Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR C THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT - 14.3.04 Ex. 3,1-8.13-15; 1 Cor 10,1-6.10-12; Lk 13,1-9 ‘Suffered under Pontius Pilate’ “Passion
of the Christ”
is a great motion picture. Mel Gibson presents a truly epic film. It’s a
powerful experience not to be missed - an inspiring work of art and devotion,
and more importantly, it tells a true story: the greatest story ever told, the
tragic last hours of Jesus’ life on earth: the story that has changed and
still does change the life of millions. One prominent character in the movie is
Pontius Pilate, the powerful man who holds the might of Rome in his hands, with
authority to give life or take it away. At the same time, he is a man under
enormous pressure: the constant outbreak of terrorism, the threat of revolt and
the fear of being reported for corruption before the Emperor, forces him to
‘wash his hands’ and cave in. No premonitions from his wife, no questioning
about: ‘are you a kings’ or ‘what is truth?’ will make Pilate give a
just verdict & defend the innocent. The Gospels tell us how cruel and
bloodthirsty Pilate is, even before we come to Jesus’ passion. Today’s
Gospel helps us to situate Pilate and to discover that Jesus has a saving
mission to accomplish. Both have a place in God’s saving plan for our
salvation. In the Creed, we pray: ‘He suffered under Pontius Pilate, died and
was buried’. From ancient history we know that Pilate was the fifth
Roman Governor or Prefect in Holy Land, from 27 to 37BC. He had 7 legions
(24000 men) at his disposal. In 1961, coins were found with head and inscription
of Pilate on them. Two historians contemporary of Jesus, Josephus & Philo,
laid much blame on Pilate, accusing him of ‘venality, violence, theft,
assaults, executions of untried persons and savage ferocity’. The Gospels
instead, (and Mel Gibson’s movie with them), present Pilate in more humane and
subdued colours; not to justify what Pilate did, but to help us understand
God’s merciful plan, viz. that Jesus had to suffer & die for us, as it had
been foretold in the Scriptures. In Mel Gibson’s movie, Pilate’s wife is
troubled by a dream that she has had about the ‘Galilean’, but Pilate
retorts that his duty is to conduct the trial according to Roman justice and
law. Mingling
human blood with sacrifice blood. In Today’s Gospel, Luke gives a glimpse of the
cruelty with which Pilate and the Roman army crushed rebellions. He uses words
that could have come out of the ‘local newspapers’: ‘Some people arrived
and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of
their sacrifices’. Jesus takes this tragic event, adds another tragic event:
(a tower which was made to collapse and crush 18 people under it), and then
comments saying that those
unfortunate people who were so brutally suppressed in blood or buried under
rubble, were no better nor worse that any of us. Tragically, when the forces of
evil and terrorism explode, everyone gets hurt. In
Jesus’ mind, all tragic blood-baths are the result of evil, coming from our hearts
and operating at all levels in society. So, let’s beware and take warning;
let’s be at rights with God, lest our own life be caught in the web of evil.
When Jesus lived, times were indeed turbulent: terrorists, fanatic zealots &
paid killers (sicarii), kept the Roman army in constant sate of revenge; and in
turn, each blood-bath caused the wave of hatred to escalate. At the trial of
Jesus people threatened to accuse Pilate to Caesar (Jn 19.20), and indeed, few
years later, he was reported to Emperor Tiberius, was expelled from office, and
in disgrace committed suicide in Rome. Lesson: Upheavals and even
terrorist activities are never far: at such time, no one is safe; take warning
and if you are caught in the web of evil, stick to your uprightness before God
& be ready to forgive, as Jesus did. ______________________________________ |
