(Third Sunday of Lent (C): This homily was given on March 20, 2022 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 103:1-11; 1 Cor 6:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9.)
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Third Sunday of Lent 2022]
They’re two of a kind.
As far as I’m concerned, they both belong in the same category of people.
The first person in this less-than-stellar duo is Pontius
Pilate. We heard about him in our gospel
reading today from Luke 13. There Jesus
speaks about a horrid event that had recently taken place. Apparently Pilate
had some Galileans murdered, and then mixed their blood with the blood of the
animals they were offering in sacrifice.
Now, as grotesque as that may sound, it was actually rather typical of
Pilate’s behavior as procurator.
Josephus, the Jewish historian of the time, tells us that Pilate also
had some Samaritans murdered on Mt. Gerazim when they were engaged in a
religious service. On another occasion, he
killed a number of Jews who voiced their disapproval when he stole money from
the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem.
Although the gospel writers
“soften” their portrayal of him on Good Friday, it’s clear from the historical
record that Pontius Pilate was a man consumed with power. He greatly enjoyed flaunting his authority in
the face of others. He even did it with
our Lord during the Passion, when he said to him, “Don’t you know that I have the power to release you and the power to
crucify you?”
It’s also clear from Scripture that
Pilate was a skeptic. When Jesus said to
him, “For this I was born and for this I
came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth hears my voice,” the procurator
immediately responded, “Truth, what is
that?”
Pilate was also a moral
weakling. For lack of a better term, he
was a spineless wimp! He knew Jesus was
innocent, but he didn’t have the guts to acquit him and let him go. And so he ended up becoming the poster-boy
for all those men and women throughout history who have said “I am personally
opposed, but . . .” In the Gospel of Matthew we read, “Pilate called for water and washed his hands in front of the crowd,
declaring, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just man. The responsibility is yours.” Let me now modify that line for you ever so
slightly: “Pilate called for water and
washed his hands in front of the crowd, declaring, ‘I am personally opposed to
the death of Jesus of Nazareth, but . . . he will be crucified anyway.’”
I said at the beginning that they’re “two of a kind.” So who’s number two? Who’s the second half of this dastardly
duo? Well, that should be very easy to
figure out. It’s the man who’s dominated
the news in recent weeks, whose name has come to be directly associated with
aggression, evil, death and destruction: Mr. Vladimir Putin. It turns out that he and Pilate have a lot in
common. Both have approved of the
killing of innocent people; both have been consumed with power; both have enjoyed
flaunting their authority—and both have denied responsibility for the evil
they’ve done. Pilate washed his hands to
symbolize the belief that he was in no way responsible for the death of Jesus;
Putin has blamed everyone—NATO, the United States, even the people of Ukraine
themselves—for the atrocities that are occurring there under his direction and
with his approval.
Anyone who says it’s okay to bomb
a children’s hospital should not be in a place of leadership in the free world. In fact, he shouldn’t be in a place of
leadership anywhere.
Neither, of course, should civil
leaders who support the “bombing” of children who are still in the womb. That also needs to be noted within the
context of this homily. Actually the only
difference between these civil leaders and Vladimir Putin is that he supports
the killing of children out in the open where everyone can see what’s
happening. Pro-choice politicians in our
country (and in other countries) who support abortion, and who work very hard
to keep it legal, prefer that the dirty deeds they condone stay hidden behind
the walls of a Planned Parenthood clinic (or some similar place), where no one
can see what’s going on.
At least Putin is a bit more open and honest regarding the
evil he supports.
So I guess there are actually three of a kind, not two of a
kind. There’s Pilate, there’s Putin, and
there’s your local (or national) pro-choice politician.
Now, I don’t play poker like Fr. Najim does. But I know enough about poker to know that
three of a kind is always better than two of a kind. However in this case, that law does not
apply. When it comes to those who
support the destruction of innocent human life, three of a kind is a lot
worse than two of a kind. Always.
Let me close now on a more positive note.
We’re not sure exactly what happened to Pontius Pilate
towards the end of his life. There isn’t
a lot of reliable historical information out there about his later years. But there are some ancient sources which
maintain that he eventually (believe it or not) became a Christian. I hope—and I sincerely pray—that those
sources are correct.
The bottom line is this: We don’t know if it actually did
happen. We don’t know for a fact that Pilate eventually had a conversion and
became a disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of the Church. But that’s not where our focus should be
today. Our focus today should be on the
fact that it COULD HAVE HAPPENED! Our
focus today should be on the fact that no one—not even Pontius Pilate—not even
Vladimir Putin—not even your typical pro-choice politician—is beyond the
merciful touch of Jesus Christ.
Almighty God will forgive them for everything, as he will
forgive all of us—but ONLY if they (and we) repent! Jesus makes that clear in this gospel. After speaking about the Galileans that
Pilate had murdered, Jesus says, “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you
will all perish as they did!”
He’s talking there, obviously, about spiritual death,
not physical death. But if it’s true
that a lack of repentance leads to the eternal death of the soul, then the
opposite must also be true—which means that repentance—genuine, deep, heartfelt
repentance—is the clear and certain path we need to follow to attain eternal
life!
It’s my prayer today that Pontius Pilate found that path
2,000 years ago, and that he stayed on it for the rest of his time on this earth.
And I pray that Vladimir Putin, and
every pro-choice politician—and each and every one of us—will do the same
thing.
