[This message was delivered on 3/29, Good Friday, at Community of the Savior, Rochester NY. It can be viewed on their facebook page. It is based on Matthew 27:25-27.]
The sun has risen over the Holy City. It is Friday morning in Jerusalem. Yesterday was a full day for Jesus and his friends. Passover kept. Bread broken, cup poured. New meal established. Feet washed. New commandment to love delivered. Betrayal kiss given. Thrice denial done. Jesus fervently prayed in a garden and his prayer was answered: there is no plan B. Friday will happen according to a higher plan.
Now it’s morning of the fateful day. Jesus spoke of this day several times. Mark records it three times, in chapters 8, 9, and 10, as if to make it indelible and unforgettable. But we so quickly forget that which we don’t want to remember. Suffering, betrayal, death. That’s not a winning slogan.
The religious leaders have already conspired to take out Jesus, to be rid of him once and for all. That means he must next stand before the Roman appointed governor, Pilate. The one whose name we say just about every Sunday in our creeds: “Born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Other than Jesus, the only two human beings named in the Apostles Creed are Mary and Pilate. What a curiosity and what a contrast. The courageous young Jewish woman who willingly courts shame and misunderstanding to carry and birth the savior and the wily, shrewd politician who just happens to be the current governor of Judea on appointment from headquarters in Roman. The best kind of woman and the worst kind of politician.
Now Jesus stands before the governor, one Pontius Pilate. Pilate, too, wants a plan B, a way to avoid sending Jesus to a Roman cross. But courage is not his strong suit; he has no moral compass. He is adept at reading which way the wind is blowing. Then Matthew records this: “So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; you be the jury.’ Then the people as one answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus beaten to a pulp, he handed him over to be crucified.” (Matt. 27:25-27; my translation.)
Oil, grease, grass stains, enamel paint: some things just don’t wash out with water. Lady Macbeth knew that; she could not wash her hands of bloodguilt. A few years ago, the Covid pandemic taught us to wash our hands again, 15 seconds minimum. Pilate is trying to wash his guilt away with water. It doesn’t work.
Water has wonderful powers to refresh and to cleanse. Without it life is impossible. Nations are sending probes to the moon and Mars to determine if traces of water can be positively identified. Over two thirds of our planet is covered with water. Water has the power to carve out the canyon in Letchworth State Park. Frozen water long ago carved out the finger lakes and made our landscape so beautiful. Just about my favorite place to be is in my little sailboat gliding over an Adirondack lake. Water quenches our thirst and cleans our bodily systems. Jesus was baptized in water, as are we. Jesus gave a Samaritan woman living water and her life was changed. Jesus turned ordinary water into extraordinary wine and a wedding party was redeemed. But there are some things water cannot wash.
Just last night Jesus washed our feet with water made holy by his touch. Perhaps the most provocative TV ad during the super bowl two months ago was a quick series of still shots of people washing the feet of other people. One of the “He Gets Us,” series, it has drawn criticism from conservatives and liberals, which probably means it is speaking some truth. Maybe uncomfortable truth. With Peter, we are not so sure we want someone else to wash our dirty feet.
Pilate is furiously washing his hands, but water cannot wash away his guilty compliance. We side with Pilate when we silently consign Jesus to a bloody cross by thinking first of our own self-interest. We side with Pilate when we see evil and do nothing. We side with Pilate when we see need and look away. We side with Pilate when we see the person who is other and different and turn inward. We side with Pilate when we see hate and cower in fear. We side with Pilate when we see injustice and are silent. When we side with Pilate, we are sending Jesus to that bloody cross. What Pilate couldn’t understand is that only the blood of Jesus could wash away his guilt.
Pilate tried in vain to wash away his own guilt. Have you ever done that? I have. It never works. “Lord Jesus, wash us, feet and hands and all, and we shall be clean, forgiven, saved, and redeemed by the blood of the cross. Amen.”
Sailing toward Wisdom 