Hastings: Injustice and mystery in the felon pit
“I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one, as we are one — I in them, you in me — that they may be made perfect in unity. Then the world will know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me.” — John 17:22-23 The Inclusive Bible
After the Passover observance, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed his high priestly prayer “that they may be one as we are one.” The disciples, who had perhaps had too much wine, fell asleep. Until Judas brought authorities to arrest Jesus and betrayed him with a kiss.
After his arrest, Jesus was taken to the high priest Caiaphas for trial before the Civil Sanhedrin inside the limestone quarry. The civil leaders rather quickly judged Jesus guilty of sedition for his statement, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (They did not understand that “the temple he was speaking of was his body.”) Sedition was considered a felony which warranted the death penalty. So while his fate was being decided, Jesus was lowered into a deep pit in the quarry with a small hole at the top as the only entrance.
The felon pit where Jesus stayed overnight is now accessible by a stairway. While on a seminarians’ study tour of Israel, our class went down into the felon pit where our instructor pointed out a brown cross-shaped stain on the wall. Scientists say it is an unusual stain in a limestone quarry. No one has been able to explain what caused it.
Injustice and mystery were mingled in the felon pit where Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers. The cross-shaped stain on the wall of the pit bears witness to Jesus’ willingness to go through injustice and death to show us the way to new life – the blessed unity of people on earth as it is in heaven.
The Rev. Celia M. Hastings has a master’s degree in religious education from Western Theological Seminary in Holland. She is author of “The Wisdom Series” and “The Undertaker’s Wife.”
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Hastings: Injustice and mystery in the felon pit
