Good Friday

When The Passion of the Christ came out, people debated whether it was anti-Semitic. Claiming that the Jews killed Jesus has been the foundation of many anti-Semitic arguments.

But every time I read the Gospel accounts of the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus, I'm struck by the culpability of nearly everyone in the story. Jesus' own apostles betray him, most notably Judas, who turns him over to the authorities in exchange for money. Peter denies even knowing Jesus. The apostles abandon Jesus by falling asleep the night before his crucifixion, and they run away once he is captured. Pontius Pilate convicts Jesus. He tries to find a way out by offering to free him, but the crowd cries, "Crucify him!"

As someone attempting to be a Christian, I see this as a story about how we all fall short. The concept of original sin is not in favor in many liberal Christian circles, but it makes sense to me. We are capable of great good, but also great evil. Sometimes we are cruelly indifferent.

Jesus is humiliated, abandoned, and killed. What chills me the most about the story is the extent to which the apostles, the government, and the crowd all turn away from or against him. I read this part of the gospels as a story about human rejection of the divine. While many people want to embrace the holy when it's convenient or in their best interest, sometimes it scares or threatens us. We want to hide behind taunts and jeers, behind the rest of the crowd. Sometimes we see divinity and want it dead.

Right now, with the sun shining and all the flowers in bloom, it's hard to linger over such a dark story. I believe, though, that we must acknowledge the evil side of human nature; pretending it's not there keeps us from understanding ourselves. When we skim over Good Friday, we lose the resonance of Easter Sunday.