MOWJCHCHMHMT27131LENT4A

Moving On With Jesus....Christ's Church, Mandurah

Open-ended, Life-centred Explorations of the (supplementary) Gospels..Lent-Easter Year A
MT 27:1-31...Lent 4(A)

NOTES: (1) Jesus' Passion continues to build towards its climax. (2) We know from history that Pilate was a really bad egg.

PRAYER: For strength to move on with Jesus through injustices of any kind - & not to cause any.

WARM UP: (for Groups): When put on the spot, are we more inclined to keep silent or try to talk our way out of it?

MOVING ON:
1. If there is more sympathy for Judas today than there might have been in days gone by, might this have to do with our own doubts, weaknesses, failures, betrayals, etc.? o In 'letting Judas off the hook' are we really trying to get ourself off? If we're hard on Judas, & Peter’s denials, might that be because we're hard on ourselves?

2. Do the religious leaders show up in any better light than Judas? How complicated are our own motives & actions, in religious & other affairs? Can we move on with Jesus to better motives & actions in our dealings with people & situations?

3. How can we deal positively with questions like: "How do you reconcile the continuing existence of bad rulers with Jesus' aspiration for the coming of God's Kingdom? Aren't you praying, 'Your kingdom come….hard enough? Why doesn't God listen to us & do something - anything? What's the point of God's Rule going on in 'heaven' if it doesn't happen here, too? Might moving on with Jesus include helping people find better questions to ask?

4. Do we feel strongly enough about injustices, such as those done to Jesus, to move us to do something about injustices we see being done now? Do injustices done to others concern us as much as any done to us? If tackling an injustice might disadvantage us, isn't God's awareness of that a big disadvantage to us?

5. Does the choice of Barabbas raise questions of how we make our choices? How well do we make choices? Are spur-of-the-moment choices more likely to be bad ones? What qualities go towards making good & right choices in life? Are we living with any bad choices, or bad results from what we thought were good choices?

6. Do we ever wash our hands of people when it suits us? Does the buck ever not stop with us? Is it time to move on by showing Jesus' compassion for those of whom others wash their hands?

[For Groups: Closing prayers & any 'housekeeping' arrangements needing to be made, etc.]