Before Caiphas, Herod and Pilate: the Perils of Complex Intentions
April 22, 2011 | XXXVI.Grace: To be with Christ as he faces those who indict Him unjustly. Their indictments say more about their character than Jesus’.
Text for Prayer: Matthew 26:59-68, Luke 23:7-11, Matthew 27:11-26
Reflection. GK Chesterton once wrote that man longs for simplicity, but tends toward complexity. So it was with the intentions of earthly powers in Jesus’ day, and so it is with us today. We pray with the Jesus who is feared, reviled, and made a pawn of others’ machinations and impurity of heart. It is easy and comforting to distance ourselves from their actions; but they reflect common responses to unwelcome truths of Jesus’ mission.
Caiphas and the Sanhedrin are the fearful ecclesiastical leaders, who are concerned not with the truth but with quashing the apparent Messiahship of Jesus which threatens their authority. Where do I find this pernicious abuse of power employed to quash unpleasant truths?
Posted by Mr. Joseph Simmons, S.J. in XXXVI.