This reflection was written by one of the pastors we work with in Myanmar. Name and identifying details withheld for security reasons.

The Holy Week, also known as the Passion Week, began on Palm Sunday, and will end on Easter Sunday. Christians all over the world commemorate in their own church’s tradition—fasting, praying, contemplating, meditating, etc. Christians in Myanmar, this is the second time in a row that we are not able to commemorate the Holy Week as usual. Last year was the first time in my life, as far as my memory is concerned, because of the pandemic and this year again, because of the political turmoil. However, I believe that no one can stop us in any given situation not to do the meditation as we have entered this Holy Week this year. I have been pondering upon the particular scripture texts concerning the Passion Week since I would like to share with my congregation, students, colleagues and friends far and near, hoping that God would inspire us with the spirituality we might need in such a difficult time as this. And I titled this meditation, “The Journey…”

As I walked the journey through the Gospels as Jesus really walked in Judea, I observed five stations along the way. And I would like to share with you my meditation regarding these five stations.

1. Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It was the Passover as great numbers of Jews gathered in Jerusalem to commemorate the Passover. Some scholars/historians estimated there were about two million people gathered there. As planned, Jesus entered the city riding humbly on a donkey (not on a horse majestically.) The Jews came out onto the road as Jesus entered the city, waving olive leaves and laying down their clothes in front of the donkey carrying Jesus on his back, at the same time crying aloud, “Hosanna!” (Luke 21:9) means “Save us!”

Well, whenever we ask our Savior to save us, as we are doing now, the first thing that we must do is to lay down our sins in front of Him. We know that we are sinners and keep sinning. Human beings we are, we are prone to entertain evil thoughts. But we need to be careful not to because once Mahatma Gandhi said rightfully, “A man (person) is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.” Sins as self-righteousness, in other words Holier-than-thou attitude that makes us readily judging others, and procuring the sense of self-righteousness, self-justification, pride, arrogance, vengeance, malevolence, etc. These are sins that we must lay down before the Lord when we say our urgent prayer, “Lord, save us now.”

2. Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept. Jesus paused a while on Mount of Olives, gazed at Jerusalem, wept over it and murmured, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace…”(Luke 19:42)Peace, in Biblical terms, is never understood on the basis of negative ideas, such as the absence of wars, conflicts, troubles, dangers, atrocities, transgressions, exclusion, etc. But in both Old and New Testaments, Peace is understood on the basis of positive ideas: the presence of love, brotherhood as well as sisterhood, inclusiveness, forgiveness, reconciliation, hopefulness, sincerity, and so on and so forth. Peace we want is the real Peace that Jesus gives us unlike the peace that the world would give. “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” (Jimi Hendrix) This is the kind of peace, God’s peace, we may want to live with and to enjoy in life. I do hope and pray that we all may know “the things that made for peace” and be eager and able to implement them. May God’s peace prevail.

3. Gethsemane where violence awaits Jesus. Jesus knew before he made a journey towards Jerusalem that he had to face violence inevitably. At the table during the last supper in the Upper Room, Jesus experienced psychological violence, the violence of betrayal. And later at Gethsemane, he faced physical violence, yet he rejected and rebuked the violent reaction of one of his disciples even it was done for his own sake. Then all along the way to Calvary on “Good Friday” Jesus suffered all sorts of violence, especially physical and verbal, in utmost cruelty.

Silence is golden, but violence is disgrace. Violence manifests in different forms—verbal, physical, psychological, economic, structural, domestic and public. In any kind of manifestation, violence hurts. Indeed, violence breeds violence. The words of the sage heeded , “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” (Mahatma Gandhi) When our Lord encountered violence, at times he remained silent (Matthew 27:11-14; Is. 53: 7), made authorities amazed, and at times he spoke the truth, but with no account of verbal violence, during his trial. As the Gospels witness, Jesus rejected all sorts of violence until his last breadth on the Cross. Here, in such a time as this, people are angry, frustrated, resentful, anxious, nervous and are easily tempted to violent resistance. But Jesus, our Lord and Savior, did not use violence which he himself vehemently rejected it. Jesus himself is an exemplary of non-violence in the same manner as it appears in his teachings. Why shouldn’t we as Jesus’ faithful followers? Our God is the God of peace and not of violence. After all the most significant prayers that our Lord Jesus earnestly prayed in anguish in Gethsemane, his sweat was like drop of blood falling to the ground, “Father, if you’re willing, take this cup from me; but not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42-44) Truly it was so difficult for Jesus indeed, no doubt it must be hellishly difficult for us as human beings, yet are we all ready to admit not our will, but God’s will be done?

4. On the way to Calvary, Jesus suffered affliction and shame. While carrying a rugged cross, he fell several time, he was bloody, weary and worn, he was beaten and mocked, he was thirsty and in excruciating pain as his side was ferociously pierced with a spear, he even thought that God totally abandoned him, yet eventually Jesus committed his body and soul to God Almighty after he muttered his forgiveness to all those who failed him, hurt him and killed him. Then, he breathed his last breath and died (Luke 23:20-46.)

Then, only then, the Roman Centurion praised God in awe saying, “Surely this man was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47) My dear brotherly friend in the States, Dr. Matthew Campbell, a surgeon, wrote to me recently that even the Roman Centurion was drawn to the person of Jesus at the sight of Calvary.

I’m truly encouraged. Suffering, if it is God’s will, though it may be so difficult to take it and accept it, never goes in vain. In due time, God’s love and power can turn it into glory. And the crowd may witness it like on Calvary.

5. The Empty Tomb and Easter. When the women, who saw how the body of Jesus laid in the tomb, came back again to the tomb on the first day of the week with spices prepared, found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then in their fright they suddenly heard from the two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning, “…He is not here; He has risen!…” (Luke 24:1-8)

Throughout the history, justice was demanded by those who were wronged, oppressed and discriminated. And the God of Justice always stands by the victims of injustice. In scholarly terms, justice is differentiated as retributive, restorative, transitional, transformative and may be more. We Christians tend to argue that justice in the Old Testament is retributive—“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” And we love it. But I don’t think so as it needs to do academic exegesis to understand the limitations and I will leave this to OT scholars to redefine such statement going beyond its limitations

From Mahatma Gandhi to Archbishop Desmond Tu Tu consistently stated that an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind when they talked about justice in the midst of ferocious atrocities they encountered. God says, “Revenge is mine.” The fire places on the head of our enemy because of our prayers whether for purification or punishment is not our business but solely God’s. Howard Zara’s Restorative justice, I’d contend, gradually led to the fundamentals of reconciliation as the world observed to undermine the Apartheid system in modern South Africa. Transformative justice can change individuals as well as the war mongers. As Prophet Isaiah predicted, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up swords against nations, nor they will train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). It is noteworthy, a renown ethicist and scholar, Joseph Fletcher, once said, “Justice means love distributed, nothing else. ”As we follow the journey of Jesus to Calvary, we are demanded to lay down our sins whenever we ask the Lord to save us, on the Mount of Olives we learnt God made things for peace that we may want to find out now and ever. During the Last Supper in the Upper Room and in the garden of Gethsemane, we had hard lessons about the violence that Jesus rejected and the depths of sufferings Jesus suffered on the rugged road to Calvary while carrying the Cross. Moreover, the miracle occurred at the end when he committed his soul unto the Father on “Good Friday.”

Then on the first day of the week, early Sunday morning when we watched the empty tomb together with the faithful women followers of Jesus, we heard the angelic announcement made us sing jubilantly, “Hallelujah! Christ arose!” Since then, the world has never been the same. In light of Easter, justice means not revenge nor punishment. Justice even means veneration. Hallelujah!!!

Epilogue: I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to many of my dear friends and colleagues abroad, my beloved friends in my church and in various organizations I am serving locally and internationally, many of my current students and old, far and near, I have to admit that without your great encouragement and support, concerns and prayers, love and trust to ponder this Holy Week meditation and share with you. May God bless you all!