Good Friday Homily 2007

Abbot Paul Stonham

Christ before Pilate, Duccio, Siena

"Truth? What is that?" To whom was that question addressed? By this stage in the proceedings, was Pilate speaking to Jesus or just to himself? He was certainly confused and obviously scared. It was a dangerous situation. In fact, it was no longer Jesus who was on trial but Pilate. All who come face to face with Jesus are inevitably faced with a decision. They must decide if they are for him or against him, if they accept him as King and Son of God, as Lord and Saviour, or not. "I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth, and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice."

Now Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, that he did not deserve to be put to death. What had he done to merit death by crucifixion? Think how many times Pilate says, "I find no case against him." He had hoped that a scourging would do the trick, that it would satisfy the chief priests' thirst for blood. His fears increase when he hears them say, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he has claimed to be Son of God."

Pilate was anxious to set Jesus free, yet the mention of Caesar, "We have no king but Caesar", clinches the deal, and what a deal. Both Pilate and the chief priests are forced to betray their own beliefs, their own version of the truth. The chief priests, the highest representatives of the Jewish people, openly abandon their faith in the Messiah who is to come, their own truth, the truth preached by the prophets, when they say, "We have no king but Caesar." - No king but Caesar! But then Pilate does the same. He insists that the inscription on the cross, in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, in triplicate, you could say, should read "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". "What I have written, I have written", he declares, and thereby abandons his own truth, the truth of the Roman Empire, his belief in the Caesar as emperor and god.

Ironically, unwittingly, it is Pilate who writes the first Christian Gospel in that short inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews", which proclaims the truth that Jesus of Nazareth is Son of God and King of Israel, the Lord and Saviour of every nation. It's interesting to note that Pontius Pilate is the only figure apart from Our Lady to be mentioned in the Creed.

In his Passion, his lifting up, Christ is glorified and in turn glorifies the Father. From the throne of the Cross, Jesus draws all people to himself and fulfils his own words, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

This afternoon, as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, let us be strengthened in our faith and in our knowledge of the truth. Like the mother of Jesus and the beloved disciple, who together form the nucleus, the first cell of the community of believers, Christ's Church, and like Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, we too are now witnesses to the truth. As witnesses to the truth, we know we speak the truth for the truth is Jesus Christ himself. So let us not be afraid in proclaiming our faith by adoring the Cross and our Saviour who hangs upon it. But remember that to speak the truth in love and to worship in spirit and in truth obliges us always to speak and to pray with that courage and eloquence that derive from doing God's will and living by his grace alone.

Only then can we truly say, "We worship thee, Christ, and we bless thee, because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world."