The following post is a draft chapter of a larger project focusing on all the times money is referenced in the events surrounding Jesus' arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection. From Jesus' driving out the money changers from the Temple, to Judas' betrayal, and even the way the resurrection is later understood as a release from debt, money - and economic metaphors - are interwoven throughout the Gospel accounts of these cataclysmic events. My hope is to re-read the passion and resurrection as "a money story." The last week of Jesus’ life began with fanfare and songs of praise. At the small, Spanish-speaking Episcopal church I attend in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Palm Sunday typically looks a bit like this : on that morning, a group of parishioners gather on the front steps of the church to hear the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We have to strain our ears to understand the Gospel readers over the traffic sounds of 4th avenue Brooklyn. Fr. Francis...
Reflections on the role and history of money in Christianity from the first to the fifth centuries