Homily for 10 Mar 2016

10 Mar 2016

In the courtroom, tensions were high.  The judge was not having a good day, and the defendants were like a bunch of rowdy teenagers who should’ve known better.  Luckily, for them, they had a top-notch defense lawyer—a man who knew the Law inside and out (and who knew the judge pretty well, too); they had Moses.  And he was able to cool things down, and get them off with only a slap on the wrist and a warning.

But Moses wasn’t done; he had other work to do.  Across the hallway, tensions were hot—and they were only getter hotter.  The judge was particularly stinging in his remarks to the defendants, an overly righteous group.  But when the defendants realized it was their own father—Moses—who was accusing them, well, they almost blew a gasket!  They figured the judge had set it all up.  They figured Jesus had dragged Moses into it, and tried to pit their own father against them.  And their hatred for that judge went from hot to red hot.

But so goes the life of a prophet, whether it’s Moses or Jeremiah or Elijah . . . or Jesus.  It’s not always fun to get in the middle of things.  But it’s the right thing to do, even if it hurts; even if it seems to bring more division than unity.  And thanks be to God for Jesus the Prophet of prophets who stood between God and humanity—who got right in the middle of humanity’s messed up relationship with God—and said, “Crucify me, not them."

Thanks be to God for the mercy and truth Jesus brings to our lives.  By him, we are not only acquitted, but our record is wiped clean, and we are set free.