Palm Sunday and the Ghost of Tom Joad

My knowledge and understanding of Palm Sunday is limited. I didn't grow up in the Christian Tradition but am sure most of my values have been shaped by it. I know that Palm Sunday represents the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem (On a donkey) and the people recognizing and honoring him by covering the path with palm fronds as he made his way to the temple.
Christian Churches throughout the world celebrate this day by replicating the journey and marching in the street. It has become a symbolic day of peace and justice.
I am curious about what this day and the marches represent and I have to admit I take most of my expectations from Pop Culture's expressions of faith that resonate with me and then try to marry them with what I find in the sphere of the church. On an occasion like this, and most others, nothing speaks so clearly to me as the Lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad".

...Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me." ...

Henry Fonda as Tom Joad - Grapes of Wrath film from the book by John Steinbeck

And Jesus said something like:
...'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'...






And with this in mind I see why we march on Palm Sundays, Christians and even non Christians together! Why do we march on Palm Sunday? It's to welcome Jesus into the city (Governed by men) and into the Temple (In the Christian view, his rightful place) and who is Christ today? Well according to my understanding of the message, and if as Christians believe he is the Son of Man and God, then he is within the least and the greatest of us, and as such we should welcome him when he comes.

Palm Sunday march in Melbourne

So on Palm Sunday around the world we see marches and rallies for the oppressed people of the world and particularly those amongst us. Right now the gates of the city (Australia) are closed to people just as Jesus described. As a country whose foundation of law is based on Christian Ethos it is fair to expect that this very special Christian Holy Day would be used to express the will of Jesus the ' Messiah'.

Supporters meet with asylum seekers at a Darwin Detention Centre

There are currently 1,000s of people locked up in Australian internment camps in the pacific, Christmas Island and mainland Australia. We call these places Immigration Detention Centers and they are designed to punish and demoralize. They do this very effectively and extend punishment to children and nursing mothers. Where is Jesus in this? If our political leaders who claim Christian faith celebrate Palm Sunday then who do they think they are locking out? The very spirit of the words of Jesus himself answer that question very clearly. They are locking Christ out of the Temple! As an observer and one who is hopeful for the Christian faith I'd say they are against Christ! 

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, PM Tony Abbot (Photo - Courier Mail)

Today in Darwin there will be no Palm Sunday Justice Rallies. Being a Christian Event many justice advocates were waiting for representatives of the church to take the lead and we had hoped that we could join them in good faith and prayerfully ask for peace, mercy and justice for our brothers and sisters who are currently living in absolutely intolerable circumstances at the hands of the Australian Government. This has made me wonder very deeply about the commitment of Christians in this town to truly embrace the very special meaning of their Holy Day.
 

I wonder if next year rather than waiting for a Christian Church to organize this event people of Darwin who hope for justice and believe the core message that Jesus brought might just organize the rally ourselves and bring it to the major Churches in Darwin. Ask them face to face who they think they would see if they could look in the face of any of the stateless souls our country has condemned to a life in limbo!


 




 


Like I said there's a lot I don't know or understand about Christianity but I'm sure some of it's essence permeates the writing of Bruce Springsteen , Woody Guthrie and the author John Steinbeck.





Shalom!

End of my tether.... Or just plain tired!

Here's a quickie just to remind myself... of something... or other.

Here's a brief rundown from my past few weeks, just in case I forget what a drag it's been!

A couple of weekends ago I had a family weekend away, which was fun! I rode my bike out to Noonamah and managed to set the tent up and have fun with the kids. I also attempted to join a game of back yard soccer. During the game I stuck my right foot into a clump of pandanas (I'm still picking the spikes out) and kicked something hard with my left foot and, I'm pretty sure I ended up fracturing the big toe on my left foot! The ride home was OK wearing only thongs but when I tried to put shoes on at work the next day the intensity of the pain ensured that I'd have to wear my thongs to work for the next couple of weeks.

I'm not too sure how my Boss felt about this since we were preparing for the organizations AGM but I wasn't too bothered, the bruising on my toe made it quite obvious that shoes would be uncomfortable.

From the time I got home from camp my life has been a blur! My workload has been ridiculous and the demands put upon me, completely unreasonable! Nothing extreme of course but the accumulation of shit I've had to deal with has left me on the edge of cracking up! Organizing travel for about 50 people can be difficult... travel for the mob I work for is another thing all together! The number of cancellations and re-bookings would drive most people nuts before the work even started! (I think I had actually lost the plot before the meetings commenced!)

 Masahito Walks into Darwin

Somewhere along the way I met this Japanese guy who seemed a little bit messed up from too much time on the road... He'd walked from Melbourne to Darwin! The idea seemed good to me though. 

The whole time has been a huge mess of flight bookings, cancellations, re-bookings, airport pickups, arranging meals, escorting people to and from accommodation, trying to take minutes of meetings, chasing up people who should be here and chasing off people who shouldn't be! I've been nagged, prodded pushed and pounded... Literally! On one evening I had to assist my colleague who'd unwittingly allowed some intoxicated people to get onto the bus he was driving. The episode ended in a suburban street, the bus hastily parked when a side window was smash by a whiskey fueled psychopath who could not be pacified. My intervention resulted only in me being smashed in the ribs by this bloke, after several calls already having been made for the police to come and assist... Now a week later I'm still finding it hard to sleep and every time I cough a sharp pain jabs me in the chest and the back... I reckon it's only muscle damage but enough to keep me awake at night when I really need the sleep! before I started my usual duties at work the next day I was supposed to get the guy out of the lockup at 6:00am. I was 10 minutes late and they'd already let him out but couldn't even confirm that he'd been in custody! And they call it protective custody!

My routine has been get up at six am, pick up some locals and bring them to the meeting place for breakfast... take care of everybody's personal needs during the day, drive people around, take minutes of meetings etc.. etc... (OK it doesn't sound like much but you've really got to be there!) after the meetings help people to visit relatives in hospital etc... etc... I usually get home close to midnight! By the time the week long meetings had ended I had reached my limit of endurance! I couldn't take any more but this year is special, this year I have to bring another group through town on their way to Alice Springs! Organize travel, book, cancel, re-book, organize accommodation, food, then more travel... then do the whole lot again when they return in less than a week! 

I'm currently in the middle of this process and wondering if I'm going to survive! I've only ridden my bike once in the past two weeks! My ability to concentrate is minimal, my temper is fraying and I have narrowly avoided getting into a fight twice already. (That's not counting the elbow to the ribs last Sunday night) Somewhere in amongst all this fun I did manage to take the family to see the Moscow Circus! Hallelujah for the Circus!   

Balloon Guy at the Circus (That could be me!)

The Circus broke the monotony but I'm not out of the woods yet. The stress has caught up with me and the tickle in my throat is making me cough and it hurts and I break out laughing like an idiot coz I'm delirious from lack of sleep and it hurts and the kids want to jump all over me and play... and I yell at them to get off... and the dishes haven't been done and the house is a mess and I'm trying real hard not to loose it!

Busted toe, bruised ribs, head like a tin of cockroaches on a hotplate... Please tell me why I am doing this? My bike is right outside the back door... I could just jump on it at any time and... 

But I think I'll just listen to "Wild Billy's Circus Story" one more time and wonder what Jesus will bring to save all us clowns! And ponder the seriousness of it all. ;)

It's a Kaufman kinda day

Ever feel like you're locked in the punch?

I've just watched about 20 clips of Andy Kaufman on Youtube... This version of Man on the Moon with R.E.M and The Boss hits right on the 'bean', that strange twilight zone feeling somewhere between a laugh and a cry!



The sounds of REM and Springsteen together are like two parallel worlds colliding!
Man! Sometimes it's just like that!