Jesus Is Taken to Pilate
“Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor’s hall and it was morning: And they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the pasch. Pilate therefore went out to them, and said: ‘What accusation bring you against this man?’ They answered, and said to him: ‘If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up to Thee’” (John 18, 28–30).
First Prelude: Behold Jesus, bound, on the way to the court of Pilate.
Second Prelude: O my Divine Saviour, give me grace to disregard the opinion of others, and always to act according to Thy pleasure.
First Point – Jesus on the Way to Pilate
We read in the gospel that the ancients, as soon as day broke, again sat in council deliberating whether or not to condemn Jesus to death. Having heard from His adorable lips the solemn declaration that He is the Son of God, they said, in their utter blindness: “He is guilty of death.” They were, however, not empowered to pass the final sentence of death and hence made haste to lead Jesus before Pilate. Again Jesus, cruelly bound, was the butt of the rude and wanton soldiers and the guards who had ill-treated Him during the night. From all parts of Jerusalem the people gathered together who had once hungered for His doctrine, who a few days previously had greeted Him with unparalleled enthusiasm as the promised Messiah. This same populace now beheld in Him a godless man; a man whom the high-priests branded as a hypocrite, a blasphemer. They beheld in Him a malefactor who should finally suffer condign punishment, a man of whose maliciousness even His disciples were aware, otherwise they would not have deserted Him. Thus all Israel denied and misjudged their Saviour and Redeemer. What pain for the most loving Heart of Jesus now satiated with contempt and saturated with opprobrium!
Dare we, His spouses, tolerate in our hearts the desire to be loved and esteemed by others? Should we not, rather, deem ourselves happy to meet with disrespect or to be misjudged by those to whom we do good?
Second Point – The Enemies of Jesus Before the House of Pilate
The procession having arrived before the house of Pilate, the Jews for fear of becoming unclean hesitated to enter. Here they showed themselves truly as hypocrites and verified the reproaches our Lord so often made to them. Pilate, therefore, went out to them and said: “What accusation bring you against this Man?” They answered and said to him: “If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up to thee.” So little were they convinced of their justice in the matter, that they dared not bring forth complaints against the Saviour; they desired that Pilate condemn Jesus on their testimony without further investigation. Their wickedness had turned them so blind. The Jews feared to enumerate the apparent misdeeds of our Blessed Lord.
How many, alas, resemble the enemies of Christ! Like the pharisees who blinded themselves to the holiness of our Divine Lord, and out of their hatred and envy sought to destroy Him, these in the perversity of their heart misjudge their neighbors. The success attendant upon our earnest efforts and the recognition accorded one’s work, often stimulates others to jealousy, and not seldom even to detraction and slander.
Even in religious communities there is danger of yielding to envy and jealousy. Let us be mindful that by manifesting joy in the good our fellow-religious do, we participate in all their merits, whereas by envy and jealousy we merely aggravate our guilt.
Affections
O Jesus, God of holiness, in what a condition Thou didst will to appear before men! In order to free me Thou didst take my sins upon Thee. O holy, pure, and spotless Victim, how pleasing Thou art to the Father! Thou alone canst take away the sins of the world and render bountiful satisfaction. What ignominy and sufferings our sins have caused Thee! With sentiments of the deepest gratitude we will accompany Thee, O Jesus, on the way of suffering and with Thee, willingly endure the hardships of life and the contempt of creatures, and thus be made worthy to participate in the merits of Thy sacred passion.
Resolution: Remembering my own sins, I will try to be very charitable in judging others.
Spiritual Bouquet: “A clean heart create in me, O Lord, and a right spirit renew in my interior.”
Prayer: O Jesus living in Mary . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment