It seems to me that most of us are so used to the Gospel on Palm Sunday and Good Friday that we fail to imagine the actual horror of what took place. The people who wanted to get rid of Jesus told lies about him to create a case against him. Jesus was betrayed by one of his friends. He was bitterly mocked, he was brutally tortured and, finally, put to death in an incredibly violent manner. It was bloody, it was ugly, It was excruciating. It was a gruesome way to die.
If you had been there that day, over 2000 years ago, what role would you have played?
Crucifixion was, unfortunately, an all-too-common way to die. According to my brief Internet research, somewhere between 100,000 and two million people were executed this way during the Roman occupation. It was “just part of the system,” a method of intimidation and control.
I am going to leap forward to 2025 and ask, “Where is Jesus being crucified today?”
In Matthew 25, Jesus identified himself with the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, those in prison. Today, Jesus is being crucified, for example, in Gaza, in the Ukraine, in the LGBTQ community, on death row, in unhoused people whose encampments are being dismantled, and in the immigrants who are being deported because of lack of proper papers. Jesus is being crucified whenever we are cruel to one another, when we betray one another, when we bully one another, when we hurt one another. Jesus is being crucified when we post comments on social media that are intended to belittle others. Jesus is being crucified whenever we are unjust to one another. Jesus is being crucified when we fail to stand up against injustice. What role are we playing?
Jesus told us to love one another. It is the only commandment he gave us. Jesus didn’t call us to like one another. We are not called to agree with one another. Only to love. If we really love one another, we will be able to look beyond differences and imperfections in others and see and treat them as beloved children of God.
This is the bedrock of social justice. Social justice seeks only to ensure that each of God’s children has access to the necessities of life and the means to thrive and to live out the mission God has given them. If we love, then we will do our best to make that happen. We will work to create structures in our world to ensure that everyone has what they need. We will trust that our generous God has given us enough.
We ARE there when Jesus is being crucified today. The question is what is our role? Are we simply watching, are we helping carry the cross or are we driving in the nails?
And a disclaimer, if we are helping to carry the cross, we risk being the next to be crucified.
Jeanette Arnquist is a former Director of the Department of Life, Dignity & Justice for the Diocese of San Bernardino. She is retired and living in Tucson, Arizona where she remains active in social concerns ministries.