CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S PASSION
10 APRIL 2020
Pontius
Pilate asks the question, “What is truth?”
Pilate really does not want to know the answer. Instead, he is busy trying to extricate
himself from a situation that makes him nervous. He does not want to alienate himself from Caiaphas,
the high priest who demands the sentence of death for Jesus. Caiaphas has been a reliable supporter of
Pilate, who counts on his help to keep the Jewish populace under control. He is also fearful of the crowds, who have
come from all over the empire to celebrate the Passover feast. Going against their wishes could incite them to
riot. Pilate could care less about the
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. However,
if he is making himself a king, he could be a threat to the power of the
emperor. Looking at the truth hidden in
plain sight standing in front of him, Pilate condemns Jesus to die by
crucifixion. The Jewish author Josephus
calls crucifixion “the most miserable of all deaths.” The Roman Senator Cicero describes it as “the
cruelest, most terrible punishment.”
We
celebrate the Liturgy of Good Friday not to mourn the death of Jesus, but to express
our awe and gratitude for his total gift of self for our salvation. Crowned with thorns on his head and robed in
purple clothing, Jesus is the king who carries his cross, the instrument of
suffering and death, choosing to face the horrors that await him. After they crucify him, the Roman soldiers do
not tear his garments, symbolizing the unity between Jesus and his Father that
cannot be separated by death. As king,
his throne is a cross. He is the Lamb of
God, whose blood forms a new Covenant of love between God and humanity. Through the water flowing from his side, he unites
us to himself through the waters of Baptism.
Through the blood flowing from his side, he continues his gift of
himself to us through the Eucharist.
At the
heart of our Liturgy today is the veneration of the cross. In normal times, all in the congregation would
come forward to venerate the cross with their shoes removed. In venerating the cross, we bring whatever
crosses we are carrying to the saving cross of Jesus Christ. We affirm our faith that our crosses will not
destroy us any more than the cross of Jesus destroyed him. The action of venerating is profoundly
moving. I have been here long enough to
recognize many of the crosses which people carry. Some bring their cross of addiction or mental
illness. Others bring the cross of grief
from the death of a loved one. Some
bring their crosses of terminal cancer or chronic illness. Some bring their crosses of strained
relationships or failed marriages. Some
crosses are very visible. Others remain
hidden from sight.
On this
Good Friday, all of us carry a shared cross:
the pain and isolation and fear in the midst of this pandemic. Because of the restrictions imposed on us, we
are isolated and unable to gather here in our parish church. So we gather in our homes, in our domestic
churches. As we bring forward the cross that is so
important to our parish community, please take a cross or crucifix which is
important to your domestic church. Venerate
it to renew your faith that we do not carry our crosses alone. The Lord carries them with us and triumphs
through them.
We recognize
the truth that Pilate dismissed. Like
the Beloved Disciple, we stand at the foot of the cross today. The Lord has given his mother to us. As his beloved disciples, we continue to ask
her intercession throughout this crisis.
Even though we are separated from one another, we carry our crosses in
solidarity with our crucified king and with each other. The story of our crucified king did not end
on Good Friday. The same is true for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment