BEHOLD THE MAN
The Gospel JOHN 19:4-7
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.”  
The Media                     "Air Force One" beginning session
As one views the beginning of the movie “Air Force One,” one is struck by the violence and the killing that takes place. It happens in the opening scene by the Americans and it continues through the story of the terrorists’ take-over of the most protected plane in the world. Both sides thought that they were doing good, both sides defined evil their own way, but perhaps the real evil was overlooked. When innocent people are killed, it is always evil, no matter who does it, or what the motive. 
The Christian looks at the death of Jesus to be one of the greatest evils that humankind has committed. But if the people who were shouting for Jesus’ death were sincere—and we have no reason to think otherwise—there was no evil intention at all. Perhaps, they merely desired the removal of an impostor king who had misled thousands of people. Evil is defined differently depending on one’s point of view. Can one ever justify the killing of a person? Even if Jesus were evil, could there not have been another way to correct him? 

 The evil committed in the movie “Air Force One” is defined differently depending on one’s point of view. For the free world, certainly for the people of the United States, to take any plane by force, let alone Air Force One, threatening to kill and actually killing people, is evil. For the Russian nationalists, who took the plane by force, the previous capture of General Radek after the killing of his guards was also an evil.

This meditation is not meant to justify the actions of terrorists, whether American or otherwise. It is meant to call into question the unnecessary killing of people. It could be that our world has been forever infected by evil and the only way to attack it is to become more peaceful in our approach to others, both on an international level as well as a personal one.          
THOUGHT
Can we do anything about the great evils of the world, that is, the terrorism, the unnecessary killing, and so forth?  Yes or no and why?
 
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, perhaps the greatest evil in our world is unnecessarily taking the lives of others. Help us to live our lives in such a way that we will never do harm to others, while always working for peace in every situation. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike
©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America