{"id":19527,"date":"2022-07-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotionmonday-11-july-2022"},"modified":"2022-07-11T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-monday-11-july-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-monday-11-july-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a0Monday 11 July 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

St John 19: 17 – 24<\/strong>
So they took Jesus;  and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew  is called Golgotha.  There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, \u2018Jesus of Nazareth,  the King of the Jews.\u2019  Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.  Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, \u2018Do not write, \u201cThe King of the Jews\u201d, but, \u201cThis man said, I am King of the Jews.\u201d\u2019  Pilate answered, \u2018What I have written I have written.\u2019  When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.  So they said to one another, \u2018Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.\u2019 This was to fulfil what the scripture says,<\/p>\n

\u2018They divided my clothes among themselves,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.\u2019<\/p>\n

And that is what the soldiers did.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong>
I am struck by the perspective by which the Evangelist of this Gospel re-tells the crucifixion. This is at least 60 years after the moment.
 
It\u2019s like me (born in 1978) reflecting on the Holocaust or the era of lynching of African Americans. More than likely, the writer wasn\u2019t there but is viscerally connected to it. This brutal story has been told many times to them. They know the effects of imperial brutality.
 
But the graphic narration makes you think they were truly there. The global necessity of the writing on the Cross says that Pilate wanted everybody to know. The soldiers gambling for Jesus\u2019 clothes was a common imperial custom of not just eliminating the accused but ensuring they die dishonourably.
 
This is one of those passages where the presence of \u201cthe Jews\u201d has been tragically misinterpreted. John never speaks of a whole group\u2019s responsibility. What John does describe are all the major and minor players involved\u2014the cogs in the wheel of brutality, and their pastimes. The lottery for Jesus\u2019 clothes makes one imagine a crude sacrament in the religion of Caesar being performed.
 
Perhaps the Christians of this Evangelist\u2019s time had their share of people who told them to \u201cjust get over it\u201d. It was so long ago, move on!
 
Two years ago, as people of colour and our allies protested globally against white supremacy, brutality and innocent deaths, that is sadly what I heard from my white Christian friends, on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
Yet, I see much transformation today because we didn\u2019t get over it. Historic policies and appointments, churches taking anti-racism conversations seriously. Theologians\u2014 like my friend Anthony G. Reddie\u2014are no longer on the sidelines of Church academics but recognized resources on the frontlines of the church.
 
I\u2019m proud that we didn\u2019t \u201cjust get over it\u201d. And I\u2019m glad that the community of this Evangelist never got over it but kept telling the story.
 
And they passed it on to us.
 <\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong>
\u201cWhen historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war.  So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.\u201d
 
Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis\u2019 final written statement before his death on July 17, 2020.<\/em>
 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St John 19: 17 – 24So they took Jesus;  and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew  is called Golgotha.  There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription … <\/p>\n

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