St Luke 23: 1 – 12
Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.
Reflection
When was the last time you tried to “pass the buck”? Attempting to shirk responsibility in a difficult situation is sadly a very natural human trait for so many of us, as Pilate demonstrates in today’s Bible passage. Why bother becoming embroiled in deciding Jesus’s fate when he can simply try to pass the buck to Herod Antipas instead?
Yet it’s not only politicians and officials such as Pilate who try to pass the buck. Many of us do it in our daily lives too – walking past homeless people, rushing away from volunteers collecting money for charities, ignoring text messages from friends who clearly need to chat. It’s not my responsibility, someone else will deal with it.
Those two worlds of politics and everyday life collide in many of the situations facing our communities. We ignore the pleas for help from local food banks as inflation soars and benefits are cut. We throw items in the bin out of laziness instead of recycling them. We don’t bother to vote in elections, muttering that it “won’t make a difference”.
Instead, we need to stop shrugging our shoulders. While few of us will ever sit at Westminster or Holyrood, Senedd or Tynwald or States, all of us as voters share in the decision-making responsibilities of those whom we elect. We can write emails and letters to press our politicians for action, leaning on the help of the Joint Public Issues Team (https://jpit.org.uk/) or charities such as Christian Aid (https://www.christianaid.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns).
Once we see God’s face reflected in the people around us, we realise that we can’t shirk our responsibilities, we can’t shrug our shoulders, we can’t pass the buck. Matthew 25: 40 reminds us: “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’”
Prayer
Merciful God,
Please forgive me for those moments
when I’ve shirked my responsibilities.
Guiding God,
Please help me to recognise
those moments when I can make a difference.
Energising God,
Please help me to take responsibility,
to write that letter or email, to use my vote or voice,
whether I spend my days in a college or university,
a factory or office, a care home or at home.
In the name of Christ,
Amen.
