For months now we have observed the unremitting bombing and killing in Gaza. Do the people who are responsible for the death of thousands of innocent children and helpless adults really think all this will ‘do them some good’? Do the overwhelmingly powerful perpetrators of this killing and destruction not realise – what must surely be obvious – that they are condemning themselves to living perpetually in a prison with armed guards everywhere. I was in Israel in 1972 and even then, there were signs of security everywhere. That was more than fifty years ago and I believe the situation has steadily got worse. People like to go to Israel to study Scripture but they have to take care wherever they go. What is this policy doing? Is it doing anyone any good?
It is baffling when we think these are the very people who inherited the covenants, the ancient scriptures especially the psalms:
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
Slow to anger, abiding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. (Ps 145:8)
Compassion! Where has it gone to in our world? The inheritors of these words seem full of revenge and hate. Will it do them any good? What are they achieving?
As we approach Holy Week, we approach a mirror in which we see ourselves. We look into that mirror and see the bitterness, pain and suffering we, human beings, inflict on one another. We see the hardness of heart of the High Priest and the elders representing the Jewish people; the incomprehension, indifference and unwillingness to seek understanding of Pilate representing the gentiles. Jesus can make no headway with any of these people. All they can say is, ‘Away with him! Crucify him!’ And Pilate washes his hands, turning away from the choice he could have made to bring justice. So Jesus goes on his way, carrying his cross. His ultimate and definitive offering of himself mysteriously breaks open a way to a new world. His death is not the end. It is more like a beginning. But a beginning we have to welcome with head and heart.
17 March 2024 Lent Sunday 5B Jer 31:31-4 Heb 5:7-9 John 12:20-23
Post published in: Faith
Your reflection raises profound questions about human nature, conflict, and suffering. You wisely evoke your father’s words on the futility of acts against the common good. The destructive actions and violence perpetrated in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of innocents, seem to go against the values of compassion promoted by the Scriptures.
You make a judicious connection to Holy Week, the period that commemorates Christ’s suffering and sacrifice. As you point out, despite his message of love, Jesus faced incomprehension, indifference, and hardness of heart from the authorities of the time. His crucifixion reflects human beings’ capacity to inflict suffering on one another.
However, Christ’s resurrection brings a message of hope and rebirth. Your parallel with the mirror of Holy Week invites us to question ourselves and seek to break the cycles of violence and bitterness through compassion and mutual understanding.
In summary, your poignant reflection raises universal truths about the human condition, while drawing from spiritual wisdom to call for a change in perspective and a path toward peace and reconciliation. A message particularly relevant in these troubled times.