We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Reading

Mark 15:1-5 Authorised (King James) Version (AKJV)

And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

Meditation

Jesus’ silence before his accusers has been the cause of wonder and debate for centuries.  Why didn’t he defend himself?  Why didn’t he justify himself before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate?

The answer lies in part in the fact that the Sanhedrin and the Chief Priest’s didn’t have “ears to hear”, nor “eyes to see”.  For Pilate it was a different thing – power had made him lazy and indifferent to the truth.  Famously he asked – “What is truth?” and the question is as weary as his sense of justice.
For those with eyes to see and ears to hear Jesus’ dignity in the face of lies and accusations reveal the power of God to stand with those who are victims in our world.  With those who have no one to speak for them and to whom no one listens, or cares.  Jesus stands alone, with no friends, as one betrayed by those closest to him and whose life depends on the decision of a man to whom great power has been entrusted – but who is weak and lazy; who has lost the compassion and human empathy that make for true justice.

Question

How do I use the authority I may have through my position at work, or at church, or in the community?  Am I a force for good and for truth?

Our Father………..Glory be……………Hail Mary………….

Prayer

Jesus, you know my inmost heart and understand my desires and my fears.  Help me to be an authentic human being and a compassionate Christian.  Amen.

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