Then each went to his own house.
S aint John is a marksman with pithy statements like, "Then each went to his own house." At another, more critical moment in the Gospel, as Judas leaves the upper room, he tells us, "It was night."
The expression is matched by John 16:32 -- "Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone."
These sayings must remind us of the abandonment which was added to the Lord's intense physical suffering. Where some later martyrs would have the companionship of other martyrs; or, like Saint Polycarp, a sympathetic crowd of Christian witnesses; Jesus was entirely alone.
Abandoned even by those who went with him to Jerusalem and swore they would never leave him, he was also condemned by a mob, despised by his opponents, and libeled by false witnesses before hostile Jewish and Roman judges. As Saint Mark tells the story, two criminals who died with him added their own taunts. And the Voice which had spoken from heaven on two occasions was silent on Good Friday.
Etty Hillesum, a prisoner in a Nazi compound in Belgium, realized that British and American leaders knew nothing of the Nazi "final solution to the Jewish problem," nor did they care. Where many of her fellow prisoners clung to an expectation of rescue, she knew no help would come. But, as she was transported to a death camp, she managed to send a postcard to her friends, "We have left the camp singing."
As terrible as it was, the sacrifice of Jesus could not be perfect, nor our salvation complete, without his utter abandonment before God and men. We can only stand at a distance in silent grief.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.