Know thyself. Assert who you are; declare the truth. Proclaim your identity, no matter how much it costs, for the state of your soul depends on how you express yourself in this way. Say and show who you really are, and you will feel a joy no one will be able to take from you, no matter what happens. State the truth, and reverence the truth in how you act, and you respect the deepest recesses of your being.
We hear the truth honored in these ways in the Gospel reading today, on Good Friday. In today's Gospel reading, we hear that
Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"
They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean."
He said to them, "I AM."
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, "I AM, "
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
"Whom are you looking for?"
They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
Jesus answered,
"I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go."
This was to fulfill what he had said,
"I have not lost any of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"
So the band of soldiers, the tribune,
and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die
rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
"You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?"
He said, "I am not."
Now the slaves and the guards
were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
"You are not one of his disciples, are you?"
He denied it and said,
"I am not."
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
"Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
"What charge do you bring against this man?"
They answered and said to him,
"If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you."
At this, Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law."
The Jews answered him,
"We do not have the right to execute anyone, "
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered,
"Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered,
"I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered,
"My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him,
"Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered,
"You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
"I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom
that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
They cried out again,
"Not this one but Barabbas!"
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns
and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
"Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him."
The Jews answered,
"We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God."
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
"Where are you from?"
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
"Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered him,
"You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin."
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him;
but the Jews cried out,
"If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge's bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
"Behold, your king!"
They cried out,
"Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.*
Who are you? When He was asked, Jesus said who He is. He did not deny who He is, even with the great price associated with saying who He truly is. He knew that the price, the sacrifice He was making of Himself through His death, is part of who He is. Be ready to say who you are, no matter what the cost. Do not forfeit your own happiness and joy, which comes from the fulfillment that arises from living out your true identity, the identity given to you by God.
Others worry about the cost to us. Saint Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus when soldiers came to arrest Him. Our friends and our family want to save us from peril. Yet when we embrace the duty of the present moment, as Jean-Pierre de Caussade notes, then we are at peace. We abide in great calm regardless of what occurs, for then we live well aware of the truth that God ordains everything for the good of those who love Him.**
Sometimes we might be so concerned with the cost to us and to others that we deny the truth. When we deny the truth, we deny ourselves. When we deny the truth, we condemn ourselves to death. Saint Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus. Don't deny who you are. Don't deny who you follow. Don't deny The Truth. Yet if you do, God will forgive you if you wholeheartedly repent. If you turn to God with all your heart, God will forgive you. As Pope Francis has told us, the name of God is mercy, for God is love,*** and love shows mercy.
We see love in how Jesus led His life. In how He ministered to people, by teaching them and healing them, and from how He died for us, He showed that He loves us. Jesus showed us that God is love. How do we reply to the gift of love which Jesus has given to us? Each and every one of us must choose how we respond to Jesus.
Every human being must decide what they think of Jesus. All people define themselves by how they relate to The Truth. Pilate asked Jesus what truth is. We can pretend that we don't know what the truth is. Yet The Truth remains the truth. We cannot escape the truth, nor can we escape the consequences of how we relate to The Truth.
Pilate declared the truth. He proclaimed that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Yet we assert our relation to the truth not only in what we say, but also in what we do. Although Pilate stated the truth, that Jesus had done nothing wrong, after so stating, then Pilate acted out of step with the truth. Even though Pilate knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Show who you are in what you say, and in what you do. When we fully focus on the duty in the present moment to tell the truth, we are strengthened with serenity and peace. When we reside utterly in the present duty to witness to the truth, we remain calm in the face of adversity, and courageously proclaim the truth. When we firmly declare our loyalty to The Truth, we abide in deep peace, since we are embracing Jesus deep within us. Then we speak from a place of safety and security deep within our being; then we state The Truth in accord with Jesus. When we remain loyal to The Truth, we turn to God, and our souls are saved. Amen.
* John 18:3-18:18; John 18:25-19:16
** Romans 8:28
*** 1 John 4:8, 16
We hear the truth honored in these ways in the Gospel reading today, on Good Friday. In today's Gospel reading, we hear that
Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"
They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean."
He said to them, "I AM."
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, "I AM, "
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
"Whom are you looking for?"
They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
Jesus answered,
"I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go."
This was to fulfill what he had said,
"I have not lost any of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"
So the band of soldiers, the tribune,
and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die
rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
"You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?"
He said, "I am not."
Now the slaves and the guards
were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
"You are not one of his disciples, are you?"
He denied it and said,
"I am not."
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
"Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
"What charge do you bring against this man?"
They answered and said to him,
"If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you."
At this, Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law."
The Jews answered him,
"We do not have the right to execute anyone, "
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered,
"Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered,
"I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered,
"My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him,
"Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered,
"You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
"I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom
that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
They cried out again,
"Not this one but Barabbas!"
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns
and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
"Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him."
The Jews answered,
"We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God."
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
"Where are you from?"
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
"Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered him,
"You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin."
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him;
but the Jews cried out,
"If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge's bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
"Behold, your king!"
They cried out,
"Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.*
Who are you? When He was asked, Jesus said who He is. He did not deny who He is, even with the great price associated with saying who He truly is. He knew that the price, the sacrifice He was making of Himself through His death, is part of who He is. Be ready to say who you are, no matter what the cost. Do not forfeit your own happiness and joy, which comes from the fulfillment that arises from living out your true identity, the identity given to you by God.
Others worry about the cost to us. Saint Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus when soldiers came to arrest Him. Our friends and our family want to save us from peril. Yet when we embrace the duty of the present moment, as Jean-Pierre de Caussade notes, then we are at peace. We abide in great calm regardless of what occurs, for then we live well aware of the truth that God ordains everything for the good of those who love Him.**
Sometimes we might be so concerned with the cost to us and to others that we deny the truth. When we deny the truth, we deny ourselves. When we deny the truth, we condemn ourselves to death. Saint Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus. Don't deny who you are. Don't deny who you follow. Don't deny The Truth. Yet if you do, God will forgive you if you wholeheartedly repent. If you turn to God with all your heart, God will forgive you. As Pope Francis has told us, the name of God is mercy, for God is love,*** and love shows mercy.
We see love in how Jesus led His life. In how He ministered to people, by teaching them and healing them, and from how He died for us, He showed that He loves us. Jesus showed us that God is love. How do we reply to the gift of love which Jesus has given to us? Each and every one of us must choose how we respond to Jesus.
Every human being must decide what they think of Jesus. All people define themselves by how they relate to The Truth. Pilate asked Jesus what truth is. We can pretend that we don't know what the truth is. Yet The Truth remains the truth. We cannot escape the truth, nor can we escape the consequences of how we relate to The Truth.
Pilate declared the truth. He proclaimed that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Yet we assert our relation to the truth not only in what we say, but also in what we do. Although Pilate stated the truth, that Jesus had done nothing wrong, after so stating, then Pilate acted out of step with the truth. Even though Pilate knew that Jesus had done nothing wrong, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Show who you are in what you say, and in what you do. When we fully focus on the duty in the present moment to tell the truth, we are strengthened with serenity and peace. When we reside utterly in the present duty to witness to the truth, we remain calm in the face of adversity, and courageously proclaim the truth. When we firmly declare our loyalty to The Truth, we abide in deep peace, since we are embracing Jesus deep within us. Then we speak from a place of safety and security deep within our being; then we state The Truth in accord with Jesus. When we remain loyal to The Truth, we turn to God, and our souls are saved. Amen.
* John 18:3-18:18; John 18:25-19:16
** Romans 8:28
*** 1 John 4:8, 16
Pilate was curious if Jesus was a king or not. Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world, and Pilate said, so you are a king, and Jesus confirmed to him that he knew he was a king...a king specifically not of this world. So Pilate was afraid because he knew that Jesus was the son of God, so he asked him again, to try to disconfirm what he already knew, as evidenced by his anxiety, but he didn't really want to know so Jesus didn't answer him...except to lessen his offense in mercy towards him. He said his offense was less than the one who handed him over to him. I love how Jesus was always being merciful. In the other gospel, after a similar type of exchange where people asked what they did not want to know and got angry at the answer, Jesus said, if I answer you will not believe me and if I question you will not answer me, but I tell you....(I'm the Son of God). They, as usual, only wanted to trap him and held only mild curiosity of toward the truth. I love Jesus. It's good that you face anything just to feel him in your heart. Such courage!
ReplyDeleteAmy,
DeleteI'd never thought of how, in saying to Pilate that his offense was less than the one who handed Him over to him, that Jesus was being merciful to Pilate. Thank you for your insight. Yes, it is marvelous to realize Jesus' mercy.
Well, there's what we face. There's also how we feel about it. And if I am able to do anything, it is by the grace of God. Left to my own devices, I am a quivering coward, ready to run away!
Peace be with you, my sister in Christ.
Gratefully,
Doug