builds up great storehouses for his increasing grain crop a fool, and he describes the one who trusts in God as rich. Status and power? Jesus proclaims that wants to become great “whoever among you must be as the Son of Man did not come to be served, your servant…just but to his last meal with the disciples, he will take up a towel and wash their serve.” At feet. When Jesus marches into Jerusalem, he does not come in on a majestic horse flanked by soldiers in arms. Instead, he comes in on a donkey, flanked by men, women, and children armed only with palm branches. And yet, when you listen to this encounter between Pilate and Jesus, it doesn’t feel like Jesus is in charge? Throughout the events of this last week, he never comes across as a helpless victim. He never cowers or flinches before the authorities. Instead, he throws Pilate off guard so that Pilate is the one who suggests that Jesus may be the King of the Jews. Jesus try to defend himself. Instead, he is largely doesn’t silent, much like the prophet described in Isaiah 53, which John read earlier today. silence leaves Pilate nothing short of Matthew tells us. Jesus’ “amazed,” What do we learn from this encounter between Jesus and Pilate? At least this: that we always have more power than we realize or may want to acknowledge. We may not have the power of Jesus or even a powerful Roman governor. But that does – not mean that we have no power at all. We have the power of choice and action. We can remain passive and claim to be powerless in the face of injustice or cruelty or cheating whether at work, at school, or in our nation. Or we can act and – work for change in whatever way is open to us. To be sure, those with great wealth and
builds up great storehouses for his increasing grain crop a fool, and he describes the one who trusts in God as rich. Status and power? Jesus proclaims that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” At his last meal with the disciples, he will take up a towel and wash their feet. When Jesus marches into Jerusalem, he does not come in on a majestic horse flanked by soldiers in arms. Instead, he comes in on a donkey, flanked by men, women, and children armed only with palm branches. And yet, when you listen to this encounter between Pilate and Jesus, doesn’t it feel like Jesus is in charge? Throughout the events of this last week, he never comes across as a helpless victim. He never cowers or flinches before the authorities. Instead, he throws Pilate off guard so that Pilate is the one who suggests that Jesus may be the King of the Jews. Jesus doesn’t try to defend himself. Instead, he is largely silent, much like the prophet described in Isaiah 53, which John read earlier today. Jesus’ silence leaves Pilate nothing short of “amazed,” Matthew tells us. What do we learn from this encounter between Jesus and Pilate? At least this: that we always have more power than we realize or may want to acknowledge. We may not have the power of Jesus – or even a powerful Roman governor. But that does not mean that we have no power at all. We have the power of choice and action. We can remain passive and claim to be powerless in the face of injustice or cruelty or cheating – whether at work, at school, or in our nation. Or we can act and work for change in whatever way is open to us. To be sure, those with great wealth and