Bullies, Bystanders and Holy Week

This morning Christians around the world will enter into Holy Week with Palm/Passion Sunday. At St. Paul's we will actually have our children enter into the sanctuary with palm branches, something we can do because our congregation still has kids! We also have an impressive array of balloons, the modern-day equivalent of the celebration palms represent.

The tone of our service will change from beginning to end, and we will depart in silence and darkness to acknowledge the passion of Christ. Then we will progress through this week with services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, considering the abandonment and betrayal Jesus experienced on his way toward execution by crucifixion.

I read an article in the newspaper yesterday about the mentality which allows us as humans to ignore the bullying and persecution of others, even when we know it is wrong. The writer used the example of sitting on the top of a London bus years ago and doing nothing while four teens verbally harrassed another young woman. No one else responded to her plight except for a German man who was then intimidated by the teens.

Mob mentality is such that those who are cheering on their sports team one moment can become an unruly and violent gang the next. As we make our way through Holy Week we will hear and see how one crowd shouts "Hosanna!" during the parade of palms while another yells "Crucify him!" a few days later. Many more are reluctant and fearful bystanders. Human nature.

How do you respond to the events of Holy Week? Does worship help you move more deeply into the meaning of these events? Do you see the connection between bullies and bystanders, then and now?