Jesus’ mission was a great re-conquest and for this reason, in his famous Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola portrays Him calling everyone to enlist under His banner.
Before ascending Calvary, this Supreme Ruler went out in search of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24), exorcized the world which was “in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19) and, finally, gave himself up to redeem us from the dominion of hell (cf. Col 1:13; 1 Tim 2:6). But Christ also wants our cooperation in overcoming the ruler of darkness, and it was to this end that He instituted the Church, which is militant in this land of exile.
As early as infancy, Our Lord had been called “a sign that is spoken against” (Lk 2:34). He came into the world to bear witness to the truth, and those who are of the truth listen to His voice (cf. Jn 18:37), as the Redeemer himself testified to Pontius Pilate. Yet “His own received Him not” (Jn 1:11).
During that infamous trial, the greatest legal sham in history, the Roman Praetor, following the advice of the high priests, staged a pseudo-redemption of Christ by offering Barabbas as ransom for Him. Murderer and thief, this insurgent was, in reality, a type of anti-Christ, even in his name, bar abba, which means “son of the father.”
By that hour, a large crowd had gathered around the tribune. Sadly, among those who clamoured for the release of the criminal were some of the deaf and dumb who had been cured by Jesus. Others, who had been delivered from their paralysis, demanded the worst torture for their Benefactor: “Crucify Him!” There was no lack of indifferent onlookers, embodying the pusillanimous ones predicted by the Divine Master: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Mt 12:30).
During that anti-Christian uprising, a sort of anti-Church was founded, in which the good is repudiated and crime approved, the Innocent One is condemned and the wicked canonized by litanies of acclamations: Barabbas! Barabbas!…
In this caricature church, juridical rules are broken in favour of “mercy” – “poor” Barabbas… – and authority, devoid of any trace of sanctity, is anointed by the “greater sin” (Jn 19:11). The Blood of Christ is invoked not as reparation for iniquities, but as a tragic curse: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Mt 27:25).
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. As the Good Shepherd, He offered salvation to both: one accepted it, the other, impenitent, rejected it. And to indicate what will ensue when men attempt to banish Christ from the face of the earth, let us recall the events that followed the Saviour’s death: the veil of the Temple was rent asunder, rocks were split in two, earthquakes pervaded the world, and darkness shrouded it completely it.
If telluric events such as these are once again permitted by Providence, we can, in face of them, not only testify to the “Son of God” (Mt 27:54), as did the centurion of the Gospel, but also unmask the false church which wants to once again crucify Christ. Its infernal gates will never prevail! ◊
