Are We Outraged?

In the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we read about the various events leading up to the Crucifixion of Our Blessed Saviour.  The chapter begins point blank:  "When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death." (St. Matthew 27:1)  This sets the tone for the events described in this chapter.  One of the main characters portrayed in this chapter is, of course, Pontius Pilate. This is because the chief priests and elders had enough with this "radical rabbi," . . .  . this "miracle worker," . . . . this "blasphemer," . . . . . and they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  The reaction of Pilate always struck me as someone who is in a sort of a "calm panic."  In other words, Pilate  . . . . at least in my opinion . . . . always seems to be somewhat calm in his demeanor on the outside.  On the inside, though, he seems to be in a panic:  he does not know what to do with the Man Jesus that is brought before him.  Pilate seems to know that he was caught somewhere in the middle and was about to be squeezed from both sides. "And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." (St. John 19:12)  Remember also  it was the wife of Pilate, who received a warning in a dream and told her husband not to have anything to do with Jesus.   It is at this point in the chapter that Pilate speaks to Our Blessed Saviour:  "Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly."  (St. Matthew 27:13-14)  Now if you survey this whole Twenty-Seventh chapter of the St. Matthew's Gospel, you will find that the interaction between Pilate and Our Blessed Saviour takes up a big chunk of this chapter.  And throughout this whole interaction between Pilate and Our Lord, He only says two words to Pilate in response to Pilate asking Him if He was a king, Our Lord responded:  "Thou sayest."  (v. 11)  You see, Pilate "marvelled greatly" because he was facing a man who was facing imminent death.  Most men, I am sure, in similar circumstances were probably protesting their fate, telling how innocent they were, and begging for mercy.  But now Pilate is facing off against someone who is doing none of these things.   He does not know how to react to this reaction from Our Blessed Saviour to the dire consequences He is faced with.

If you look throughout the chapter, you can not help but contrast the emotions and reactions of those around Him.  It is interesting to compare and contrast the reaction of the Lord compared to the crowd.  If you look at the example of the crowds and the chief priests and the elders mentioned in this chapter, it would seem that they were outraged, full of anger, and filled with hatred.  When we read this account from St. Matthew we can feel the anger and hatred and outrage from the crowd all directed toward Our Blessed Saviour.  And despite this "venom" from those around Him, ". .  . He answered (Pilate) to never a word . . . "  This is why Pilate, as St. Matthew observes, "marvelled greatly."  It is no wonder that Pilate found this contrast amazing because on the one side he saw so much hatred . . . and anger . . . and bitterness  . . . . . and when he saw Our Lord, he did not witness any of those emotions.  

How often in our own life is our first reaction to become outraged when someone has wronged us?  How often do we become angry when we feel we are in the right about something?  How often do we react with bitterness and contempt towards others around us when they have differing points of views that do not necessarily match ours?  It is so easy for us in the day and age in which we live to become "outraged" about a multitude of things.  With "social media," not only can we get outraged about events happening halfway across the world in addition to local events that can enrage us.  We can get outraged about international events or local events or even "personal" events such as getting stuck in a traffic jam or when gas prices jump up in price forty cents.  We have the potential to be outraged about a whole host of things from little to huge.  
An interesting quote in light of the subject at hand in our own day and age:  "Outrage (has become) a substitute for religion: It convinces us that our existence has some kind of meaning or significance beyond itself, that is to say beyond the paltry flux of day-to-day existence, especially when that existence is a securely comfortable one." (Dalrymple, "Better Left Unsaid," Takis's Magazine, Dec. 31, 2016)  
  

Did the crowd described above look to the chief priests and elders for something to get "outraged" over?  Do we look for things to get "outraged" over?  We are called to pattern our lives after Our Blessed Lord.  Of course, as humans, we are prone to failure but we are still called to keep on trying.  All of us have reason to be outraged.  All of us have reason to feel frustrated in life.  All of us have reason to feel anger at various points now and then.  And yet it is our reaction to these feelings that we need to work on.  Are we constantly outraged like the chief priests and crowds surrounding Our Lord or are we calm and prayerful like Our Blessed Saviour?  When confronted by our enemies and those who have wronged us, is our reaction "anger" and "outrage" or even "revenge"?  Or when confronted by those who hate us and are angry with us, do we ever respond with prayer for that person and maintain a sense of calm?  Remember Our Blessed Saviour stated:  "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you."  (St. Luke 6:27)   If we see something on social media that makes us mad .  . . .  if we get cut off in traffic by some inconsiderate jerk . . . .  if we get chewed out by our boss . . . .  is our first reaction to be "outraged"?   Do we constantly seem to be outraged or angry about something?  As much as possible, we should be different from the world.  As much as possible, we should not conform to the world.  We achieve this by following the teachings and the example of Our Blessed Saviour. Just like Pilate "marvelled greatly" at Our Lord's  reaction to the outrage and the anger of the crowds, the world should "marvel greatly" at the way in which we react to anger and outrage: responding with love and prayer.