Please read this passage before reading the homily.
My sisters and brothers,
“Let him be crucified!” We have heard these words, and perhaps got to say them in a dramatic way today.
Who killed Jesus? Roman soldiers did the execution, and therefore, killed him. In another sense, Jesus gave up his spirit, and died. Who killed Jesus? There was a crowd, perhaps a riot, in the city. Crowds can follow the confusion and take part in it very easily. Experts tell us that if we had a public flogging or execution outside right now, many of us would go out to see a human being whipped or killed.
Jesus and Mary were Jewish. Peter and the Apostles were Jewish. The first converts were Jewish. Paul was Jewish. They did not kill Jesus.
Some Jewish leaders had a hand in killing him, but not all Jewish leaders consented to his death. Since Jesus died for all sinners, perhaps all sinners have had a hand in his death, but I would hesitate to follow that that train of thought very far.
We celebrate Palm Sunday, Good Friday and the dying and rising of Jesus, not to point fingers at who is guilty, but to praise God for giving us Jesus who could be faithful even unto death. It is this death and resurrection that allows us to enter heaven.
Listening to as Jewish crowd from 30 a.d. shouting, “Let him be crucified”, has helped centuries of Christians hate Jewish people. Saying these words dramatically, can still foster anti-Semitism in us. We must be careful not to blame. We must instead praise God who has rescued us by the death and resurrection of Jesus.