Luke 22:66-23:5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought Jesus to their council. 67 They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; 68 and if I question you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!
23 Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus
before Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man
perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying
that he himself is the Messiah, a king.” 3 Then Pilate asked him, “Are
you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.” 4 Then Pilate
said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation
against this man.” 5 But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people
by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this
place.”
by Kevan Franklin
Today is Maundy Thursday,
remembered as the day that Jesus and the disciples shared a Last Supper in an
Upper Room in Jerusalem on the evening before he was crucified. Jesus was
arrested shortly after praying the and was taken first to be judged before the local
Council.
We can imagine what the
Sanhedrin looked like. We have all experienced local leaders who gather to make
important decisions on behalf of other people. None of them would have been viewed
as evil. Most of them had been chosen because of their wisdom and training. They were human. Just like us, trying to keep peace and do the best
they could. They knew that in order to eliminate Jesus they would have to
convince the authorities that he was a threat to their position, so they charged
him with claiming political authority.
We can only wonder what was going on in
the minds of the Council that day. Were some of them uneasy about the decision?
Had some of them been intimidated into voting against Jesus? Did some of them
cut political deals in order to get someone else to vote favorably for their pet
project? We know how ugly politics can be. We know that innocent people often
bear the brunt of bad decisions made by public officials. No one sets out to do a bad thing. Bad things are always done in the name of some great virtue or cause.
It's easy for us to be oblivious
to the needs of the world. Most people like easy answers, but there are no easy
answers. Most easy answers are harsh. This council just wanted an easy answer
so they could go back to business as usual and the whole problem of Jesus would just
go away. It appears as though later, a remorseful Joseph of Arimathea, a council
member, made sure that Jesus' body was properly respected.
The following letter of Cyprian,
to Donatus in the mid 3rd Century is a wonderful statement of the meaning of
following Jesus.
"This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden
under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked
over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high
road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheatres men murdered to please the
applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is a really bad
world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a
quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times
better than any pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted,
but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the
Christians ... and I am one of them"
~St Cyprian
~St Cyprian
Most of us prefer to remain in our fair gardens under the shadow of the
vines. We close our ears to God's call to be about the work of liberation.
For further reflection on making sense of the darkness I suggest the
following excellent explorations of why Good people make bad decisions.
The dark interval John Dominic Crossan
The Parabler (Jesus) became the parable. Jesus' life became a
storyline for us to understand why we do what we do. Crossan has a wonderful
line at the end of the book. "Which do we prefer? Comfort or Courage? It may
be necessary to make a choice."
People of the lie Scott Peck
Peck is most widely known for his book, "The Road Less Traveled". But
he also wrote "People of the Lie" as an exploration of how a lack of
personal understanding causes us to do harmful things to ourselves and
others. His book "A Different Drum" also gets at the ways that community can bring spiritual healing.
The Lucifer complex Phillip Zimbardo
You may remember Zimbardo as the Psychologist who created the
"Stanford Prison Experiment" that took a look at how just a little power and
position can alter and corrupt how we treat others. Zimbardo explores how the image we portray to the world has a negative shadow side.
Why Bad things happen to good people Harold Kushner
I recommend reading anything that Rabbi Harold Kushner has written, and
this is the easiest book on this list to read.
The power of Blackness Harry Levin about Poe, Hawthorne and
Melville
Levin explores darkness in the writings of three great authors.
Great insights about Moby Dick and how we harm ourselves and others when we are
driven by compulsions.
Lent Check;
We could almost title this scripture, "Why Good people do bad things."
This is one of the most important questions we can ask. We all have blind
spots. Where have my good intentions gone astray?
The ancient formula for spiritual growth is; No Groan. No Growth. No
Cross. No Crown.
Prayer
O
Lord, we all make decisions, sometimes wrong decisions, affecting the lives and
destinies of others. Help us to not take
our responsibility and powers lightly.
Help me to be sensitive to the effect of my decisions on others. Grant me courage to act honestly and
compassionately in matters involving others.
Through Jesus, who suffered the greatest injustice at the hands of “good”
men. Amen.
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