In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus is charged as a criminal and brought before Pilate. An additional man charged as a criminal and also held by Pilate is Barabbas, an insurrectionist. Why does Pilate, who manages Rome’s local police state, eventually release the criminal Barabbas and torture and murder Jesus instead? Is it possible that criminals such as Barabbas are not really a threat to the police state? Are they instead an essential element within it? As long as there is the slightest possibility of crime done by any Barabbas within the state, it justifies the worse crime inflicted by the Pilates who operate that state.
It is possible to solve the problem of crime done by the Barabbases of the world. Research shows that individual crime, usually committed by men, is best solved by nurturing conscience, by providing nutrient rich food, and by establishing and supporting healthy environments; e.g. homes, neighborhoods, schools. These are especially important for children but also help adult offenders live a new life too. It is additionally necessary to establish and support mental health facilities and programs. Criminality however cannot be reduced to random acts by individuals who are deprived or depraved. Criminality is also systemic, perpetrated by the Pilates of the world. Rulers themselves are criminals. Great harm is done by a person who uses a weapon to rob another of food or resources. Greater harm is done by wealthy politicians and capitalists who use greater weapons to rob all people of such things. Politicians rob the people of billions and use them to manufacture physical weapons that make them lots of loot but rob people, children especially, of food and resources. From their refined and well-dressed façade, Pilates also loot the people by using the people’s billions to subsidize GMO based corporate agriculture and fast food giants. They promote the use of toxins on crops and facilitate the destruction of family and small farming. They cut food stamps, school funding, and unemployment benefits. They do this at the same time they support the outsourcing of needed resources such as banks, credit unions, and jobs to areas more producing financial gain for them. Pilates are those who devise the abusive environment from which criminals are more likely to arise. Whatever the weapons they use – crosses, foreclosures, austerity programs, a prison industrial complex – it is the Pilates of the world who operate a criminal system. As they ordered the ordered the torture and murder of the body of Christ 2,000 years ago, so they order the torture and murder of the Body of Christ today.
The Pilates of the world will necessarily judge the Jesuses of the world as criminals. Healers like Jesus have come to change their entire system. Therefore, in addition to naming Pilate’s M.O. as criminal, another step in solving the problem of Pilates is to live and work outside their system co-creating a new one. If we need to live and work within their system let us do what we can to be charged as criminals, like Jesus.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help us be honest about our world and ourselves.
Question: Am I someone who promotes a refined and well-dressed criminal class or am I challenging it?
March 29, 2015 Gospel Mk 11:1-10 & Mk 14:1—15:47 Palm Sunday & Passion