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Occasional Impressions Prayer Collections
Stations of the Cross
5.
Jesus judged by Pilate
Pilate’s Judgement
This is the worst part of my job - sending someone to execution
I knew that’s what they were after as soon as they brought him here
I’d heard of him, of course
Rumours of miracles and healings, probably exaggerated in the telling
Water into wine, feeding thousands, raising from the dead
These prophets or whatever are always turning up
So what’s so different about this one?
He didn’t look at all threatening - quite the opposite
Yet he’d got them so rattled they had to seize him by night
Try him in a hurry
If you can call it a trial with witnesses contradicting each other
I was interested to talk to him, but didn’t get much out of him
Gather Herod had the same problem
So what was I to do with him?
Obviously the Jewish leaders felt he was a threat to their authority
I can sympathise with that feeling, which is why I couldn’t just overule
them
I did try my best
My wife had put her oar in, claiming to have had a dream about him
But how would that sound to my superiors? Quick route to demotion
I had a better idea, use the tradition of pardoning an offender
What could they do about that?
Well they’d got that covered with the crowd geared up to ask for
Barabbas
I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley
But I had no choice
Knowing that I wasn’t upholding justice,
but anxious not to provoke the crowds
I made a symbolic gesture and washed my hands of the matter
It hasn’t made me feel better - I’m angry at being put in this position
But what can I do?
I’ve got my own back; put the inscription ‘King of the Jews’ on the cross.
They don’t like it, but tough!
Jill Holland
6.
Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns
The Scourging and the Crown of Thorns
It’s often quite boring being a guard so
Sometimes we try to liven things up a bit
Take this Jesus fellow
Apparently he’s got up the noses of the Pharisees, making claims of
authority
They don’t like that. They’re the big cheeses round here.
Anyone less like a king or Messiah it would be difficult to imagine
Still it gave us the idea for some entertainment
He’d had the usual beating and hadn’t made much fuss
It’s more fun when they scream and beg for mercy
Not him though
Someone found a purple cloak - a nice royal colour
We put it on him and bowed down before him
We were taking the mickey, but he didn’t seem to notice
So we took matters a bit further.
One of us suggested he needed a crown and some kind of sceptre
Some thorny twigs were twisted together and a piece of reed put in his
hand
He didn’t resist
The makeshift crown drew blood from his forehead
We cried ‘Hail King of the Jews’ but got no response
Maybe he was past it by then
Anyway it didn’t seem that funny any more
When I think about it now, it was barbaric - what we did
It seemed OK at the time with my fellow guards egging each other on
He endured in silence
Quiet dignity is the phrase that comes to mind
Maybe he was someone a bit special, he was certainly different
Not your run of the mill criminal
I’m not proud of taking part
I hope he forgives me
Jill Holland
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