The Death of Innocence

Luke 23:1-49

The Innocence Project is a legal organization that uses DNA testing to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes.  Since beginning the project in 1992, 350 people have been exonerated and released from prison. 

 

One of the people exonerated just last month was a man named Archie Williams.  He served 36 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for assaulting an elderly woman.  Fingerprints at the crime scene did not match those of Mr. Williams.  But the victim, who was the wife of a prominent citizen in Baton Rouge, identified Mr. Williams as her attacker.  He was convicted by a jury in spite of the fact that the fingerprints at the scene did not match his.  Because of advances in fingerprint technology and databases, and because of the work of the lawyers at The Innocence Project, the case was retried last month.  The fingerprints were found to match those of a serial rapist in the area, who went on to commit other crimes before finally being arrested.  Mr. Williams was 22 when he was arrested and falsely convicted.  He is 58 years old now, finally exonerated of a crime he didn’t commit and released from prison.  Mr. Williams said he bore no grudge against the victim for wrongly identifying him at the trial 36 years ago.  He just wants to enjoy his freedom.  (NYT, March 21, 2019)

Knowing that innocent people are sometimes convicted and sentenced will help us hear Luke’s story of Jesus’ death on the cross.  When Jesus died, Luke tells us that all those acquainted with him stood at a distance, “watching these things.”  So do you and I.  We’re watching too.  And watching, we are not sure whether to run and hide so this doesn’t happen to us; or whether to run to his tortured body to take it down from that cruel device of torture. 

So as you listen to this story; as it dances through your heart; as you imagine its force and reality; what are you seeing?  Which parts of the telling grabbed you?  Which characters in the story came to life for you?  Which lines of dialogue?  Which details were sharpest for you?

You may have noticed the crowds full of hate, and whipped into a frenzy.

You may have noticed two cowardly politicians, handing Jesus back and forth as they try to appease the crowds.

You may have noticed Simon, a bystander pulled into the story and forced to carry the cross. 

You may have noticed the two criminals crucified with Jesus.

You may have noticed the sky go dark and hazy, that strange midday dusk that envelops us as this working-class Jewish man hangs from a cross, breathing his last. 

You may have noticed Jesus final words, as he pushes himself up one last time with a weary groan, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

You may have noticed a few women and men, not quite ready to leave.  Staying.  Watching.  Grieving.  Wondering.  We are among them.  Jesus said to all that would listen that God’s new world was drawing near in his own life.  And now look, he’s gotten himself killed by those who want to keep things the same. 

 

And in the midst of all these details, you may have noticed Luke’s picture of Jesus as the innocent one who is killed in the place of others.  Perhaps we can imagine ourselves as Barabbas, the murderer who is released and freed from a death sentence, as Jesus takes his place.

Three different times, Pontius Pilate testifies to the innocence of Jesus: “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”  Herod and his soldiers make fun of Jesus by dressing him up as a king, but he too finds no basis for a charge against him.  One thief on the cross says to the other, “Don’t you know that this man has done nothing wrong?”  Finally, the Roman Centurion stationed by the cross, when he witnesses Jesus last breath, says, “Surely, this was a righteous man.”

It is hard for us to imagine an innocent life, a life that never bends to the distorting forces that shape our lives.  What would it be like never to harm another person?  Never to betray another?  Never to live beneath what you’re able to be?  Never to miss an opportunity to heal or bless or encourage another person in need?  What would it be like to love God and your neighbor with heart, soul, mind, and strength?  What would it be like to live in unflinching fidelity to God’s new kingdom of love, even in the face of threat?  I don’t know, because I’ve never lived that way.   But Jesus did.  He was and is God’s faithful covenant partner, whose life now includes yours and mine.

This is a dark story for a dark day on the Lenten calendar.  Today is Palm Sunday, marking our joy at Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem.  But what we are only beginning to understand is that his arrival is always the arrival of suffering love.  What we are only beginning to understand is that God’s great love for us is large enough to hold all that fails, all that goes dark, all that doesn’t work, all the harms we inflict and all the harms we suffer.  Anyone can keep their chin up when things go well.  What we need is good news that can hold all the pain and failure that we experience in the course of a lifetime. 

We are not innocent.  But he is.  And now we have our lives in him.  Thanks be to God.