Eric Chaet

PALM SUNDAY

If Jesus hadn't gone to enemy territory
Jerusalem
where the 2 parties
Pharisees & Saduccees
had a near total monopoly on the discourse
like the conservatives & liberals do here, now
in cahoots with the Romans
with whom they were complicit
as the conservatives & liberals
are in cahoots with the financiers
who finance their campaigns, programs, & publications
to the exclusion of anyone
who might pose a real threat to them
& with the officer corps
& purveyors of weaponry
& covert operations, spy hard- & software, & propaganda---
he would never have made himself known
to everybody since
& he wouldn't have been killed---
but if he hadn't been killed
he would never have made himself known
to everybody since---
to the psychotics who imagine they are Jesus
or the so-called Christians who claim to follow Jesus
but who refuse to do as he proclaimed we all must
& to those of us who behave differently
because of the astounding words attributed to him
& the example of his totally audacious career
who refuse to associate ourselves with the Christians
of any sect
who refuse to be mere followers even of Jesus
who use what he said & did with great respect & gratitude
& who also use what others have said & done
& who try to fill in the rest for ourselves as best we can---
we hardly know how even to survive
within such terrible circumstances---
Jesus was as powerful
as the entire history of the Roman Empire
tho no more the Son of the Lord than you or I
& tho he didn't save us---
we have to save ourselves, that's what he said---
it seems to me that having to save ourselves never ends
until we die & can't save ourselves any longer---
if he hadn't gone to Jerusalem & been killed
we'd never have heard of him
he'd have been just another guy with an opinion
& someone else
probably from some other place
probably with a different set of ideas
would have filled the vacuum
& the entire history of the world would be different
there'd be no Christianity
no sincere Christians, no hypocritical Christians
there'd be sincere & hypocritical Something-Elsians
everything we do would be somewhat different
& the terms of the entire debate
among humanity
about the rich taking everything from the poor
which they call prudent economics & good management
& the poor being driven
desperately to behaving like dogs eating dogs
which they call common sense
& providing for their families & for retirement
saints would act & appear otherwise
also terrible tyrants
whether great political figures
or just guys who lose all patience & start killing people
would do what they do & appear otherwise---
if Jesus had not gone to Jerusalem
to proclaim who he considered he was & what he was doing
& if those who were complicit with the local Roman authorities
& the Roman authorities who were complicit with them
hadn't murdered Jesus of Nazareth.