Pilate...went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above."

Following clues left by Professor Oxley, one of Indiana Jones' friends, and after finding him, Indiana and his group finally discover a subterranean chamber beneath an ancient pyramid, where they find a city of gold and a set of crystal skulls like the one they have with them. The skulls are all interconnected and eventually form one extraterrestrial being. The legend formed around them by the natives was that they possessed great treasures of gold. But their treasure was not gold. As Indiana Jones explained, knowledge was the treasure that they brought to earth. It was a treasure that could only be enjoyed a little at a time, however, since knowledge of "everything," as the Soviet scientist Dr. Spalko desired, is impossible for a human being to attain.

One of the insights during the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus is Jesus' statement about power, namely, that any power that Pilate had was given to him by God. Translated into the thinking of the movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Jesus would say that all knowledge is with God, and the only knowledge we have is given to us from God. 

Some human beings are not satisfied with such a reality. In fact, once ambitious people discover that knowledge is more important than anything else that the world can offer, such people will want as much of it as they can get. As Dr. Spalko says in the movie, she wants to "know everything." Her motivation is not unlike the motivation of so many people who have lost sight of how important God is, namely, she wanted to play god, because if you "know everything," you can do anything you want, and you can control everyone and everything.

Generally speaking, our human natures enjoy the idea of playing god because we do not like to be controlled by others. We want to be in charge with no one else giving us what we should or should not do. We may not want to "know everything," but we want to know enough to have an advantage over others. A Christian will work to gain knowledge about the important things in life, that is, enough knowledge to help ourselves in living a good life, and knowledge that leads to a sincere love of others and the understanding that God is truly working in our lives.

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we know that you have all power and knowledge, and that you have given some of it to us.  May we use well what you have given to us. And help us never forget that it is you who have given it to us. 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