They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 18:40
One of my earliest memories of church was going with my mother to hear the Passion Gospel read on Palm Sunday. I loved that the people got to deliver some lines, though it still rankles with me that only the priest ever got to play Jesus. Anyway, though I remember my six-year-old self shouting “Barabbas” with particular enthusiasm, I could never get why the crowd wanted to free Barabbas and not Jesus.
Now, years later, I think I understand. It’s for the best. It’s much safer if Jesus is imprisoned.
If Jesus is imprisoned, we can carry on making the accommodations that let Barabbas go. If Jesus is imprisoned, we don’t have to take up our cross, and follow. If Jesus is imprisoned, we don’t have to answer his call, which might cost us no less than everything. Best to stay hidden in the crowd and acknowledge Caesar as our king.
And yet, of course, this most powerful of seasons, this gift, returns to us each year. It shows us that there is another way.
This Holy Week, may we grasp the hands pierced by nails; may we tread with him the way of the cross; may he bring us, at the last, to the place of resurrection, and set us free.
Chris Braganza
