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Pilate
said to them, “Then
what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They
all said, “Let him be crucified!” But
he said, “Why? What evil has
he done?” They only shouted the louder,
“Let him be crucified!” When
Pilate saw
that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out
instead, he
took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying,
“I am
innocent of this man’s blood. Look
to it
yourselves.” And the whole people said
in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them, but after
he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
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We
tend to avoid difficult situations. In the movie,
“Signs,”
Graham Hess, an ordained Episcopalian priest, had
accepted his Church’s teaching about
evil and suffering. Understanding the
theology that God sometimes works even together with intense pain, he
never
thought that it would be personal. So, when it
happened, he simply avoided the difficult, and denied God. At
the same time, signs were occurring all
around him of something he did not want in the outside world. Together with the other people of his
small county, he chose once again the easy path of denying what the
signs
meant.
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Pilate knew that Jesus
was innocent. He could not find even one
legitimate charge that would allow Jesus to be scourged, let alone
condemned to
death. But he also could hear the angry
mob in front of him. He knew that his
own position as Roman procurator might be in jeopardy. Desiring a
compromise, they would not allow
it. He should have simply said, "Since I
do not find any evil that this man has done, I will release him and
suffer the
consequences." But, even though it was
the right thing, he could not do it. Washing his hands, trying to
wash his conscience, he avoided the
difficult decision.
Every counselor in the world tells us to face the difficult situations. But instead, we often run. We try to avoid. We choose the easier route, the painless path. But in the end, such a path usually is not the best. We end up with even more pain than we had already. To be psychologically and spiritually healthy, we must understand the painful things that happen to us. We must confront them, asking what they mean, how we should act, and perhaps even be prepared to change our opinions as a result. |
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THOUGHT
What
are the principal excuses that we use to
avoid difficult situations?
PRAYER Good and gracious God,
your Son was condemned to
death because human beings refused to accept the difficult things that
should
have been done. Give us the grace to
face the difficulties of life, and change if we have to. Be
with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |