Luke 23 13-16
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him."
In the 2nd Sorrowful mystery we pray to bear our earthly pain and suffering with Christian fortitude.
One the thing that struck me while contemplating this mystery is the question, how often to I act like Pilate. What I mean by that is that Pilate knew that our Lord was innocent. He knew that jealousy drove the chief priest and elders to bring Christ before him with the outrageous charges they were making. But, he feared their disapproval of him more than he feared accusing and punishing an innocent person.
While contemplating this mystery, I must recognize the times in my life where I have acted likewise. How often do I let others around me be treated unjustly because I fear the disapproval of the one(s) treating that person wrong.
As an example, in childhood I may have been a Pilate while another kid was being bullied. I went along with it and even encouraged it because I feared the bully tuning his attention to me. More so as an adult, have I ever stood by while a problem or situation was unfairly blamed on a co-worker. Do I ever sit by and watch and even encourage and participate in gossip and backbiting about the faults of someone else because I fear that my own faults will be exposed?
A lesson I have learned from this mystery is that, even though Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and that the only thing the Jewish leaders had against him really was their own jealousy and their own wounded pride, he had our Lord scourged because he feared what they would do if he didn't go along with the injustice. So, I must be careful not to make decisions, especially ones that may result in an injustice done to another, out of the fear that my own faults may be exposed or people that I want to like me may turn against me.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, "You brought this man to me and accused him of inciting the people to revolt. I have conducted my investigation in your presence and have not found this man guilty of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us. So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him."
In the 2nd Sorrowful mystery we pray to bear our earthly pain and suffering with Christian fortitude.
One the thing that struck me while contemplating this mystery is the question, how often to I act like Pilate. What I mean by that is that Pilate knew that our Lord was innocent. He knew that jealousy drove the chief priest and elders to bring Christ before him with the outrageous charges they were making. But, he feared their disapproval of him more than he feared accusing and punishing an innocent person.
While contemplating this mystery, I must recognize the times in my life where I have acted likewise. How often do I let others around me be treated unjustly because I fear the disapproval of the one(s) treating that person wrong.
As an example, in childhood I may have been a Pilate while another kid was being bullied. I went along with it and even encouraged it because I feared the bully tuning his attention to me. More so as an adult, have I ever stood by while a problem or situation was unfairly blamed on a co-worker. Do I ever sit by and watch and even encourage and participate in gossip and backbiting about the faults of someone else because I fear that my own faults will be exposed?
A lesson I have learned from this mystery is that, even though Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent and that the only thing the Jewish leaders had against him really was their own jealousy and their own wounded pride, he had our Lord scourged because he feared what they would do if he didn't go along with the injustice. So, I must be careful not to make decisions, especially ones that may result in an injustice done to another, out of the fear that my own faults may be exposed or people that I want to like me may turn against me.
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