Sun. April 24, 2011: Happy Easter! On Good Friday the congregants
of P'nai Or, Portland, attended the Good Friday Passion Play service
of the congregants of St Marks Presbyterian Church. Members of both
congregations had attended a monthly, six month class entitled "Roots
and Branches" taught by Rabbi David Zaslow, focused on the roots of
Christianity in Judaism and looking at the historical Rabbi Joshua
(Jesus). Rabbi Zaslow and Pastor Campbell got together and rewrote
the text of the Passion Play based on this historical view of the
crucifixion. The hour-long revised Passion Play - including
references to Jesus as Rabbi joshua, to the thousands of Jews
crucified during that time period by the Romans and to those few Jews
who chose to collude with the Roman occupiers of Jerusalem ("puppets
of the Romans") was deeply moving for all those present, Christians
and Jews, in the context of the darkest day of remembrance by
Christians. Is such revisionist thinking happening elsewhere on the
planet? Blessings to Pastor Barbara Campbell for her bravery, depth
and inclusion.