Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice." - Jn 18, 37
Sometimes I hear the voice of God pretty clearly. When he tells me that he has given me the gift of faith, and that I am to be patient with those who do not so much have it, it can be unmistakable guidance. Yet at other times I feel as if I am not hearing him at all.
Perhaps, though, this is due to my tendency to find and to make my own way, to cling to my own desires rather than God's wishes for me. I struggle to fully trust that God is real and therefore that his plan truly is better than my own.
They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." - Jn 19, 15
How often do we live our lives, make our decisions, with an insistence that "we have no king but . . . "? How often do we want to put the voice of Jesus to death rather than heed his call? I believe it is because we don't believe in his Resurrection, and therefore in our own. In this case, of course we will recognize no authority but our own.
People sometimes let Pilate off the hook here, suggesting that the Jews provided the impetus for Jesus' crucifixion, and that is somewhat accurate. But the Jews had no power to carry out their wishes except the one they exerted. Perhaps Pilate ultimately acquiesced to their request because they gave him what he wanted in return: they pledged their fealty to their occupiers.
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