And the crowd responded, “Crucify Him!”

 What a sobering moment it is each time we read those words during the Gospel readings on Palm Sunday and Good Friday. I’ve had several people tell me that they find themselves - year after year - incapable of yelling those words in mass.

Why is that? 

The answer is deceiving. It seems to be rooted in a love for Christ that is so strong that it prevents us from even reiterating the words that were once screamed by his accusers. But in reality, the inability to say these words is really based on deception and pride. 

The truth of the matter is that we all say those words every single day of our lives. We yell “Crucify Him” at the top of our longs when we neglect our prayer life, when we intentionally miss mass, when we push the boundaries of chastity with ourselves or our significant other, when we lie, when we take the Lord’s name in vain, when we judge others, or really when we commit and/or cling to any type of sin. 

The lack of desire we have to say those devastating words audibly and intentionally during the Gospel is natural.

The lack of participation, however, is anything but natural.

We like to separate ourselves from the sinners. We like to separate ourselves from the cross. We like to pretend we play the part of St. Peter when he says that he would lay down his life to defend Christ, when day to day we really play the role of Peter when he denied Christ and when he fell asleep in the garden. 

It’s all about how we like to see ourselves in the story. We want to be the hero, but the Church asks us to put ourselves in the shoes of the villain - because that is the part that we choose to play in our daily lives. The Church, like God, ultimately just gives us what we have selected for ourselves.

Who are we to resist the Church’s cooperation with our own self-selection? 

The beauty of this day is that God allows us to change roles - it’s subversive.

Through the cross, Jesus says that we, like St. Peter, can be transformed from a God-denying villain to one of the heroes (i.e. the saints) of the story.  This transformation, however, comes through repentance. That means that it isn’t a fruit of deception and pride, but rather one self-realization and humility. Our foolish human minds allow us to daydream about skipping the cross and heading straight to the glory. That’s not how it worked for Jesus, and it isn’t how it will work for you.  

Don’t allow yourself to just bypass this day. Enter into the passion and death of our Lord in a way that you never have before. Jesus was showing us the way to eternal glory when He made His way up Calvary some 2000 years ago.

Choose to follow Him.

Today, we play the role of the villain, so that we can better understand what Christ offered up to allow us a chance to become the hero. Don’t make a fool of yourself.

Say those words.

Feel their weight.

And understand that it isn’t just today that you have the opportunity to utter them, but every day when you choose between sin and Good. Say the words today so that you can be better prepared to avoid saying them with your thoughts, words, and actions tomorrow.