I recently heard a recording of Dr. Edward Sri speaking about the role of Pilate in the gospel. He highlighted that the gospels are very specific in noting that Pilate did not believe that Jesus was guilty and he did not want to crucify him, but because of his fear of the crowds, he allowed it. He had it completely within his power to save Jesus, but he did nothing. He looked out for his own interests at the expense of another.
I admit, there have been times I have heard the gospel story and even felt sorry for Pilate, the poor guy just trying to do his job and not cause trouble, and now for eternity his name is being drug through the mud as the man who crucified Jesus, even though he wanted nothing to do with it. It was the Jewish people who wanted Jesus dead, and yet, not one of their names is mentioned in the bible. But Pilates name is mentioned many, many times. Actually, we remember his sin every Sunday when we recite the creed at Mass..."[Jesus was] crucified by Pontius Pilate, suffered, died and was buried." Why is there so much focus on this man who never lifted a finger to hurt Jesus?
Because he did nothing.
We can see from the way his sin is highlighted in the gospels and in the church that this is one of the worst things we can ever do.
But this is all of our struggle. We see injustice every day, and we do nothing. We see friends and family living outside of the faith and struggling and we are silent. We see neighbors children neglected and we close the curtains. We see news stories that tear at our hearts, and our solution is to turn off the TV.
The story of Pilate was meant to be a message to us: if you have the power to do something, you must!
He is held responsible for the blood of Jesus, even though he "washed his hands of it". He is blamed for crucifying Jesus even though he never swung the hammer. He did nothing.
This message hits us hard doesn't it? Because we know it's true, and we know we are guilty.
There's a place in this where I told my friends last night that my heart gets tangled up: When to pray and give something over into God's hands and when to act. I thought todays first reading was a good answer, basically to pray AND speak if the spirit moves.
"With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must." Eph 6:18-20
I think often we can easily "do nothing" by saying we will pray about something. It's such an easy answer and makes us feel like we are doing something. A good friend reminded me early on in ministry, "if you are going to tell someone you are praying for them, then you better make sure you are following through!" How often do we tell people we will pray and then actually pray? And how often is our prayer "Holy Spirit please guide me to know how you would like to use me to help in this situation."
Don't misunderstand, prayer is powerful and important, we must invite the Holy Spirit to move. But if we are using it as an excuse to do nothing, we are missing the purpose. Instead prayer is where we start, and find our strength, and maybe the spirit will direct us that prayer is all He is wanting from us. Maybe though, there is something that we are being called to do as the spirit leads us and gives us courage and strength. You'll notice the early church writings are full of a lot of prayer but also a lot of action as the Spirit used people to spread the gospel, heal and drive out evil. They didn't gloss over real problems by simply saying "I'll pray about it" and then going on about their lives.
I believe there is a delicate balance in the place where we offer things out of our control to God and where we act on things we can control where we feel called, rooted deeply in prayer. I feel I am still in the process of learning this balance and gaining the peace that comes in finding it.
This week it seems the sky is falling, there has been a lot of heartbreak in the world of a lot of people close to me. The presidential election and future of our country looks bleak and no one knows what to do with their vote. Genocide is happening again in another country. Here in America we are killing our own children. And we are too busy to stop to think about any of it much less do something about it. I suspect Pilate was quite busy too.
This week and this election are red flags that we need to stop "doing nothing" because the devil is doing something. I'll leave you with the first part of the Eph. reading from today, I pray that it encourages you on your journey, no matter what you are doing:
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. Eph 6:10-17
