We don't like saying the words given us in the Gospel on Good Friday, but unfortunately, they're in fact what we say with our lives ...

On Palm Sunday and Good Friday the lay faithful are permitted to do something that ordinarily is not open to them. On these two days we take a speaking role in the proclamation of the Gospel. We are assigned the task of speaking the words of the crowd present at Christ’s sham trial before Pilate. The words given to us are unpleasant ones. As a congregation we collectively reject Jesus, embrace Barabbas, and call for the crucifixion of our Lord. The disconnect between the words and the feelings of those gathered in the Church often leads to the proclamation sounding flat. The faithful say, but do not feel like they mean, the words prescribed to them. The prevailing sense is one of duty. “I will say these words, but I do not mean them. This is not what I would have said if I had been present. Who would choose Barabbas over Jesus?”

A better question might be “Who among us would choose Jesus of Nazareth over Barabbas?” The idea that the crowd would ask for a murderer and insurrectionist over the Lamb of God elicits shock and surprise for many. In truth, almost every person of faith would choose Barabbas a thousand times before they would so much as consider the Nazarene. Barabbas was a man of action. He stood up to tyrannical oppressors with force. He led a violent insurrection and was imprisoned for it. He fought back.

Michael Habeeb

Michael Habeeb

Who among us would choose Jesus of Nazareth over Barabbas?