Pilate
Pilate
Pilate
Roman Official in
Judea.
Ruled Judea for 10
years (AD 26 – 36)
Was eventually
recalled in disgrace.
Barabbas
Barabbas
“If you are neutral in
situations of injustice, you
have chosen the side of the
oppressor. If an elephant
has its foot on the tail of a
mouse and you say that
you are neutral, the mouse
will not appreciate your
neutrality.”
– Desmond Tutu
Sin
• 500 billion people starving.
Sin
• 500 billion people starving.
• 1 billion people living in absolute poverty.
Sin
• 500 billion people starving.
• 1 billion people living in absolute poverty.
• 1 billion, 5 hundred million without
medical care.
Sin
• 500 billion people starving.
• 1 billion people living in absolute poverty.
• 1 billion, 5 hundred million without
medical care.
• 2 billion with no water supply.
Sin
• 500 billion people starving.
• 1 billion people living in absolute poverty.
• 1 billion, 5 hundred million without
medical care.
• 2 billion with no water supply.
• Around 2.5 million in
slavery/human trafficking.
‘The issue is not “What must I do in
order to secure my salvation?” but
rather, “What does God require of me
in response to the needs of others?”…
…Otherwise our nonviolence is premised
on self-justifying attempts to establish
our own purity in the eyes of God,
others, and ourselves, and that is
nothing less than a satanic temptation
to die with clean hands and a dirty
heart.’
- Walter Wink
‘We throw up our
hands asking God to
do something. And He
responds, “I did do
something, I made
you. Now get out and
do something.’
- Shane Claiborne
‘We, the gospel readers, are invited to
watch in awe to see which of the two –
the power of aggression, translated into a
“justice” system designed to suit the
rulers, or the power of silence, suffering
and love...
...is in fact vindicated by God. That is a
major part of what the gospel writers are
trying to tell us about the meaning of the
cross.’
– Tom Wright
"There is nothing wrong with a traffic law
which says you have to stop for a red
light. But when a man is bleeding, the
ambulance goes through those red lights
at top speed...
Disinherited people all over the world are
bleeding to death from deep social and
economic wounds. They need brigades of
ambulance drivers who will have to
ignore the red lights of the present system
until the emergency is solved.”
- Dr Martin Luther King Jnr.
A Franciscan Benediction
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and
superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep
within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and
exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice,
freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain,
rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our
hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough
foolishness
To believe that we can make a
difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim
cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our
children and all our neighbours who
are poor.
Amen.