First Station – Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die

Matthew 27: 19-26

Pilate has just read my death sentence.  I am to die on the cross.  Should I rebel against Pilate?  How can I do that?  Pilate is not my enemy.  He is an envoy of my Father and the voice of my human destiny…

Pilate told me when and how I would die.  You may not get that blessing.  You won’t have a Pilate to tell you the place, the time or the circumstances of your death.  Yet you stand condemned to death as surely as I was.  You were destined to die the moment you were conceived.  That is part of being human.

Do you think of that very often?  If you thought about your death, you could see more clearly that some of the things you are most obsessed with are the least important.  Even goals that seem worthwhile wouldn’t seem nearly so important if you think of death.  You surely would not be so worried about money, clothes, cars and careers.  These things don’t make you precious.  These things won’t help you when your time to die comes.

I remind you of this not because my Father and I want you to be fearful of your future.  Living in fear of death isn’t what I want for you.  I remind you of your death to help you live fully and freely as my brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters of my Father.  In my death and resurrection you will receive the power to do that.

Our Father... Hail May... Glory be...