I Have Chosen Bar-abbas, I Have Chosen Sin! - A Good Friday Meditation

Today, the Church calls to mind the Lord's Passion on Good Friday.  I was blessed to give a meditation this morning on the choice given to the Jews and to us; the choice between Jesus and Bar-abbas!

Pontius Pilate brings before the Jewish people two men: Jesus, son of the Heavenly Father and Bar-abbas, whose name literally means son of the father.  Pontius Pilate makes the people choose who they will release and who will they follow.  Will they choose to follow Jesus Christ, the son of the Heavenly Father, or will they follow Bar-abbas son of the father of lies? (cf. John 8:44)  Will they follow the man whose message stands for service and self-sacrifice or will they follow the man who is known as a zealot, murderer acting on his own desires and wants.  Will they choose a life of holiness or will they choose a life of sin?  This same choice is given to us today!

The Church, in her beauty recounts for us the words of the Passion.  The congregation not only hears the words, but most will participate and cry out for Bar-abbas over Jesus!  And if we are truly honest with ourselves, we will admit, we too choose our own attachments over the Lord.  We too choose to act selfishly over being selfless.  In a sense, we too, choose SIN!  From my own heart, I can say, I have chosen SIN, I have chosen Bar-abbas!

To admit this fact is hard.  It first takes self-awareness.  It also takes humility to acknowledge our weakness and our attachments.  The reality is clear, in our human brokenness, we don't always do what is right! See St. Paul in Rom 7:15 - "What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate"

What then?  Do we just surrender, give up, live in a life of sin?  The answer is NO! We come before the Lord and seek his forgiveness!  One of the most beautiful images given to the Church is the Apostle Peter. Pope Benedict writes:

The Church is founded upon forgiveness.  Peter himself is a personal embodiment of this truth! She is held together by forgiveness, and Peter is the perpetual living reminder of this reality: she is not a communion of the perfect but a communion of sinners who need and seek forgiveness.

Recounting the Passion, Peter denies Jesus 3 times!  He betrays and fails to trust in Jesus.  But the story doesn't end there, Peter is forgiven, along with all the other disciples, and they are given the ministry of forgiveness found in John 20:21-23

[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”   

Today, this Good Friday, let us acknowledge our brokenness, seek the opportunity to venerate and kiss the cross, and ask the Lord for forgiveness because we have chosen, even yelled out, Bar-abbas over Jesus. Let us ask the Lord for forgiveness because we have chosen our attachments to our sins over choosing to follow Him! Let us seek the healing the Lord wants to give us!

But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. (Isaiah 53:5)