Turn Off the Sound
Turn Off the Sound
Matthew 27:62-66 and Matthew 28:11-15
Here are the seven names that I want to say out loud this morning: Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha; Lalsawmi (Zomi) Frankcom; Damian Sobol; Jacob Flickinger; John Chapman; James (Jim) Hendersen; and James Kirby. These people were parents and had parents. They were beloved friends and had beloved friends. They came from all over the world but where they were together on April 1st was Gaza, working to bring food to the people who lived there who are starving.
They worked for World Central Kitchen which is, in my opinion, the bravest and most effective group providing humanitarian aid in the world—bar none. (Doctors Without Borders is another.) If all that I accomplish today is to inspire you to go to their website and perhaps even make a donation that would be amazing. World Central Kitchen, founded by the Spanish chef and restauranteur, Jose Andres, has a simple credo: “Food is a human right.” They take that creed so seriously that they show up wherever people need food and feed them, always at great personal risk to themselves.
As a news watcher, it is almost like playing, “Where’s Waldo?” As soon as Putin invaded Ukraine, you knew that World Central Kitchen would be there. The thing is that you have to watch for their logo in the background. The camera will show you people eating. Unlike a lot of other self-promoting organizations, World Central Kitchen’s energy is not wasted on raising awareness of their work. It’s focussed on the work. (How many groups that you’ve watched have lost that focus in the end?)
Given my prior experience of this group, it didn’t surprise me when they were the group that was actually getting food into Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces, known as the IDF, have bottlenecked the border, inspecting the trucks bringing in relief or any weapons, and trying to control the food and other material relief so that it doesn’t turn into relief for Hamas. Now, I understand the Israeli outrage over the events of October 7th. Those attacks were horrific beyond words. The often indiscriminate military response by the Israelis which has left 32,000 people dead, over 10,000 of whom were children, has also been horrifying beyond words. Then, there’s starving people. Then, there’s World Central Kitchen bringing relief by sea. I smiled and I cried when I saw their logo on that boat.
According to World Central Kitchen’s CEO, Erin Gore, the World Central Kitchen workers had just delivered 100 tons of food by the maritime route. The IDF had been notified of their route. Their vehicles, which were not military vehicles, were on that route as planned. The vehicles were hit as they were leaving the warehouse where they had unloaded the food. Reports are that the bombing was targeted and systematic, picking off each car. The zone that they were in had no active conflict. These aid workers were targets and with precision, they were killed.
Erin Gore summarized this terrible moment this way: “I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” said Erin. World Central Kitchen has announced that it has paused it’s operations in Gaza.
The IDF says it is “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.” Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel said the incident was a “tragedy” and a “horrible mistake.” No announcement was made of any change in plans to allow more food aid into Israel. President Biden said that he was “outraged” by the attack and called on Israel to protect aid workers. In what we were told was an unrelated development, “The Biden administration is weighing selling Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, 30 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, and a number of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which turn dumb bombs into precision-guided weapons, according to a congressional aide and a person familiar with the discussions.”
I saw all of this on my television and it was just too much. I didn’t turn the t.v. off, I just muted it: “Blah, Blah, Blah;” “Political spin this way, political spin that way.” This terrible thing happened and the immediate impulse was to spin it, to use it, to exploit it. There was something so much more respectful to me in watching silently as the video rolled of seven body bags being loaded into vans.
I’ve written to the president. I’ve made my donation to World Central Kitchen. I’ve prayed for those seven people’s families who are spread out around the world. I’ve stood back and wondered at why the world can’t be united more often not around any political platform or ideology but around the simple truths of this life: people have a right to food, a right to shelter, a right to live free from the threat of violence, a right to love who they love and on and on. I pray that World Central Kitchen will be back soon because the overlooked and the ignored and hungry people of this world need their help.
In the end, though, with the sound off, the bombed and burned out cars tell such stark truth and all the military spokespeople and government leaders are just silently moving their mouths. In my mind, I hear the words that I used to hear as a child at civil rights rallies: “How long, Lord? Not long!” How long will the powerful in every corner of this world be allowed to do violence not just to those who are trying to bring relief but to average, everyday, suffering human beings? How long will it be until the powerful find a way to blame the good people who were trying to bring relief? Not long, probably.
Our texts this morning—from 2000 years ago- resonate so clearly with the events of a few days ago. Jesus has died. An innocent man has been killed. The authorities do what the authorities always do in such moments. The put their heads and their power together to figure out how to manipulate what’s going to happen next.
First, ironically, they remember what Jesus said more clearly than Jesus’ own followers: “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Depending on which Gospel you are reading, it takes a messenger from God or it takes the risen Jesus, himself, to get people to remember that he had told them this was going to happen. Why? Because those people were gutted and terrified and traumatized by everything that had happened to the one whom they loved. The powerful folks weren’t traumatized. They just had a file of notes on Jesus, what he said and did and who he hung out with. And, oh yes, he said he would rise again. Do you remember how Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness to tempt him? Now, we have the religious leaders quoting Jesus, the man they helped kill, purely for strategic value.
Notice two other things that are almost always features of those abusing power. They have found a label instead of a name for Jesus: “The Imposter.” Belittling nicknames are kind of entertaining to assign to people you don’t like. They reduce the humanity of that other person. In an age when decorum has been thrown out the window, we’ve seen decency and respect quickly disappear, as well. In the end, belittling people is always a reflection on the person assigning the name, not the one who has been belittled.
The other thing worth noticing is that those who are abusing power are quick to take action. Why? Because they are afraid to lose their power. Keeping their power is what matters most to them. In their minds, they likely argued that they were only compromising with Rome to protect their people and that they were only taking action after Jesus’ death to do the same: “Rome will destroy us if we don’t shut this down!” With the “sound off” and without their spin, they are just a bunch of scared men who want to demonstrate their power. Of course, no demonstration of power is ever enough. They had already killed Jesus. Now, they needed to seal his tomb and put guards there to show everyone just how “in charge” they were. With the “sound off,” they’re just turning fear into a slow motion tantrum. So, they put the stone in place, get out their glue guns and gorilla tape and lock that stone in place. And, they put two tough guys out front.
As we heard last week, absolutely none of this matters for a second. The women don’t come to the tomb to steal Jesus’ body. The “powers that be” almost always suspect the worst and are almost always wrong. They go because that’s where his body is. As soon as they arrive, an earthquake happens. The stone is rolled away. An angel appears and is so spectacular that the guards faint and fall to the ground. So much for worldly power. All of their plans fall apart almost as fast as most of my efforts to repair things around the house. (Ask my daughters, there’s almost always duct tape involved, somehow!)
With the “sound off,” what we see are two women and an empty tomb. I think it is important to acknowledge this. People who follow Jesus will start spinning this moment almost as soon as it happens, too, just like the powerful opposition. Over time, Christians will literally kill one another over the theology of bodily resurrection and the theology of communion. So keep the sound off for a while. The angel, to me, wouldn’t likely be seen by us. Most mystical moments, though real and powerful and transforming, are not shared experiences. So, the women look into the tomb, seem to pause for a moment, and then take off running. (Essentially, that’s the first pubic account of Easter morning, found in the Gospel of Mark.)
Then, Matthew takes us back to the powerful people. The guards have dusted themselves off and made their way to the Chief Priests and told them everything that had happened: the earthquake; the angel; passing out; the empty tomb. Understand, we have already been told that some people were transformed into believers just by watching Jesus die. Now, the guards are essentially “preaching” to the Chief Priests: “Something amazing happened here. We can’t fully explain it.” Confronted with the mysterious presence and activity of God, what do the most highly trained religious experts in the world do? They pay the guards off and tell them to lie.
Matthew is telling us the truth. Don’t expect evidence to persuade the powerful or those who crave power. Expect money to be involved somehow. Expect them to lie. And expect those lies to have a life of their own.
The lie was that Jesus’ followers had stolen his body. Matthew tells us this: “This story is told among the Judeans to this day.”