Pontius Pilate – The Noontimes

Psalm 80: Prayer for a Persecuted People

Psalm 80: Prayer for a Persecuted People

Good Friday, March 29, 2024

Today we remember the passion of Christ who suffered in order that we might be free to know God fully. Today we pray for all those who are persecuted. And we pray that we see the many small ways in which we judge and persecute others.

Restore us, O LORD of hosts; let your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

Persecution often follows us when we answer God’s call to act as God’s disciples, when we carry truth to people who do not want to see it. When we witness to an injustice, we want to rely on God’s wisdom, strengthen our resolve with Scripture – a manifestation of Christ among us, and rest in prayer with the Spirit.

Several years ago when I struggled with a particularly challenging set of circumstances, I left the student dining hall to go to my classroom where I might find some quiet. I had to prepare a report I knew would displease our leaders in that it spoke to a truth they did not want to hear. In the hush of that noontime, I flipped open the Bible that always lies near my desk and the pages fell open to Psalm 80, a prayer for those living through persecution. Had I come across an immediate answer to my prayer?

The opening lines call for help and restoration, and are followed by an image of the vine brought out of Egypt, an allegory familiar to the prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea and Micah. Jesus uses this symbolic tale to describe his relationship with us: he is the vine, we are the branches (John 15:1-17). He sustains and nourishes; we are the fruit of Christ’s labor and love in us.

Anyone familiar with vineyard work knows that each winter the vines are cut back drastically in order that the plant become stronger and the fruit more dense and fine. Father Richard Veras writes that our hearts are encrusted and that Jesus must break through that crust in order to soften our hearts. “This crust is a barrier between him and the heart, and he will never respect or politely tolerate any such barriers”. Veras uses the examples of the Samaritan Woman at the well and Pontius Pilate to make his point. “The Samaritan woman’s barrier was doubt that true love and friendship could exist. Pilate’s barrier was power and position”. Jesus prunes their hearts and gives them the opportunity to do what is right. They have the option to choose.

And so do we. Each day. In every encounter with each person we encounter. Do we withdraw to hide within a structure of deceit and authority, or do we call for help and pruning? Do we turn away from the Creator, Savior, and Keeper, or do we ask for redemption?

Restore us, O LORD of hosts; let your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

If we spend time with this psalm today, we might find our own prayer for the times when we are persecuted in Christ’s name.

Images from: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/when-harvest-grapes-and-apples-home and https://www.heartlight.org/gallery/5798.html

Adapted from a reflection written on March 13, 2007.

Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 3.13 (2007). Print.

March 29, 2024

allegory, Fr. Richard Veras, God’s help, God’s vineyard, hard hearts, John 15:1-17, persecution, Pontius Pilate, the Samaritan Woman, the vine and branches

John 18:28-38: Glory, Part IX: Handing Ourselves Over

John 18:28-38: Glory, Part IX: Handing Ourselves Over

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

The scene of Pilate moving from inside to outside and back again as he links Jesus and his accusers is an interesting one in which we see two worlds, two understandings, two ways of thinking collide. In the end, Jesus allows himself to be handed over for judgment, punishment and execution . . . and in so doing he demonstrates to his followers how we are to behave when faced with insurmountable odds. We are to obey the voice within, follow the example of Christ, and rest in the peace of the Holy Spirit to become the paradoxical witness to the world we know we are called to be.

Today’s lesson on Glory: When we hope to avoid suffering, we also avoid opportunities for intimacy in Christ.

In an auditorium recently in which young people had gathered to raise funds to help a sister parish in Haiti, teenagers sang and swayed to music glorifying God and his awesome works. I was struck by their innocence and fervor, and I prayed that the crosses they had already born, along with the ones they would be called to bear, would not weigh on them too heavily. And then I remembered that earlier that evening I had seen evidence that perhaps these young people were not so innocent of suffering after all. Tucked quietly in an alcove behind the table where Haitian coffee was being served to guests was a simple hand-painted sign clearly written by a youngster . . . and as I read it, I hoped that this young woman or man understood the enormity of the citation cited from the words of Mother Theresa of Calcutta:

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

This speaks such plain truth. And yet we fear the pain and suffering which leads to this tremendous love in which we might rest for eternity. We too often rush to the arms of denial, quick comfort, or easy silence which gives assent to corruption and wrong doing.

In today’s reflection we see this truth in the gestures and words of Jesus who allows himself to serve as savior and symbol for all peoples of all times and all places.

May we serve as humble replicas of this paradox of Christ’s love. And may we come to know God’s glory through our simple acts of handing ourselves over to God.

Search for information about Theresa of Calcutta and reflect on why and how her presence among India’s poor gave rise to opposing views about her work. Consider how this paradox may or may not be a sign of God’s glory in our time.

Image from: https://www.holyart.com/blog/saints-and-blessed/story-mother-teresa-calcutta/

Adapted from a Favorite written on September 14, 2008.

July 26, 2022

corruption, denial, Haiti, obedience, paradox, Pontius Pilate, Theresa of Calcutta

Matthew 26:1-5: Caiaphas

Monday, March 9, 2020

Matthew 26:1-5: Caiaphas

We find ourselves edging closer to Palm Sunday and Easter, and today we anticipate the Passion readings. Familiar events and names sound in our ears as we listen at church services; well-read verses lose their newness until we pause to spend time with a few key figures. Today we study Caiaphas, the high priest.

Today’s Noontime scripture citation unfolds much more to us if we also visit the Famous Trials site by Douglas O. Linder at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Specifically we will want to examine the material we find about the Key Figures at Jesus’ trial but you may also find time to wander through the site’s many pages of information. They are eye-opening and prayer-expanding. They give us a better foundation on which to stand, a deeper perspective from which to pray. We might just focus on a few details we know about the man Caiaphas. Some of this we already know: high priest, liaison between the Roman authorities and the Jewish people, son-in-law of the high priest Annas, presider over Temple ceremonies, Roman prefect for ten years with Pontius Pilate,

There is more that we will want to know: controller of the Temple treasury, manager of the Temple police, dismissed from service in 36. C.E. by the Syrian governor Vitellius . . . quite likely due to his close work with Pontius Pilate.

As we study, reflect and pray, the person Caiaphas begins to come into sharper focus. This powerful man likely saw himself as the controller of his own universe. We might wonder if he saw any of his actions as placating the power structure or if he believed himself free of petty influence. This we cannot know but what we can discern as we wander through this information is that Caiaphas played an important role in the life, death and resurrection of the Christ. Without Caiaphas it is likely that another high priest would have stepped into place to see Jesus handed over to Roman authorities – the Galilean asked too many questions of too many people – but it is Caiaphas we have with us today. So let us learn more about him, let us imagine what our opinion of him might have been if he were our own high priest, and let us ask God for the wisdom to discern the presence of Caiaphas priests among us today.

For interesting information on Jesus’ trial, go to the following page on the University of Missouri Law School’s famous trials site by Douglas O. Linder: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/jesus.html; and for Key Figures at Jesus’ Trial: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/jesuskeyfigures.html; and for Non-Christian accounts of Jesus’ trial that give us a fresh perspective: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/nonchristianaccounts.html; and visit the Britannica page that is accessed from this site at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ

For more on the Syrian Governor Vitellius, go to: http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/vitellius/lucius.html

For more on the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, go to http://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/stewart.cfm?id=1314

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caiaphas

March 9, 2020

Annas, Jesus’ trial, Pontius Pilate, The Passion, Vitellius

Tag: Pontius Pilate

Psalm 80: Prayer for a Persecuted People

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John 18:28-38: Glory, Part IX: Handing Ourselves Over

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Matthew 26:1-5: Caiaphas

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