Stand up, Speak up

"When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,
but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood.
Look to it yourselves."

... then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified." 

Mt 27: 18-26

When I was reading today’s scripture, I kept going back to these verses.  After Pilate admits that Jesus is innocent, the crowds “shouted the louder,” likely knowing they could persuade the governor due to his precarious position with Caesar.  Then, a riot breaks out.  Perhaps in a flash, Pilate imagines that the crowds will alert Caesar if he doesn’t concede to their demands.  What can Pilate do in this moment to appease the crowd while also trying to assuage his conscience?  He attempts to literally and figuratively wash his hands of the guilt, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood.  Look to it yourselves."  What a cowardly act.  As governor, he should uphold justice, yet he places his position, or the threat of losing it, over what is right and just.  He ignores his conscience, what my parents always called “that still small voice,” and condemns a sinless man to die.  

These were my first reflections, then I realized that Pilate could have lost his life.  Does that change anything?  I don’t think so.  I was talking about this with a colleague, and she mentioned this idea came up in a book she was just reading.  In the book, one character said to another:  “I knew the way he was treating you was wrong, and so I tried to minimize your interactions with him, but I never did anything to actually stand up to him.” 

Pilate does not stand up for Jesus, whom he knows is innocent; rather, he gives in to the mob as they cry, “His blood be upon us and our children.”  

How many times have I stood idly by when I knew my friend, colleague, or even a stranger was wronged?  Is our good standing with those in power more important than acting on what we know to be right and just?  May we learn from today’s scripture reading to not only stand up, but speak up, when facing the pressure of a shouting mob; otherwise, we will be caught in a relentless, though futile attempt to “wash our hands clean” of our inaction.  As James 4:17 reminds us, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Author: Mary Beth Farrell, English Department