come immediately to mind. Here, below, are just a small handful.
Victor Jara has been in my thoughts a lot of late. Victor Jara, whose soul-stirring songs were a beacon for Chile’s idealistic youth. Victor Jara and all his friends and comrades, including Salvador Allende, who threatened capitalist/US hegemony in the Americas. Pinochet’s CIA-trained henchmen cruelly crushed his fingers so he could never again play his guitar, never again inspire others with his music, even knowing–as I suspect they did–that they would kill him in a hail of bullets so soon after these brutal injuries that it would not matter. Destroying him and the tools he used to connect people with their love of one another, of justice, of freedom—that was the point.
Fred Hampton. Were we not told that he was a violent Black Panther leader filled with hatred, armed to the teeth and itching to use those weapons? In fact, at ten, Fred Hampton started cooking weekend breakfasts for hungry kids in his neighborhood. A few years later, he stole $71 worth of ice cream bars from an ice cream truck to give to local children, was convicted for this unforgivable crime and served time in prison.
He co-founded the anti-racist, multi-ethnic Rainbow Coalition, bringing together historically segregated and antagonistic Black Panthers, Young Lords and Young Patriots. He helped negotiate a non-aggression pact amongst Chicago’s most powerful gangs. He worked hard and successfully to increase educational and recreational resources for his community, and he vocally opposed sexism when few other men did. And of course, because these activities–if allowed to flourish–could have undercut the status quo of racism, income inequality and institutional injustice, he was identified by the FBI at a mere nineteen years of age, as a radical threat. They put him on the ‘Agitator Index” and opened a COINTELPRO file on him. They also made a deal with a car-thieving felon in their custody to drop all charges in exchange for infiltrating Fred Hampton’s inner circle. In these stories, there is almost always a Judas.
It was this man, William O’Neal (may his name live on in infamy), who drugged Hampton with barbiturates on a December night in 1969. A few hours later, as previously planned, a team of fourteen police officers arrived at his apartment and in a hail of bullets (notice a trend here?) aimed at the unconscious 21-year-old, ensured that he was truly and profoundly dead.
This assassination was characterized by both police and press as a violent ‘shoot-out’ when in fact just one Panther bullet was fired into the ceiling, most likely as part of a death-spasm reflex by the unfortunate man who opened the door and let the Chicago Police into the apartment. The myth of a law enforcement triumph over savage gun-toting Black Panthers was as critical to J. Edgar Hoover’s mission as was the physical death of a man who used his influence to feed, foster cooperation and build peaceful power.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention two of the best-known purveyors of love-and-peaceful resistance-going-hand-in-glove-with-justice in the modern era: MLK Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Neither of them were allowed to continue spreading their dangerous truths for long. Neither of them were permitted to go on encouraging people—poor people, people of color, people who could not or would not compete in the ‘rich and powerful’ sweepstakes—to burnish and cherish their greatest and most powerful gifts, those arguably being their solidarity and their own integrity.
Just last week, Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, noted on ‘X’ a parallel between the suffering of Jesus and that of the Palestinians: “At the moment of the Passion and death of Jesus, let us reflect on the Palestinian people, from where he came, now under a bloody genocide.”
Over the last 100 years and most intensely, the recent eighteen months, too much has had to be written about the obscene atrocities visited upon an overwhelmingly peaceful, courageous, collaborative, creative and ever-hopeful people by the Zionists and their enablers. I won’t add to the galaxies of excellent words already put to paper on this shameful situation, but will simply note: In the land of Israel, truth is not tolerated. Seeing others (a term which now appears to encompass all Gentiles as well as anti-Zionist Jews) as full human beings, and treating them as such has never been a serious option. Anyone who suggests otherwise needs to be silenced, their lives often cut short and perhaps just as importantly, their motivations, actions and beliefs twisted, impugned and discredited.
In the last six weeks, we have seen a number of people who were guests in the US, people here with our permission, suddenly kidnapped and disappeared. One of these, Mahmoud Khalil, has been variously described as “one of the kindest and bravest people I’ve ever met,” “…loved by his colleagues,” “warm and generous, even to those he barely knew,” “…generous with his time, open minded, and thoughtful.”
This is from his wife, who you’d expect to be an advocate for his character, but even so, she offers a pretty impressive assessment: “For everyone who has met Mahmoud they can attest to his incredible character, humbleness, selflessness and his love for helping others. He is always willing to stand up for the oppressed. It is clear the love that people have for him from the outpour of love I have been receiving from everyone he has crossed paths with.”
He was chosen to negotiate with the Columbia University administration on behalf of students protesting US complicity in genocide in Gaza precisely because of these qualities, because he was steady and fair and both saw the good in others and strove toward it in all of his actions. Mahmoud asserted that freedom and well-being for Palestinians was intrinsically tied to freedom and well-being for Jews. “Our movement is a movement for social justice and freedom and equality for everyone,” he said.
I don’t propose putting Mahmoud Khalil on a prophetic pedestal (though I do see something extraordinarily pure in his eyes), but from all accounts, he truly is a man whose commitment to nurturing what is good and just in human beings is iron-clad and unshakeable. This is precisely the sort of person who most urgently threatens those whose aim it is to snuff out the power of the people, the power of love, fairness and collaboration. He has, accordingly, been whisked off into the darkness of a veritable concentration camp, even as he is being absurdly accused of antisemitism, supporting Hamas, adversely affecting US foreign policy; all untrue smears hurled by some of the biggest hypocrites and liars ever to hold high office in the US.
The role of Judas in his case seems to have been played shamefully well by the Columbia administration, slavishly eager for their piles of silver from the government. Fools, they. The money has yet to arrive and who amongst believes that it ever will? The great irony of this particular story is that those playing Pontius Pilate say they do so in the very name of both Jews and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ!
That is a heap of bad news, but here is the wealth of promised good: despite the fact that Jesus’ life (real or no) has been utterly coopted by those intent upon contorting it and turning it into gold and dominion for themselves, there are central tenets of his teachings which continue to guide, inspire and uplift many people. Victor Jara’s music has survived both as recordings and in the undamaged hands and voices of new generations of musicians who share his vision and his goals. MLK Jr. and Gandhi’s legacies are complex, but the heart of their messaging remains a touchstone for activists everywhere as well as a source of hope and direction. The Rainbow Coalition perseveres to this day.
The Palestinian people have at last ignited a fire in the hearts of people the world over. Their steadfast commitment to be and do good in the face of unimaginable evil, to cleave to integrity and compassion even when met with hatred and violence and endless lies has finally started to change the oppressive narrative. And one of their own, one of their champions, currently undergoing his own version of a ‘passion,’ has done as his people have. He has held fast to his humanity and his faith in a world that is far better than the one his tormentors would love to impose.
These are dire times, and we all face the loss of so much we cherish. Many of us are afraid. We see overwhelming cruelty and injustice erupting in every direction and it is easy to feel powerless to stand effectively against it. Each of the people referenced above did much in the world to actively improve it, to enhance life for others. We can and must all do that as well. But they also found and followed the lodestar of their own inner truth and they did not falter, even as they encountered the ugly and brutish force of its polar opposite.
Approached purely as allegory, Jesus’ story of death and resurrection offers some guidance and perhaps even a bit of comfort and hope for our times. Those who stand firm in values of love and shared humanity will always frighten anyone who wants to rule through fear. While most of us won’t find ourselves in the extreme position of a Fred Hampton or a Mahmoud Khalil, we can choose to act from our core truths about what it means to be human, here for a time on this beautiful planet. And we can also consider that even if, or when, we encounter defeat, resurrection—that light within us which cannot be killed or extinguished, simply because we refuse to surrender it to the tyrants—is real and potent. Our endeavors to make a better world, and the love we share with others we know and those we do not? These cannot be eradicated by fear and hatred. They will try; they always try. But when we do not waver and hold fast to the very best of ourselves, goodness also holds fast. Hatred and fear may have their day, but kindness and an open heart are ultimately more powerful and enduring. Your light and your love are more important than perhaps you know; keeping them alive may be the critical work of our time.
