Second Passion Sunday
Matthew 26. 36-75; 27. 1-60
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The events of our Lord's trial and passion have aroused the anger, pity
and tears of faithful Christians throughout two millennia. How should we
react to the trial and punishment, followed by the crucifixion of the Son
of God as a criminal? Should we seek to blame particular people of
his time and place?
The religious authorities in Jerusalem were not unanimous about what
stance to take toward Jesus. (Cf. Jn 9:16; Jn 10:19) The Pharisees threatened
to excommunicate his followers. (Cf. Jn 9:22) To those who feared that
'everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both
our holy place and our nation,' the high priest Caiaphas replied by prophesying:
'It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that
the whole nation should not perish.' (Jn 11:48-50) The Sanhedrin, having
declared Jesus deserving of death as a blasphemer but having lost the right
to put anyone to death, hands him over to the Romans, accusing him of political
revolt, a charge that puts him in the same category as Barabbas who had
been accused of sedition. (Cf. Mt 26:66; Jn 18:31; Lk 23:2, 19) The high
priests also threatened Pilate politically so that he would condemn Jesus
to death. (Cf. Jn 19:12, 15, 21)" (CCC 596)
Are the Jews collectively responsible for Jesus' death?
The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel
accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate)
is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial
on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated
crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion
after Pentecost. (Cf. Mk 15:11; Acts 2:23, 36; 3:13-14; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52;
10:39; 13:27-28; 1 Thess 2:14-15) Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the
cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept 'the ignorance' of the
Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders. (Cf. Lk 23:34; Acts 3:17)
Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times
and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: 'His blood be on us and on
our children!' a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. (Mt 27:25;
cf. Acts 5:28; 18:6) As the Church declared at the Second Vatican
Council:
...[N]either all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today,
can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion....[T]he Jews
should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from
holy Scripture. (Nostrae Aetate 4) (CCC 597)
All of us have sinned and must look to Christ on the cross and see in
his death the ransom and cure first for our own sins. We cannot help but
each wonder: "Would I have remained at the foot of the Cross and braved
all to be faithful as did Mary? Would I have been instead with Peter, furious
in my denials against him, concerned with the preservation of my body over
the eternal fate of my soul?
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we
"meet Christ in the liturgy"
---Father Cusick
