Passionate Voices – Wednesday

Ciaphas

I thank you Adonai

You made me not a Gentile,

You made me not a woman,

You made me not a slave:

All Praise to You

Master of the Universe

God of our Father’s

LORD of your people.

This carpenter rabbi, this northern fool, is bringing us to ruin. The people sang to him as he came to Jerusalem, proclaiming him king, King of Israel. He comes here, to the Holy Hill, and pulls down the traders’ stalls and calls for the Temple to be destroyed. He speaks with authority and claims that which cannot be his, he performs tricks and wins the witless. His followers: fishermen, traitors, zealots and the worst of women. I shudder to think of how popular he is with the crowds.  The people flock to him.  We have tried to stop him, silence him, remove him.  He is full of evil and uses wicked words to confound the scribes and the scholars, he tells stories to reinterpret Holy Scripture and scolds the Pharisees and even the Sadducees.  He has even defied me.  There is much to be lost is this man is allowed to walk without being tripped and stopped.  If only a bandit would slit his throat, he hides in the hills but he seems charmed and protected by some power not of this earth.

The people, oh the people, they will sing for anyone they think will save them from the brutalities of Rome and yet I think we must turn the very machinery of hatred against this man in order to be rid of him.  Ironically those who sang his praise have sealed his fate. King of the Jews is he? Pilate will be most interested to hear that song.

Today, Praise to the LORD, Judas, one of his ‘disciples’ have come to us. He is of like mind to us, or he is of a weak mind, and will deliver the Nazarene to our hands. Judas’ high minded motivation found its measure in 30 pieces of silver – he is paid and he will find us at the right time, when our ‘friend’ comes into the confines of Jerusalem at night.  They we can act without the crowd getting too involved.  I will inform the Sanhedrin to be ready to meet, at least those who will lean at my direction, and we will send this man to the God he claims to serve, for justice and for judgement.  It is better than this one man die than for the many to perish; this carpenter rabbi, this northern fool, is indeed bringing us to ruin and so we must put him to ruination.