From the Pastor…
Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian tenor, holds the record for the most curtain calls in a career. He had 165 of them.
Whether you’re part of the audience clamoring for it, or the performer ready to oblige, a curtain call is often an exciting moment. The audience gets one more chance to acknowledge the mastery and say thank you. The performer is given a chance to return to the stage to savor the affirmation, and in his/her/their own way offer their thanks and show their appreciation. And to give the audience what it’s looking for.
Curtain calls are an indication that something special has just happened. Something great- an often spontaneous and heartfelt response to a level of accomplishment and expertise unattainable by most. An affirmation of hard work paying off.
From Jesus’ point of view, his passion, death, and resurrection came as no surprise. He knew where he was headed. He had been predicting all these things for quite some time as he and the disciples traveled throughout Judea and Galilee.
The disciples and others didn’t really understand what Jesus was talking about whenever he mentioned that he would have to go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
We as readers know exactly what Jesus is talking about and may wonder why the disciples had such a hard time with these passion predictions. Perhaps this can be explained by saying that the Jews of Jesus’ day had not been taught that their long-awaited Messiah would come only to be killed on a Roman cross.
The scriptural Messiah was supposed to be a vanquisher, not counted among the vanquished. So this one who the disciples had come to believe was their Messiah was saying things that didn’t add up.
As April approaches, and with it the final days of the Lenten season, we prepare for the events leading up to Good Friday and Easter morning. One commentator describes the resurrection as the greatest curtain call that ever was or ever will be- though Jesus doesn’t return in order to take a bow and soak up all the love.
I suppose you could say that he gave the people what they were hoping against hope for. He gave them the thing which, if they were being honest, they really thought was impossible- victory over death.
A command performance, if there ever was one. We might be tempted to exclaim “Bravo!”
How about “Alleluia!”
Peace,
Pastor Jeff
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