Joseph of Arimathea

It’s evening, the day before the Sabbath, and Jesus has been murdered by the Roman authorities with perhaps the complicity of the Jewish leader, and Jesus’ body hangs on the cross. Before Jesus was crucified, his friends deserted him in fear, saw the crowd that had come & denied even knowing him. Even the closest of Jesus’ followers were scared.

Enter Joseph of Arimathea, who is mentioned by all four gospels. Mark says that Joseph of Arimathea was a respected member of the council, who was “waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God” and emphasizes that Joseph went boldly to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

The gospel of John, which was the sacred text for today, tells us that Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus, because he was afraid of the temple authorities, who John--a Jew himself—refers to as “The Jews”. And, John alone mentions Nicodemus, also a member of the ruling council, who had come to Jesus by night, in secret. And they go, boldly, risking their position—perhaps their lives—to ask for the body of Jesus so that it could be buried.

We reflected here together on the story of Esther two weeks ago, and I am surprised at the parallels between the stories. Both Joseph and Esther have a secret identity—Esther as a Jew, Joseph as a Jew following Jesus. All this secrecy—perhaps a necessary part of being faithful in a dangerous world? Or is it just fear of being different, the fear that keeps my faith too often hidden outside this church?

There is a time to keep quiet, to be wise in the disclosure of the truth, to work for the kingdom of God in secret. In that secrecy we can still draw close to God, to gather strength or simply just be held by the God who loves us. There can be danger in speaking out—we still may face losing a job when coming out as gay, or joining a political or religious group. The recent terrorist murder of Dr. Tiller shows that even this country, the threat of violence might face those who step out.

But if there is a time to keep quiet, there is a time to step out, to stand up. Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple in secret, but the time came when had to act boldly. Can we speculate why? Maybe he acted boldly because this was the last chance he might have to really follow Jesus. Maybe he acted boldly because he couldn’t just abide letting Jesus hang there. And maybe he acted boldly because keeping quiet, keeping his secret was bringing him further, not closer to God.

There is a group of people today, one group among many, who are not just waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, but acting boldly to bring it about. Thousands of Iranians throng the streets, and resist the stolen election, the totalitarian state that lashes out in violence. Let us hold them in our prayers, and pray for their courage.

There is no evidence that Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, did anything to try to stop the execution of Jesus, and there may have been no way he could have even tried. His bold action was too late to save Jesus from death, but it may have saved Joseph from a spiritual depth. God is on the side of those who proudly live their God-given-truth, who do not hide their faith, who cannot remain silent in the face of oppression, who step out and speak the Word that God has given them.

There is a saying: “the tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut down”. And you can stay low, avoid getting cut down, but also never grow. And there is another saying, by Jesus himself: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit”.

And so I leave you with this question: is there somewhere in your life that you need to step forward? Do you believe that God will stand by your side?

Amen.