Passover vs. Holy Week
April 2, 2010
On 3/28, several Transmissioners attended the Interfaith Seder, sponsored by Faith House. It was quite a lovely event, well-attended and well-prepared. One thing came to me upon reflection that I wanted to discuss with you, a fundamental difference between the traditions that I hadn’t realized before. In the Jewish tradition, the Exodus is a story of the Jewish people, and it seems to unify as it reminds the people of their history, and of the God who delivers them. Holy Week varies in
that we are not celebrating the history of our people. We are remembering the history of ONE person, and it is not a history that we can exactly share. When rabbis tell the story of the exodus at synagogues, they are telling the people their own story, but when priests get up at church this week, they’ll be telling the story of a far more enigmatic character. Although Christian, I don’t feel like Christ’s death is MY history.
So there seems to be a fundamental difference in the sentiments being created by these two remembrances. One tells a people their shared history of survival through the will of God. The other tells a people of the survival of their God, in SPITE of the will of the people. Strange, huh? Both reveal that God is more powerful a force than death and oppression, but in very different ways… Anybody else have any thoughts on the difference between these two?
Samir Selmanovic, Founder and Christian co-leader of Faith House Manhattan, an interfaith community in New York City, ends the whole debate on faith vs works.
Samir is the author of It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian
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Jesus and Siddhartha
January 15, 2009
BECOMING BUDDHA / BECOMING CHRIST
By j. SNODGRASS
The Characters:
- Siddhartha
- Jesus
The Setting :
There is a large projected image in the background – on one side, a very round
golden Buddha statue.¬† On the other side, an emaciated, bloody, crucified Christ.¬† As the play begins, SIDDHARTHA sits up, meditating.¬† JESUS is curled on the ground asleep.¬† Then he awakens…
JESUS : …Where am I?¬† Ow…¬† My head…¬† I was praying…in a garden…¬† I must have fallen asleep.
SIDDHARTHA : I also fell asleep, beneath a tree.  I saw you here sleeping.  I recognized you.
JESUS : Yeah, I do a lot of
public speaking.  That bit about the sower of seeds, who just scatters them, willy-nilly?  I came up with that.  The crowds love it.
SIDDHARTHA : …Ah, yes.¬† A joke.¬† For in truth there is no sower.¬† There are no seeds.
JESUS : …Well, not literally, no.¬† It’s just a story.
SIDDHARTHA : But your…stand-up comedy is not how I know you.¬† I’ve seen you in visions, worshiped¬† as the Christ, the only son of God, who was with God before all things came into being.
JESUS : (Pause.¬† Then he laughs) Oh!¬† So you’re the comedian.¬† Only son of God!¬† That’s rich!¬† Just wait till I tell the guys I hang out with!¬† I couldn’t use it my routine, though, because it’s…you know…blasphemy.
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