Andrew Klavin on the Passion

Andrew Klavin has a fascinating reflection on the Passion, from a perspective I had not considered. He points out that Jesus' passion has no... villains.

Klavin:

One of the things that always strikes me about the Passion story as a story is that there really aren’t any villains in the piece. There’s no Richard III or Count Fosco or Hannibal Lecter who intentionally does wicked things for admittedly wicked reasons. Jesus says he has been born for one end, to bear witness to the Truth. That alone seems to be enough to doom him. It’s impossible to parse Judas’s motives, but the priests arrest the Truth as a blasphemer, his friends desert the Truth out of fear, his enemies slander the Truth out of envy, the mob, stirred by rabble-rousers, cry out for the Truth’s death in a frenzy, and the sophisticated political leader dismisses the idea of Truth entirely (no doubt hoping for a university post after retirement) and so utters the Truth’s death sentence with an eye toward keeping the public peace. There are no bad guys exactly. Just people who put their various feelings and interests above the Truth. That’s all it takes to get from here to an atrocity. And you would have to be very much self-deceived not to see how easily you yourself — any one of us — could fall into the role of the priest, friend, man on the street or politico and so contribute to the Truth’s crucifixion...

... Truth is the cornerstone on which every good structure stands. Without a commitment to Truth, our religions, brotherly love, justice and morality topple into meaningless ruins. Even when it’s carried by an imperfect vessel, the Truth and only the Truth can set us free for every other good thing.

Please read the whole thing. Klavin connects it to modern issues. Fascinating perspective.