Journalistic License

'If I had been a journalist at the time of the crucifixion, I would have been hanging around Herod's palace talking to Pilate and disregarding [Jesus].' -Malcolm Muggeridge

['Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990), known as Malcolm Muggeridge, was a British journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he worked for the British government as a soldier and a spy.' -Wikipedia]

Today's society is mesmerized with celebrities. We have Red Carpet events, nightly shows on our TVs following the news that highlight the comings and goings of the rich and famous (or infamous!), VIP lounges and preferred seating. I have even heard a priest say that they wore the clerical robes and collar, so that they would stand out as the priest. I guess they saw the priest as a celebrity, of sorts, in the milieu of the church. We venerate youth and beauty, riches and fame, whatever kind of fame it might be. The more odious, bigoted and obnoxious someone is, the bigger following they have, whether they might be a political candidate or a media star.

So given Muggeridge's job as a journalist, he clearly sees that the populace of the day, would have been much more interested in hearing about Pilate then they would be in hearing about a rag-tag misfit who went around disturbing the peace of the Roman Empire. And we would be exactly the same, with the reporters hanging on to everything Pilate had to say, surmising what his boss Herod Anipas, ruler of Galilee had to say about the situation, how Mrs. Pilate was coping, what would the far-reaching effects be for the military might in the region, or would it even make a difference? Lots and lots of questions but no interest at all in just who this Jesus was, no one asking him why he thought all this was happening to him.

With all the media hype about what celebrities think, say, wear, and do and who they do it all with, there is little time taken to look at the root causes, to discuss the whys and wherefores of society's problems, not to focus on the sensationalism of a trial, but rather to look at the things that caused that actions that resulted in that trial: the racism, the fear, the poverty, the lack of education and opportunities.

Every time we ignore the less important person, the uneducated, the immigrant, the poorly dressed, we too are siding with Pilate.

'If you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please”, while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there”, or, “Sit at my feet”, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?' - James 2:3-4

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