One of the lessons of movements like the Moral Majority of the 80’s, and the Tea Party currently, is that there are often many people who share a belief system who almost never speak up about it. We will call these people silent partners. In the political arena, the secret is to get them to show up at the polls and vote. When they do, they are no longer silent. But mobilizing an informed silent partner can be difficult.
Sometimes people remain silent because they don’t want others to know what they believe. This is especially true when the belief is the object of public ridicule. If you know you will become the object of public humiliation, you will often keep silent. Nobody really likes it when people make fun of them. None of us likes to be put down, degraded, humiliated. We all want to keep our sense of dignity.
This guarding of our dignity started back in the Garden. Before they ate the forbidden fruit, they were naked and unashamed. After they ate, they knew they were naked. Now that is some powerful fruit! If only we could get some and offer it to the people who need to feel some shame for the way they act and the things that they do. Maybe we could use a dose of this every morning with our coffee. If we aren’t cringing at the presence of sin in our lives, we could use a dose. If we have become too comfortable with sin’s presence, shame can be a good thing. It is meant to get us back on track.
For some reason, Joseph of Arimathea felt the compulsion to act that afternoon. He had been a faithful seeker of God’s presence in His life. He wanted His interruption to take place. He desired more of God. He sought the rule and reign of the LORD on earth. That is some of what it meant to be someone who was waiting for the kingdom of God.
If you remember, there were several of these types of seekers around Jesus’ birth. They were in the Temple area when Jesus was taken for His ceremonial cleansing. Simeon and Anna had received confirmation of the Messiah’s arrival in their lifetimes. They were waiting for Him to show up. They recognized Jesus as Messiah, even though He was just a baby. The Holy Spirit confirmed it to their spirits.
Joseph felt he must do something for Jesus. He couldn’t allow His body to remain on the cross into the Sabbath. It had to be taken down and buried prior to sunset. Otherwise it would certainly be defiled. Only a relative could deal with a dead body on the Sabbath. Anyone else would be doubly defiled. So urgency meant acting. He couldn’t stay silent any longer.
Now not just anyone could approach Pilate. He was, after all, the leader of the Roman Empire in that area. He was someone of importance. So it took someone of importance to get a request granted, and Joseph had the needed clout. He was a prominent member of the Council. But his actions could have gotten him killed. He broke protocol and went boldly to ask for the body. He put himself on the line. He was, in one sense, sympathetic to Jesus’ cause. Rome wanted humiliation for its condemned prisoners. Joseph wanted to restore dignity.
Jesus’ influence in our lives should be this kind of dignity restoring influence. Our lives as extensions of Jesus are about restoration and dignity infusion. When people realize, I mean really realize, that they are made in God’s image, in His likeness, bought and paid for by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, their heads should be held a little higher. Nothing we have done, or could do in the future, detracts from the full acceptance that Jesus made possible.
We need to come out of the shadows, speak up like Joseph, putting it all on the line. We each have influence in areas that other people don’t. We need to use the influence for the Kingdom. We can speak for those who don’t have a voice, or whose voice is being ignored.
The Arnold Journey 