DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.  “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.  “Crucify him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” – Mark 15:9-14

And the chief priests, in order to influence the Roman governor, stirred up the crowd  to create the illusion that all wanted Jesus crucified.  It is an ancient tactic and a contemporary tactic, this stirring into a frenzy the like-minded crowd.  It is a tool in the toolbox of the Deceiver, to foster a delusion that the frenzied crowd is fair and just.

Merely a few days before, another crowd shouted “Hosanna! Lord, save us!”  They were rejoicing with possibilities of hope fulfilled.  Why were they not heard when Pilate asked for the will of the people?  Obviously, that crowd was hand-picked by the chief priests for the sake of conjuring the delusion that this was the will of the people.

Loved Ones, be careful when you are surrounded by the frenzied, like-minded crowd.  They can, by way of the inner dynamics of frenzied crowds, tempt one to turn over one’s soul, one’s mind, one’s heart to a delusion and distortion of the truth, a favorite maneuver for those who wish to deceive.

So I have learned not to not follow the crowd, but rather to follow the teachings of Christ and the quality of spirit with which He lived.

Always on Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz