Good Friday 2007

1. We have read and heard the account of the passion of Jesus given us by John the evangelist. I am always drawn to the dialogue between Jesus and Pontius Pilate in the Praetorium. The chief priests had already determined that Jesus would have to die because he had claimed to be the Son of the Father. But they had no power to execute him. So they sent him to the Roman Governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate. For his part, Pontius Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and that there were no grounds to execute him. But for political reasons, he needed to find a pretext. If he could prove that Jesus claimed to be a king, and therefore a threat to Rome, he could order his execution.

2. So the dialogue begins with a direct question: Are you the king of the Jews? However this line of questioning soon proves futile and leaves Pilate frustrated. Jesus admits to being a king, but his kingdom is not of this world. His kingship is all about the truth. Listen to how Jesus answers Pilate: “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this. I came into the world for this; to bear witness to the truth, and all who are on the side of the truth listen to my voice.” This answer perplexed Pilate even more. With words which are surprisingly contemporary, he could only mutter, “Truth, what is that?” He knew he had no case. But he was a weak man and handed over Jesus to be crucified.

3. So Jesus came to bear witness to the truth. His kingdom is not of this world, but is a kingdom of the truth. The truth that Jesus bore witness to is the truth of himself as the Son of the Father. He himself is the Truth, and said of himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Those who are part of this kingdom are on the side of the truth and listen to his voice. The greatest challenge we face as the Catholic Church today is to bear witness to the truth. We fail to bear witness to the truth sometimes because of our own weakness and sin. For this we need to ask forgiveness. But we may fail also because we may be prevented by legislation or regulation from bearing witness to the truth. For this we need to stand up and face the persecutor, as Jesus stood up and faced his accusers.

4. After Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be ill-treated, scourged and crowned with thorns, he presented him to the crowd with the mocking words, “Here is your king”. Sometimes the truth is twisted and denied by sin or by violence. Sometimes those who bear witness to the truth are mocked and derided like Jesus, the truth of God.

5. And so they took him and crucified him. A notice was fixed to the cross. “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” They killed our beloved Jesus because of the truth. Sometimes the truth is put to death. But Pontius Pilate’s notice said more than it meant to say. In his death Jesus was truly King. In his death he was victorious. Those who are on his side have every reason, then, to hope to share in his victory over sin and violence, and continue to bear witness to the truth.

St. Mirin’s Cathedral