Many have considered the death of Jesus to be at the hands of Jewish religious leaders. While the religious leaders were complicit, it was not the religious leaders who executed Jesus. It was a henchman of Rome. And while some consider Pontius Pilate to have been duped by the Jewish religious authorities, there is little evidence that he cared much about the Jewish leaders. It was they who were duped by Rome.

Pontius Pilate was only about maintaining peace and order (think Pax Romana), and anyone who threatened that peace and order … especially if it was from someone whom had been proclaimed a king … that person would be subject to the worst possible punishment, up to and including execution.

It wasn’t just Jesus that concerned them … it was the followers who believed that there was some hope for liberation that only God could provide. It was a movement. More to the point it was a populist movement of those who followed this one who stood with the marginalized and the weak and offered them pathways of justice and hope. The movement had become a huge threat to Rome.

Populism

For those who have studied populism, what I have learned from my own study of the subject is that populism can be used for good … to give voice to the people. The founding of our country was a populist movement.

This was something that was happening as the crowds following Jesus continued to grow.

However, the fervor that sometimes accompanies populism can easily be exploited by a person or group wishing to elevate themselves to power … sometimes to create an autocracy.

So it might be helpful to know that populism is what led to other expressions of government like communism and fascism. The rise of Adolph Hitler was not accidental. It was a populist movement, and Hitler began to quickly expand power and even co-opted the Christian church for his own benefit.

Then he took it a step further and made it a religious populist movement. The swastika … which was a twisted shape of a cross … was expected to be placed in every church. The sound of thousands shouting “Heil!” was reminiscent of the call to “Hail the King of Kings!”

The thousand-year Reich was equated with the 1,000 year reign of Christ taken from the book of Revelation in the Christian bible, and Hitler was identified as the anointed one who would usher in that reign. And anyone who threatened the power of the Chosen One was declared an enemy of the state, and was summarily executed.

I wonder if this is beginning to sound familiar. To me, it sounds a little like Rome … worse, sounds a little like us.

This week, news hit that former President Donald Trump, along with singer/songwriter Lee Greenwood, were selling the God Bless the USA Bible for $59.99. It includes the handwritten chorus of “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, along with the King James Version of the Bible.

I hope this is as concerning to you as it is to me. This is the hallmark of Christian Nationalism, and it is not materially different from what history tried to teach us in mid-20th century Germany. This is not something that any mainline denomination will endorse; however, it is somewhat appealing to at least some of the US population.

To read a satire about the God Bless the USA Bible, I invite you to read this entry from a United Methodist Deacon named Charlie Baber.

While the sale states that proceeds from this bible do not benefit Mr. Trump’s campaign, there is a disclaimer that his likeness and image are under paid license via an LLC directly linked to Mr. Trump.

Holy Week Then

The irony is that this comes out during Holy Week. So let’s turn back to what was happening with Jesus leading up to his crucifixion. We are told in synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that immediately following his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (which we commemorate on Palm Sunday), Jesus went into the temple and turned over the tables of those who were money changers, and drove them out of the temple declaring, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves.” (quoting the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah).

The money changers, according to some scholars, were not cheating by offering an unequal amount as Roman and other coins were converted to Jewish currency that was to be used for temple offerings. It was more pernicious than that. Most of the money came into the temple (no matter the currency), and it was used to provide high interest loans to the poor who were about to lose their land.

In this way, the Temple establishment joined forces with the Roman aristocracy in the exploitation of the poor. Jesus acted out, and it was this act that set Jesus squarely on a course that would place him in the court of the Roman governor who would finally order his execution.

Holy Week Now

As I was sinking into this Holy Week, the news of the bible that will be used to promote Christian Nationalism brought a deep darkness over me. I began to feel anger … fear … sadness that there are people who consider themselves Christian yet who are promoting this apostasy.

I wonder if Jesus would be kicking over tables about now. I wonder if it would get him killed as it did before.

So as we come to Good Friday, we have come to the place of execution. I see Jesus carrying the weight of having come face-to-face with empire and daring to speak the truth. I hear the nails being hammered one by one … in the marginalization of our LGBT+ siblings … in the marginalization and harm experienced by Black Americans … in the attempts to claim the bible for political gain … in the harm coming to our neighbors who seek safety and asylum yet who die at our borders … in the silence of Christians who will not confront injustice and harm perpetrated by both church and state.

The Darkness is Settling

And as the body of our Christ is placed in the grave, I feel nothing but darkness in this moment. Yet beyond the stone that covers the tomb, there seems to be a glimmer of light There is a whisper of hope that rises from the shroud covering our Christ.

In the face of empire … in the face of Christian Nationalism, Jesus walks with us to the place of death and bids us now to wait for the dawn.