Joseph of Arimathea and the Election
“He was a good and righteous man…and had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.”—Luke 23:50-51.
Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea National Cathedral Washington
As we read this, we may know many of the results of this election. Our prayers should be with those who win the election, for those who lose, and for those who voted for either side.
For some reason, I am hoping to remember Joseph of Arimathea after this election. “He was a good and righteous man… and had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.” That’s us!! I think we all are waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God and are hoping to find some part of it in all the people we voted for. We have much in common with Joseph of Arimathea.
“He did not agree to their plan and action.” But what DID he do about it? Did he speak up for Jesus? There is no record that anyone testified on Jesus’ behalf at his mock trial. We have sometimes been like Joseph of Arimathea—when we see injustice and wrongdoings in the lives of others and ourselves, but we do not speak up against them. We fear what might happen to us. We dread the consequences of speaking out. We fear what we do or say might be offensive and hurt someone, or—heaven forbid—we would become unpopular. We are afraid that our voice will not make a difference.
But then a transformation occurs in Joseph, what we might call a moment of clarity. Joseph personally goes to Pilate. What bravery. He asks for Jesus’ body, personally and compassionately takes the nails out of Jesus’ hands and feet, washes the blood from his head, hands, feet, side, and back, wraps the body in a linen cloth, and lays Jesus in what presumably was his own tomb.
Are we Joseph of Arimathea? Is there a point at which we can no longer live our lives concerned only about our own well-being, focused on issues that affect only us? We no longer pretend to go along with the old crowd inside and outside of ourselves. We look to our inner core values and speak our truth and act on it. This certainly happens for people in recovery from addictions and for spiritual friends seeking a deeper connection to God.
This also may be how we experienced voting recently. No matter the results of the election, we voted and let our voice be heard. We took a stand. For many of us, as with Joseph, it was only a beginning.
Think about it. We who are gathered today through the internet know what it is like to be Joseph of Arimathea. I believe there is a Joseph of Arimathea inside each of us, finally making a stand, changing the way we have been relating to ourselves, to God, and to the world—speaking out with love and compassion, becoming concerned for the plight of others.
Remember the quiet, compassionate, loving courage of Joseph of Arimathea that is in each of us, the courage to change, the determination to foster love and understanding between ourselves and others. We need that kind of courage to bring compassionate healing to our country, especially in the days ahead.
Joseph provided the tomb for resurrection to take place. That is now our job. We have learned about resurrection and compassion through spiritual friends and in the thin places where we worship. We are called now to be that same vessel for compassion and resurrection out in the world today, where reconciliation is so desperately needed in our divided world—perhaps even more now than before the election.
Let us be that place for healing and resurrection.
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com