April 17, 2011
Isaiah 50: 4-7 + Psalm 22 + Philippians 2: 6-11 + Matthew 26: 14-27,66
The Passion Story has a great cast of characters, and each of them have their own motives for their behavior. The truth is, none of them are really “bad people.” If we lift them out of this story and our own prejudice, there are many interesting things about them.Think of them for a moment.The Pharisees were austere religious men who devoted all their energy to doing good and the study of God’s Law. The problem with such people is that they are so convinced of their position and opinions that they are capable of terrible evil.
Paul before his conversion is a perfect example: he murders Christians.Crusades and the Inquisition are other examples,and presently the torture of terrorist suspects is usually carried out by dedicated people who are devoted to their cause.
Then there was Caiphas. He was a man probably thinking about religious orthodoxy anxious over people who were led astry by false messiahs. History remembers that he was not unique when you think about people being burned at the stake by others convinced that they were doing a service to God.
It goes on today in more subtle ways of silencing and ruining the reputation of others who do not seem to be quite orthodox.
And then Pilate stands there thinking about preserving law and order at a time of great unrest. He knew Jesus was innocent, but feared that trouble would erupt if he did not give the religious leaders what they wanted. There is no doubt that he had every reason to worry about his job. Most people know what is right, but they do not often have the courage to do it. Pilate is not unique. World leaders everywhere from Washington D.C. to the State Capital on 23rd Street is crowded with people who know what is right, but lack courage and worry about keeping their job.
Judas was probably a very disillusioned man. I go easy on Judas, and I suspect that he simply took matters into his own hands getting impatient for the coming of the Kingdom, thinking that if Jesus got backed into a corner his real identity as Messiah would emerge and crush his enemies. At the same time, he came to recognize and condemned the evil he had done. Plenty of people these days seem to have no such problem. Think of Executioners, abortionists, and terrorists. At times we all betray our ideals, if not our friends.
Then there is Peter: a man who was simply weak and cowardly. Anyone one of us would have done what he did in the same circumstanes. At least he shed tears over it. Too many of us never do.
Soldiers are there simly carrying out orders. How often we have heard in history: “I was only doing what I was told to do.” “Just carrying out orders.” We love to blame others for our sins and our actions without any responsibility for our actions. Blame. It’s big these days.
Finally there is the crowd on a highly emotional situation. They probably had no idea what was happening. “Everybody’s doing it.” is the excuse! And with that excuse, untold evil continues to wrap itself around this world. It’s the story of a culture where the bully wins.
Dark evil sleeps in all of us who could take any role in this Passion Story and make it our own.
The tragedy here is very simple, and the tragedy here continues. This is not history, this is our story. The tragedy is that no one did anything. From the good Pharisees to the crowd; from Pilate to Apostles, no one did a thing to stop it. They all stood back excusing themselves for feeling helpless and thinking: “What could I do about this? I’m just one person.” “I have to think about my job and my family. “What can I do about this, we have to have law and order, protection and safety.” How can I do anything against the power of Pilate or the Pharisees? “It’s not my problem. I’m just doing my job, doing what I was told to do.”
We have to wonder about that today: wonder about why we do nothing in the face of evil, why we do nothing when we can see what’s going on all around us.
The tragedy is not just that Jesus died, but that Jesus died alone with no one making any serious effort to stop it.