March 25, 2016
John 18-19
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Home, New Rochelle
Who are you?
If you had been in Jerusalem
in April 30 A.D., what part would you have played?
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| The Crucifixion, by Andrea Mantegna, 1457 |
Peter, on the other hand, was not a
calculator. He was quick and emotional,
impetuous rather than reflective. He
said or did the 1st thing that came into his head: defending Jesus out of earnest love in Jesus’
presence; denying Jesus out of fear in Jesus’ absence. Peter was good-hearted but weak.
Annas and Caiaphas and the other Jewish leaders
were concerned about their people, concerned lest the Romans impose a still
harsher rule. They were concerned for
the purity of the faith. But their
religious and national zeal led them to an “ends justifies the means”
policy. They decided that Jesus was a
threat to the whole nation and they had to get rid of him at any cost. Their motto may have been “Do whatever it
takes.” To them Jesus’ innocence was
irrelevant. So they corrupted their
worthy goals of religious and national freedom.
“Another disciple,” an anonymous one, followed
Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard.
This man ran a certain risk to be near Jesus. Whatever he did was so quiet and self-effacing
that we don’t even know his name, only that it was important for him to “follow
Jesus closely” and to help others, like Peter.
If this was the beloved disciple, as is often supposed, this was his 1st
step being close enuf to Jesus to the end to lend him moral support.
Pilate was a man of the world, an ambitious man,
a politician. He saw clearly enuf what
was right but was unwilling to risk doing it.
He was personally opposed to killing an innocent man but unwilling to
impose his belief on others, tho the decision and the responsibility were
clearly his.
St. John is vague about the crowd that gathers
before Pilate’s court. Were they just
the priests and scribes who had long opposed to Jesus? Or were they some of the general population
of Jerusalem? Or were some of them pilgrims who’d come to
the city for the feast? Whatever their
identity, we get the impression that they were a mindless rabble, a mob; they
were carried along by the opinion of the moment, by a few catchy slogans. Did they really know Jesus? Did they know what they were shouting about?
The soldiers who executed Jesus couldn’t have
cared less about him or the 2 criminals.
Executions and such unpleasant business were just part of their
job. They were only following
orders. Would it have made any
difference to them if they had realized that Jesus was an innocent man falsely
accused and falsely condemned?
Three or four woman and one man, all disciples,
stood by Jesus to the end, silent and powerless, but reliable and
faithful. They didn’t care what people
thought. Their presence was Jesus’ only
support in his dying hours.
Finally, two more disciples appeared, Joseph and
Nicodemus. Both men had already
struggled with their fear of being identified as Jesus’ friends, for they were
prominent men and could have lost reputation, influence, or more. But they came forward with a certain boldness
to do a last service for Jesus, no longer caring about popular opinion. They were practical disciples who saw
something needed to be done in Jesus’ name, and they did it.
Some of these varied characters are similar, some
very different. We see in them courage
and cowardice, ignorance and loyalty, avarice and service, generosity and
corruption. Those qualities, motives,
and attitudes determine how closely we follow Jesus, whether we stand with him,
whether we do what’s right or even care what’s right. The vital question is not what part we might
have played in Jerusalem
in April of 30 A.D., but what part we play now.
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