This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus, you suffered evil at the hands of the religious establishment. Priests accused you of blasphemy. In their trial against you, they called the Good Shepherd evil. Forgive your people when we call evil good and good evil. We are sheep easily led astray. Renew us to be your people, clean and holy. Amen.
Word
Luke 23:22-23
“A third time he said to them, ‘Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.’ But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.”
Meditation: The Loudest Voices by Jo Saleska Lange
In our world, the loudest voices usually prevail.
At 21 months old, my son already seems to have internalized this truth. Lately, he gets upset when I turn my attention away from him to finish a chore or to have a conversation with someone else. “Mama play, too!” he demands. “In a few minutes,” I tell him. “MAMA PLAY, TOO! MAMA PLAY, TOO!” He shouts again and again until, eventually, I give up and join him on the carpet with his toys. Like most toddlers, he knows that if he repeats a request loudly enough, I’m bound to acquiesce.
We all give into the loudest voices at one point or another. We let voices in the media shape our values and ideologies, and we let those in advertising shape our self-worth. We cast our votes for the loudest politicians (or, at least, for those with the loudest campaigns). In our classrooms and workplaces, we yield to the loudest voices in the room for fear of exposing ourselves to criticism.
When I’ve read Luke 23 in the past, I’ve tended to feel some empathy for Pontius Pilate. After all, he seems like the single voice of reason against an unrelenting mob. He sees Jesus’ innocence and speaks out on his behalf: “I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges,” he says, “nothing deserving death has been done by him.”
But as I read over these verses now, I see that Pilate had all the power and authority to stop Jesus’ execution in the name of justice. Yet he chose instead to indulge the loud, angry voices of the mob. In doing so, he helped commit the greatest act of injustice in human history. Although Luke’s gospel tends to emphasize corruption within the Jewish leaders, it also paints a picture of a corrupt Roman government. Instead of mercy, Herod chooses mockery. Instead of justice, Pilate chooses self-preservation.
We live in a time when political rhetoric would have us believe that our human leaders can save us. In 2021, a billboard was erected in Texas with a photograph of Donald Trump alongside the words, “Unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders.” This is an extreme example, but the kind of rhetoric that casts leaders as would-be saviors is incredibly pervasive—so much so that many of us have become immune to its influence. The story of Jesus’ execution reminds us that all human leaders are prone to sin and corruption. They, like the rest of us, are persuaded by the loudest voices—even when those voices demand injustice. And when our leaders acquiesce, the consequences are especially catastrophic.
Hope for restoration and justice can only be found in Christ Jesus, the servant-leader who humbled himself for our benefit—the embodiment of God’s perfect justice and unending mercy.
Dear Jesus, thank you for being the only perfect leader, the one who chose self-sacrifice over self-preservation. In this world of loud voices, help us to discern your voice above all others. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of faithfulness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Jesus Christ. Amen.