Homily prepared for St. Paul’s weekday mass, 8/1/18. Picture of Michelangelo’s statue of Jesus’ body being carried by Joseph of Arimathea, and the two Marys.
When I found out that Joseph of Arimathea was the person we would be honoring today, I got really excited. As often happens with me, I then realized I didn’t know why I was so excited to talk with you all about Joseph. When I look at Joseph of Arimathea, I see nothing that would logically motivate him to do what he does. Luke tells us that Joseph was a member of the very council compelled Pilate to indict Jesus as an enemy of the state, despite finding no basis for the council’s accusation, and order his execution. Luke mentions that Joseph did not agree with the council’s plan, but there is no record that Joseph did anything to stop it. It makes me wonder if he stood silent among the crowd that yelled “Crucify him!” in Pilate’s court.
Joseph was also a rich man, though not stated in Luke’s telling of his story, we can confirm this through the fact that Joseph had a ready-made tomb at his disposal at a moment’s notice. It seems that Joseph embodies everything that Jesus’ revolutionary theology condemned- Joseph is rich, benefitting by taking part in the various unjust systems around him, and possibly silent in the face of the particular injustice of Jesus’s trial.
But Joseph acts as a faithful Jew would- he takes initiative to get Pilate’s permission to retrieve Jesus’ body. If he had not, it was Roman practice to let the dead body of non-Roman criminals hang on the cross and be subject to the elements and wild animals as further humiliation for their crime. None of the other members of the council are recorded as sharing Joseph’s concern for their religious practice of respecting the dead- it is possible that Joseph might even be making himself vulnerable to criticism by both his fellow council-members and the Roman government by carrying out this act.
Despite all this, or maybe because of all of this, Joseph takes the limp and lifeless body of Jesus, and buries it in his own tomb; without the prompting of Jesus disciples, without some expectation that his actions might benefit him in the tangible ways that his wealth and power in his community does. Though Joseph’s generous and dignified treatment of this crucified insurrectionist would not be noticed at all, except by a few faithful women watching from afar, he still treats Jesus like a member of his own family. I feel like I can see Joseph carrying the body of Jesus with a heavy heart and distraught brow, disappointed that this revolutionary had not brought the Kingdom of God like Joseph so hoped he would.
“Love you neighbor as yourself”. This is the what my body was trying to tell me when I got excited about Joseph. Love your neighbor with the expectation that no one will see it, and that no one will thank you. Love your neighbor with a prodigal love as ridiculous as a rich man giving up his tomb for the body of a condemned criminal. Love your neighbor who you thought might finally be different from the rest, but has disappointed you once again. Because that love is preparing a way for the Kingdom of God.
In Hope of Resurrection 