24 Hours That Changed the World: "Wishing to Satisfy the Crowd"
Growing up at FirstChurch, we used to take an annual trip during Lent to a retreat center where we reenacted the passion story. We were all assigned a role to play in the story, from the crowd to the Sanhedrin to Pilate. There were no real scripts, but we met and discussed Jesus' "violations" and proclaimed why he was so dangerous. Each year, the crowd called for Jesus' head. The anger and outrage felt real. It became real. It was the epitome of being caught up in a mob scene. The air was thick with the fear of Jesus and the fear of uprising. And so, after hours of debate "Pilot" would give in, release Barabbas and call for Jesus' execution – to the crowd's delight. To our delight. We all played a role in calling for His death.
That same delight, that feeling of superiority, quickly faded as we sat watching the reenactment of Jesus on the cross. I remember watching as he called out to his father and "drew his final breath". I remember the tears streaming down my face as I remembered the very real role I'd just played in Jesus’ death, in my denial of the messiah and my need to satisfy the crowd. I, Pilate, had refused to listen to my gut and had acted to satisfy the crowd.
It's not always life and death matters. Sometimes it's an insensitive joke or a looking the other way. We all do it. We wish to satisfy the crowd and so we do – we take the action or inaction to be popular.
What if this Lent, this week, for just today, we listen more to our gut, to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, and we choose what's right, not popular? Could we then get to a day when the popular choice is also the right one?
