It seems strange that it would be Rudy Giuliani who would remind us of the last question put to Jesus before his execution. At least according to the Gospels.
Not that the entire Trump story is not replete with unintentional biblical references. Exact parallels exist between the least of these and refugees fleeing from oppression. Jesus could have been speaking of such refugees:
…as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.
Christ could have been telling us how we ought to think about those of other faiths as he constructed a story of a Samaritan. Samaritans were regarded as religious antagonists, to be viewed with suspicion: Much as some Christians view Muslims, or atheists, or anyone who worships differently or not at all.
One of the last sermons by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King suggested one reason that the mythical non-believer, the Samaritan, could have put aside any concern for his own wellbeing to help the beaten, injured man at the side of the road, when believers passed him by.
…if I do not stop to help this man what will happen to him.
Even the most literal minded of my brothers and sisters in Christ, at least those who support the harsh attitudes of my President, have been able to ignore the number of the beast.
You need wisdom to understand the number of the beast! But if you are smart enough, you can figure this out. Its number is six hundred sixty-six, and it stands for a person.
Okay, so the most sensible of scholars recognize that an exiled Christian, confined by Roman authorities to a cave on the Greek island of Patmos might write in code about the emperor. Especially if that emperor happened to be famous for torturing those of different religions. 666 was a numerical equivalent to the letters in the name and title of the Emperor Nero.
But I am surprised at how far my sisters and brothers have come. They can now openly embrace a President whose son-in-law holds title to that address: 666 Fifth Ave. I suppose I should be proud of those folks for finally shrugging off nearly 2,000 years of violent superstition. People had been tortured and killed for their accidental association with that number. All it took was a Presidential candidate who hated the same folks they did.
Rudy Giuliani reminded me of the last great question put to Jesus by Pontius Pilate.
For a long time, I have suspected that Pilate played a greater role in the crucifixion than biblical history lets on. Early Christians tried very hard to gain acceptance from their Roman rulers. Execution in those days was uncommonly brutal. Failure was not an option.
The Bible implies without actually saying so, that Pilate was a thoughtful sort of ruler, intimidated by threatening Jews into executing a man he himself declared to be innocent. He did have Jesus tortured and killed, but he was a reluctant accomplice who tried but could not find a way out.
Placing the blame for the crucifixion on a religious minority already considered outcasts was a cheap attempt to gain acceptance. But the story itself does not ring true.
Pilate had developed a reputation of such brutality that even official Rome was startled. At one point, he had soldiers disguised as ordinary citizens infiltrate a peaceful crowd. The crowd had gathered to beg Pilate not to raid the Temple of Jerusalem for funds to build an aqueduct. On signal, the soldiers pulled out clubs and beat as many to death as possible.
Eventually word of such acts got to Rome. He was directly warned by the Emperor, in writing, that there were to be no more provocations. That was the new law as it applied to Pontius Pilate. So, the next blood spilled would be his.
That set up his response to what he saw as an act of disrespect by a local itinerant preacher. In an annual show of force and pageantry, Pilate and his legions entered Jerusalem at the beginning of the Jewish celebration of Passover. He had to have been outraged when he was told that he had been mocked by that same preacher, riding in on a donkey to shouts of praise.
I do not see Pilate as having any tolerance for such mockery. I do not see him attempting mercy on that same preacher.
“We will have no king but Caesar!” are the words the bible has the crowd shout. Really?
I don’t see him bowing to popular will of a mob demanding the blood of the young upstart. In fact, from the historical record, I do not see any crowd who would dare to make much of any demand on the bloody prefect.
Unless…
Unless they were directed to do just that. I do envision all those things happening at the direction of Pontius Pilate. A man enraged by local disrespect, feared by almost everyone in Jerusalem, but fearful himself about the warning he had gotten from the emperor himself could direct this terrible Kabuki dance. I can easily image his self-congratulatory letter to Rome. See how I was able to avoid widespread violence by executing one man, the one man everyone wanted killed?
It does put into context the plea by Caiaphas to the Jewish Sanhedrin.
…it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.
And it puts into context the brief interrogation of Jesus by Pilate, who demands to know why Jesus has declared himself to be king. Jesus answers him, that he was born and came into the world only to testify to the truth. That anyone who loves the truth will be willing to hear the truth.
Pilate is dismissive. The last question ever posed to Jesus before his execution is rhetorical only. It is more of a retort. Pilate storms out without waiting for a reply. His question:
What is truth?
What he seems to say is that there is no truth. We hear that standard reflected today.
We hear it in assigning blame:
Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
Chris Hayes asks Michelle Brané, the Director of the Women’s Refugee Commission, an expert on migrant rights:
Is there a law that is requiring the President to do this?
Absolutely not! There is no law that requires this. This is pure and simple a policy of the Trump administration.
MSNBC, May 29, 2018
So it’s not the truth.
Our President now insists he did not fire James Comey because of the Russia investigation.
Not that it matters but I never fired James Comey because of Russia! The Corrupt Mainstream Media loves to keep pushing that narrative, but they know it is not true!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2018
Here’s what he said at the time in a meeting with Russian intelligence officials (Russian spies):
Explaining the firing, Mr. Trump said “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off,” adding, “I’m not under investigation.”
MSNBC, May 19, 2017
Soon after, he said the same thing to a national audience on American television. Why did he fire Mr. Comey?
When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said: You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.
So when he now says Russia had nothing to do with it, that’s not the truth.
So familiar is the pattern, it is a reliable staple for late night comedy.
Yesterday Trump told his 2,000th lie since taking office.
So Happy Lie-2-K, everybody. 2,000 lies! In 11 months.
Jimmy Kimmel, January 10, 2018
We have a line of argument that falsehoods are not lies, but merely something else:
You’re saying it’s a falsehood. And Sean Spicer, our Press Secretary, gave alternative facts.
That was Kellyanne Conway two days into the new administration.
This does have an impact on faith. Christians are, quite rightly, subjected to serious rebuke for our most common failing. A few years ago, my closest friend declined to come to worship service with me.
I will not participate in organized hypocrisy.
I answered with the only response I could think of:
That’s not fair!
We’re not organized!
We hold ourselves to an impossible standard. When we are at our best, our confessions of hypocrisy are sincere, and our rebukes are gentle. Those rebukes are commonly aimed inward. That is when we’re at our best.
We are often not at our best.
Many of my conservative brethren voice support for inhumane policies, policies that leave too many of those we dismiss as the least of these, wounded at the side of the road, waiting for a Samaritan.
…you did it unto me.
We lose sight of the Jesus we have abandoned.
When we begin listening to generalities aimed at our brothers and sisters of darker skin or differing faith…
You shall not bear false witness…
…we too easily go from tolerating to actually embracing false witness. When we lose sight of the truth, we can forget that truth even exists.
Rudy Giuliani is my longtime hero for destroying an important part of organized crime in New York. He does not want his friend and new client, Donald Trump, to answer questions under oath. He will not actually lie, says Mr. Giuliani, but he could easily be accused of perjury when it comes to obstruction of justice.
That is because there is a philosophical problem with the nature of truth. You can’t lie when there is no such thing as determinate truth, but you can be accused of perjury.
He is quoted this way:
Truth is relative. They may have a different version of the truth than we do.
Relative truth, alternate facts: nothing is a lie if you wish it enough.
When my conservative friends turn away from those in need, Jesus says we have turned from him.
When they turn away from truth itself, we replace my Lord with another historical figure, the one who dismissed the existence of truth with a derisive question.
What is truth?
Those who have adopted intolerance as their very own, are now calling us to worship a new king: our modern Pontius Pilate.
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