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Exploring the word

25 Nov 2012 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle B

“I’m the procurator over Judea. I am a friend of Caesar. I am the arm of Rome, the mightiest empire of the known world. If someone is brought to my attention, they had better be worth my time.” So thinks Pilate, as this Jesus is dragged before him. And truthfully Jesus could not have looked like much to warrant Pilate’s judgment during the usual frenzied season of Jewish religious feasting. The streets are swelling with strangers and the potential for riot ever threatening. If Jesus is the best the Jews can offer, Pilate isn’t too worried about Passover this year. Jesus doesn’t dress for success in rich robes or with military armor. His bearing may be regal, but it’s humility, not swagger that Pilate observes. He doesn’t look like a man prepared to take over the world.“ Are you a king?” he asks Jesus. “If so, what kind? If not, what have you done to attract such concern?” Jesus is not evasive. He simply answers with a truth that is greater than the poverty of the questions put to him. Yes, he has come to rule. No, he hasn’t come for territory of the usual order. His domain is truth. Jesus comes to speak truth and to provide the way to it. He is not an imminent threat to Pilate or to Rome, but he does shake the foundation of the whole world by challenging reality as we know it and business as usual. Pilate determines that Jesus has committed no crime, technically. Truth-telling is not normally a capital offense—though John the Baptist lost his head for telling it about the wrong person in public too many times. Pilate would like to keep the Passover quiet, and crucifixions are rarely quiet. The bottom line for the procurator of Judea is expediency. What a coincidence: It’s the same thing that the high priest Caiaphas has on his mind: “It is better for one man to die to save a nation.” Expediency has been the death of more people than we can count. It is easier to clobber my opponent than to talk him into a compromise. It is faster to level a whole village than to surgically remove a problematic knot of combatants. It’s simpler to offer a woman an abortion than to provide long-term care for her child. It’s less expensive to let homeless people die on the streets than to amass the will and resources to treat mental illness, addiction, domestic violence, and joblessness. One of the cruelest and most effective weapons in the world is mere expedience in the hands of the powerful. It solves problems, successfully concludes the workday, and we can all go home. But first we must wash our hands. Related scripture links God as king: Pss. 93, 95-99; Isa. 43:14-21; 52:7-10; Zeph. 3:14-15 Matthew’s kingdom sayings: Matt. 4:17; 5:20; 6:10, 33; 7:21; 22:9; 26:29; 28:18 Paul and kingdom: 1 Cor. 4:20; 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5; Col. 1:13-14; 4:11; 1 Thess. 2:11-12; 2 Thess. 1:5 Catechism links Kingdom: CCC 541-560 Pilate: CCC 596-600

Authors Alice Camille

king of the jews Pilate expendiency

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Courtly gesture aims to annul Jesus’ condemnation

04 Aug 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Though Jesus did not come to judge, as he makes clear in this Sunday’s gospel, he himself was condemned to die. Now a Kenyan lawyer is on a quixotic quest to overturn Pontius Pilate's court ruling, though he wants to keep the faith that flowed from it. "The selective and malicious prosecution [of Jesus] violated his human rights," said Dola Indidis, a Roman Catholic who is petitioning the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, to nullify Jesus' conviction and death sentence.Indidis, a former spokesman for the Kenyan judiciary, accuses Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Judea, of "judicial misconduct, abuse of office, bias, and prejudice." That may well be so, but getting a court to rule on a 2,000-year-old case from an outlying province in a long-defunct empire will not be easy.Indidis first brought his case before the Kenyan High Court in Nairobi in 2007, but the court refused to hear it, saying it lacked jurisdiction. Now he is turning to the International Court of Justice, often referred to as the World Court, best known for ruling on territorial disputes between members of the United Nations. Officials at The Hague would not confirm or deny that they have received a petition.But Indidis seems undeterred and points to the example of Joan of Arc, the 15th-century saint who led the French to major victories against the English before she was captured and burned at the stake. A quarter-century after Joan's death her conviction was overturned by a papal court, and in 1920 she was canonized.Homily hint: Although Indidis’ crusade may bring a smile to people's faces, it still causes us to ponder why a man who “did good wherever he went” was put to death in a world filled with suffering and starving for redemption. As one commentator said of Jesus' Crucifixion, “This is what God’s love looks like when offered to a sinful and violent world.” Source: An article by Fredrick Nzwili for Religion News Service

international criminal court judicial misconduct pontius pilate dola indidis international court of justice

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Exploring the word

21 May 2017 - Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Jesus offers his followers the promise of a rare gift at the Last Supper: a Spirit of Truth. But what is truth? Most of us are a little hard on the Roman governor of Palestine when he asks this question of Jesus during his trial. Jesus claims to testify to the truth, and says anyone who hears the truth is listening to him. Pilate seems to shrug off this bold revelation with the clipped rhetorical question: What is truth? It’s as if Pilate is really saying that truth is irrelevant. What really matters is not what’s true, but who has the authority to determine what will be. Is this true? We might ask in return. Is Pilate correct? Does the existence of some hallowed Ultimate Truth matter little in a world where we have facts and “alternative facts,” as well as actual events followed by generous helpings of “spin”? All truth aside, the future is shaped not on reality as it is but on what people believe or can be made to swallow given the right amount of media or marketing. What is truth? Is another way of saying: Who cares about truth? What difference does truth make in a world governed by illusions? Perhaps the Holy Spirit is the most neglected divine identity in the Trinity because we’re not really convinced that truth matters all that much. The Bible contains many stories that didn’t literally happen as catalogued. History itself is a series of holes connected by half-truths recounted by the winners. Does it affect our lives today if we can’t tell the difference between a true report and a useful fable? Are we harmed so very much by our deeply edited and embroidered sense of the past? Don’t we all make mythology of our personal memories, remembering and forgetting what supports our preferred narrative? One of the plagues of the information age is that we have so much information, yet so little sense of what to believe and who to trust. Sources of truth are served to us cafeteria-style: Which pope of the last half-century is “your” pope? Which presidency do you enshrine as the golden age of leadership? What’s your go-to news source? Boutique choices have replaced the idea that there is even “a” truth out there. Only “my” truth concerns me, the one that makes me feel comfortable and maybe even vindicated. The Spirit of Truth remains in the world, all days, to the end of time, as scripture tells us. This Truth can’t be found in the marketplace but is an inside job. It’s the indwelling life of God offered to the church precisely so we won’t be orphans in a sea of fancy and fantasy. Truth can be a game we play. Or it can be the path to life. Related scripture links Jerusalem Pentecost: Acts 2:1-4; Gentile Pentecost: Acts 10:44-48 Appointment of the deacons: Acts 6:1-6 One deacon is lost: Acts 7:54-60 Dispersal of the remaining deacons: Acts 8:1 Jesus does not send disciples to Samaria: Matt. 10:5 Short history of Samaritan trespasses: 2 Kings 17; Ezra 4:1-5; Sir. 50:25-26; 1 Macc. 3:10; 2 Macc. 6:2; Luke 9:52-53 Catechism links Spirit of Truth: CCC 243-248; 687-688; 692; 729; 733-741; 787-789; 2465-2503; 2615; 2671 Apostolic authority: CCC 1286-1289

Authors Alice Camille

Truth pontius pilate spirit of truth

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Exploring the word

25 Nov 2018 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle B

Should our politicians be constrained in their access to the seats of power? Few Americans would vote for a return to monarchy, and most of us are content to “throw the bum out” after a few years—even if we voted that person into office to begin with. That natural skepticism seems part of the American way when it comes to being led. We pride ourselves, if somewhat naively, on being a classless society. We want to believe that all folks are created equal, even if we are less likely to treat them that way. Most of all, we don’t accept the notion of an elite, or the idea that someone deserves authority over us indefinitely. We have imbibed the secular gospel that “power tends to corrupt,” as Lord Acton put it nearly two centuries ago, “and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He added, “Great men are almost always bad men.” Perhaps our knowledge of our own imperfect nature convinces us that human beings cannot be trusted with unchallenged authority. This explains our caution about Big Government, our suspicion of anything that smacks of a rollback of our rights, and our insistence on the sanctity of everything that falls under the category of “our privacy.” We likewise want to have some say in who gets to be the mayor, how long the representative represents us, and what it takes to impeach a sitting president. The American psyche rebels against the idea of being pinned under a rule or a ruler without an escape hatch. Pilate questions authority Because of our own reluctant relationship with being ruled too long or too far, we understand the position of Pontius Pilate when faced with the dilemma concerning the Nazarene. Most depictions of Pilate are sympathetic; he seems like a guy who’s just doing his job. He didn’t go trawling the streets of Jerusalem looking for miscreants, at least not in the gospel portraits of him. The Jewish authorities brought Jesus to him and insisted he do something about this blasphemer. But Pilate didn’t dabble in local pieties. So they rephrased the situation: Jesus was setting up a rival authority to Rome, and if Pilate didn’t respond judiciously, he was “no friend of Caesar” either. That woke Pilate up. He was an irrelevant governor of a notoriously restless region. Judea was the backwater of the empire, and if Pilate couldn’t control that, his career was finished. So he turned the question to Jesus immediately: “Are you the King of the Jews?” It was the sort of yes-or-no matter that could be speedily resolved. Except that Jesus famously didn’t answer those kinds of questions with that kind of an answer. Instead, Jesus returned the volley with his own query about power, asking in effect, “By whose authority do you ask about me?” Disgusted by the accusation that he might be in cahoots with the religious leaders of Israel whom he did not respect, Pilate spoke for himself when he asked what appears to be a more honest question: “What have you done?” Unfortunately for Pilate, Jesus didn’t answer this question either. He simply reverted to the original matter of kingship and said his reign is not here. The king of elsewhere Pilate latches onto this admission to some rival claim on authority. “Then you are a king?” He proceeds more cautiously this time, leaving the Jews out of the equation, hoping to discover what precisely Jesus stands for—or against. Jesus responds by reiterating Pilate’s question as a statement, but then as before, the reply spins out of Pilate’s control, or at least his comprehension. He does not understand that the authority of Jesus is in the truth, for his claim is to be the Truth, not to mention the Way and the Life. If Pilate wants to discuss power with Jesus, he’s going to have to step up to a higher order of reality than mere politics. Well, even though our scripture portion today doesn’t go any farther, we know what Pilate does with this invitation to consider the root and source of power itself. He sniffs at it like a dog at a curious but doubtful morsel on the ground. “What is truth?” he replies coolly and doesn’t linger to hear a reply. Too bad for Pilate that he doesn’t care about what’s behind the world’s façade of power. Too bad he didn’t ask Jesus, “What is truth?” with a genuine concern for the answer. The response might have transformed him. It could literally have saved him. But instead, he settled for simply saving his seat. We, too, can save our seats in the pecking order, hang onto tendrils of power over family members, friends, employees, or coworkers, make people dance to our tune and insist that our agenda come to pass. We can get what Pilate got, and enjoy it while it lasts. Or we can aim higher and hope for far more. Alpha, omega, and everything in between If we believe in the words of Jesus—and that’s the biggest if we’ll ever be confronted with—then all power over our lives belongs to him and his reign, which has no end. This is a long term by any standard and “absolute power” in the infinite sense. No term limits and no territorial boundaries mean nothing on earth can challenge the authority of Jesus. And if we find ourselves bowing our heads to another king or tipping our hats to a different Lord, we might ask ourselves why. Certainly we sympathize with Pilate for clutching the tatters of worldly power and not letting go when faced with something exponentially greater. The King of Elsewhere is a curious Lord to follow, and putting our faith in him in no way implies that the powers of this world won’t have at us—as a glance at the cross soberly reminds us. Yet his testimony is truth, and his is the only authority that lasts. Related scripture links Jesus on power: Matt. 22:15-22, 29, 41-45; 24:1-36; Luke 22:66-71 I am the way, the truth, and the life: John 14:6 Jesus as the genuine item: true light (John 1:9), true vine (John 15:1), true food (John 6:55) The truth will set you free: John 8:31-47

Authors Alice Camille

Authority pontius pilate Truth absolute power

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Homily stories

25 Nov 2018 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle B

Pilate, like most of us, is a guy who can’t handle the truth because it means accepting that our world is upside down and inside out. Open your eyes to the truth and you’ll see that power, prestige, and security are only temporary and the world is based on false assumptions and miscalculations. Who wants to hear that? Like the former CEOs of today’s corporations in crisis, most of us are out to protect our interests and are willing to whitewash reality and cook the books to prevent reports that our stock in ourselves is overrated—and that God and neighbor come above all else. Start listening to the truth and next thing you know, you’re living in the desert eating locusts and honey, or taking in strangers and trying to solve all the world’s problems. No thank you. But for all the crazy fears that surround accepting the truth, each of us is given a glimpse of the freedom that comes with it whenever we are overwhelmed by the love and warmth in a hug or kind gesture. The temporary loss of all cares and woes in those small moments is everlasting when you completely embrace the truth.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

pontius pilate Truth power

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Homily stories

24 Apr 2022 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle C

Considering one of themes of this week’s readings—forgiveness—we might look back before the Easter season to Jesus’ Passion and a key figure in that event, Pontius Pilate. When Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, he “took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood.’ ” This gesture, it turns out, may have a basis in human nature. University of Toronto researchers asked subjects to think of some wrongdoing they had committed. Then the researchers gave them a chance to wash their hands. These folks took advantage of this opportunity twice as much as a control group who had not been asked to remember past misdeeds. Both groups were then asked if they wanted to sign up for a charity project. Those who had washed were less likely to participate than those who had not. Scientists call this phenomenon the “Macbeth effect,” after Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth—she of “out, out damned spot” fame—who compulsively tried to scrub away imaginary bloodstains. Christians know that forgiveness is more than skin deep. Reconciliation means a change of heart and a turn to God, not the turning of a faucet. But water is involved—the water of Baptism that cleanses our souls. Water by itself may not free us from guilt, but as the means to reconciliation in the Body of Christ, it works every time.

Authors Joel Schorn

Forgiveness pontius pilate reconciliation water of baptism

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24 Nov 2024 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle B

Power is a tricky business. Many will try to win it, buy it, or obtain it by whatever means necessary. Yet power remains elusive even to those who seek and desire it. Unlike a coin you can hold in your hand with a value easily computed, the nature of human power is often determined by intangible things. What makes a president, professor, or prison guard powerful? Mostly the trappings of office. Remove the presidential seal, take away the right to evaluate and graduate, lift the keys from a pocket, and what you have left are human beings, fragile, perishable, and ignorable. Pontius Pilate is a smart guy. He's well aware that being procurator of Judea is by no means a permanent arrangement. His authority is constantly vulnerable to elements both within and outside his control. The whims of Rome, the cooperation of Temple authorities, and the stability of the Jewish streets are factors he can manipulate but only to a degree. Each season issues arise to challenge the thin reed of his mandate. Today it's a Jewish king, a faux rival to Caesar's iron grip on this tiny country. Pilate doesn't imagine this claim is important, but to placate the high priests he must examine the threat. "Are you the king of the Jews?" With this seemingly straightforward question, Pilate loses command of the situation utterly. The interview gets spun around and suddenly the Jew is interrogating him instead. The matter at hand is no longer the charge against Jesus but the nature of kingship, the definition of kingdom, and the locus of genuine authority. A once-irrelevant examination of a fairly harmless criminal has become a precarious tightrope walk with nothing but open air below him. How did this happen? Jesus doesn't argue the charges brought against him. He simply and neatly disputes the claims to authority of those around him. Defining power as an attribute of God, and his Kingdom as beyond the petty territories of earthly rulers, Jesus relieves Pilate of his authority as easily as a parent takes a toy from a child's grasp. He exposes the lie of worldly power, and Pilate, a shrewd man on a shaky chair, recognizes it. At the close of each church year we celebrate the title "Christ the King" to testify that we know at least as much as the procurator of Jerusalem once did. With this title we acknowledge that worldly authority must cast its golden crowns around the glassy sea, as the hymn says, at the feet of divine sovereignty. You and I exert much power in this world. But we are accountable for how we use it to the One who is its source and summit. Related scripture links Jesus on power: Matt. 22:15-22, 29, 41-45; 24:1-36; Luke 22:66-71 I am the way, the truth, and the life: John 14:6 Jesus as the genuine item: true light (John 1:9), true vine (John 15:1), true food (John 6:55) The truth will set you free: John 8:31-47 Catechism links Kingdom: CCC 541-560 Pilate: CCC 596-600 Adapted from a previously published Exploring the word.

Authors Alice Camille

power pontius pilate genuine authority

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