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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 18, 2008 It’s Not That Easy to Wash Your Hands |
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Frontline Devotion for Monday, February 18, 2008 by Fritz Foltz
Matthew 27: 22-26 Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be CrucifiedSo when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
Each Lent I used to preach about our participation in the Passion story. It went something like this: All of us find ourselves played by one of the biblical characters. As we hear the story we find ourselves abandoning Jesus, leaving him to suffer alone on the Cross. I was trying to make clear our sins still cause God to suffer.
Each Lent those sermons were met with objections. “You are being too hard on us” was typical. After a few years I could depend that this would be one of a few topics annually resisted by people of all backgrounds. It remains an example of how we have trouble acknowledging our deepest sins.
We see a superb example of this in Matthew’s picture of Pilate. The governor proclaims he is innocent, trying to pass on his responsibility to the crowd. He protests there is no evidence; the crowd acts only on its emotional prejudice. He claims he offered a way out; they could execute Barabbas, a real and dangerous criminal. Then he justifies his role in the execution, rationalizing by killing one innocent person he is preventing a riot that would result in the loss of many more lives. In the end he washes his hands declaring his frustrated attempts prove he can not be blamed for Jesus’ death.
His pleas of innocence fail. Each Sunday Christians around the world confess “suffered under Pontius Pilate”. So too we are never successful in washing our hands of Jesus’ death. Each Sunday Christians around the world confess their sins, acknowledging they obstruct God’s will, causing God to suffer, even death on a Cross.
Matthew’s account also introduces another way we deny our responsibility. He writes the crowd accepted their responsibility, saying Jesus’ blood can be on them and their children. Down through the ages this has been used as one basis for anti-Semitism. We have made the Jewish nation the scapegoat, refusing to admit the crowd represents all humanity rejecting God’s offer of love.
We like Pilate have the power to act for Jesus. To find excuses, especially by acquiescing to public opinion or blaming a scapegoat does not clear us of the call. Lent is a time for honest self examination that leads to the spiritual adjustment we all need. Don’t rationalize; don’t scapegoat.
Let us pray: Forgive us, merciful Father, when we duck our responsibility to care for our brothers and sisters. Especially be gracious when we do not have the courage to stand up for Jesus. Go with us this day as we try to speak for you wherever we find ourselves. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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