Passion Sunday, Year C
✠ The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke Lk22:39-48 (a portion of the passion)
Then, going out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him, an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony, and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.” While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
1. In the past one week, we have followed the intensification of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time. On many occasions, Jesus tried to escape from being killed by them. Today, Jesus has given himself up, and all the plans of the enemies have succeeded. They crucified Jesus. The passion narrative that we just listened to tells the story of the assassination of an innocent man by the powerful people in the society who believe that they have the right over the life of others. This reminds me of the many innocent blood that are shed in this country today, even as we are here now, under the watch of those who accepted the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians. From Plateau to Benue, from Enugu to Imo, from Zamfara to Kaduna, it is the same story of sorrows, sweats, tears, and blood, killing with impunity (The Jos killings of last week -2nd April 2025, are still fresh in my mind). When we listen to the story of Jesus, having at the back of our mind the killings going on in our country, we can learn to fight and die for a cause and not just allow ourselves to be manipulated by those in power. Today’s gospel puts three major actors in the limelight: the manipulators, the manipulated, and Jesus.
2. The manipulators and the manipulated: the story of Jesus developed progressively in the gospel. He was born a nobody in an animal pen. He grew up as a son of a carpenter and blossomed as messenger of God. His humble beginning and his later renown made him a threat to the powerful people who shaped the opinion of the common people. These were the Priests, the Scribes, and the Pharisees. These made up their mind to destroy Jesus in order to remain the unquestionable leaders of the masses. But they would not like to come out openly as killers since they were supposed to appear holy. They needed some useful idiots to do the job.
3. The first idiot was called Judas Iscariot. Knowing his love for money, they cornered him with an offer in exchange for which he will lead them to capture Jesus. They used and dumped him. The second idiot was Pontius Pilate. They knew that they could not kill Jesus without facing the charge of murder, so they looked for a man who had the right to condemn without being guilty. They caught in on his desire to remain in Caesar’s friendship. Through him Jesus was condemned to death without any conséquence for them. They used Pilate’s soldiers to carry out the dastard deed while they kept aloof. The poor Pilate is still talked of today as an unjust coward. The third useful set of idiots was the people. The manipulators knew that if the people were not carried along, they may revolt against them. They fixed the project at a time of Passover when people willingly listened to religious leaders and caught in on the people’s desire for political freedom. They made the people ask for the liberation of a political insurrectionist, Barabbas, and to request for the crucifixion of Jesus who had nothing to offer them politically. All these people were used in a game of power for the profit of the elites without their being conscious of the game.
4. Finally, we have the arrowhead of the passion, Jesus himself. A careful reading of the passion reveals that Jesus, knowing that the appointed time has arrived, remained good and confident to the end. To the disciples who were sleeping, instead of praying with him, he offered encouraging words, saying,’ Pray that you do not fall into temptation.’ To Judas, he uttered no harsh word. To those who came to arrest him, he offered no resistance. To the insults of the religious leaders, he remained respectful. Before Pilate and Herod, he exhibited the demeanour of a royalty, not condescending or panicky. To the criminal who reviled him, he kept silent. To the good thief, he promised paradise. And for his executioners, he prayed to God to grant them pardon. From the attitude of Jesus during his passion, we see that he was ready for the appointed time. All through his life, he had known that the day would come and had prepared himself for it. He remained focused and tried not to die before his time.
5. Today, many of us are dying before our time. We are dying before the Passover and before arriving at Golgotha, the only place to have a life-giving death. We have allowed ourselves to be manipulated in many ways. The manipulators all have one thing in common: they capitalize on our need to further their own interests. Such needs like position of influence, marriage, job, money etc are areas where they easily catch in. Judas, Pilate, and the commoners in today’s gospel fell victim to manipulation. You must resist such moves. Jesus left us a model to imitate. He remained firm to the end. We can count on his victory for all our battles. We are often too afraid to stand firm like Jesus because we are not ready to die, and yet we must die one day. The Prophet Isaiah prophesied that God will wipe away all our tears and heal all our wounds (Is 25). But if one has no tears and no wounds, the person must be ready to give an answer when God will ask: My child, did you not find a cause worthy of your fight for during your lifetime? Jesus died fighting a cause. What cause are you fighting?
©️Vitalis Anaehobi, 13/04/25
