Dear one,
As you no doubt have recognized, I enjoy working with, or more likely, playing with words. Thus, in these days of the virus, I have found my mind turning to that word, “crisis,” which we hear voiced daily and repeatedly.
Some years ago I noted with interest that the German word for “crisis” is “krisis,” which takes no great philological insight to recognize the relationship between the two words: same meaning, different languages. However, my interest intensified, when I juxtaposed the German, “krisis” with the Greek word “κρίσις,” which, transliterated into German becomes “krisis,” and from German into English becomes “crisis.”
However, I then pondered anew the definition for the Greek word, κρίσις: “judgment,” or a “scrutiny of conduct,”[1] in relation to the Greek verb, κρίνω (krino), whose fundamental meaning is: “to judge,” “to decide,” and/or “to think.”[2]That is, judgments require thinking, and crises reveal thought. Likewise, although generally we dislike the negative nuances associated with “judgment,” and even more so the word “judgmental”—nonetheless, you and I daily make judgments; hourly we make decisions; and moment by moment we are thinking.
For instance, every morning I think/decide/judge: “This shirt or that? Ah, that shirt. These sox or those? Ah, these. Oatmeal with raisins or an egg sandwich? Oatmeal today—eggs tomorrow.” Of course, such decisions or judgments are innocuous, unless I am to dine with the Royal Family, or know that I’m allergic to eggs—then they become much more important or even problematic. Furthermore, when I think/decide/judge, invariably I recognize that my thinking/deciding/judging reflects who I am. I can be judged by the judgments I make; or in Jesus’ words: “The measure you measure will be measured against you” (Mark 4:24).
This week, Holy Week, I will ponder afresh Jesus’ trial before the Jewish leaders (Mark 14:55-65), or His trial before Pilate, the Roman governor (John 18:28 – 19:16). By the simplicity of both narratives, those who judged found themselves judged. This is particularly true of Pilate: in John’s narrative, increasingly and then finally Pilate is the one on trial—not Jesus.
Viewed otherwise, Pilate faced a crisis: What would he do with Jesus? Upon what basis would he think/decide/judge? Because of the coronavirus, we are facing a crisis, which will reveal our own thinking/deciding/judging … whom and what we think important or unimportant.
I wonder: What are you continuing to think/decide/judge vis-à-vis the crisis Holy Week presents: What about Jesus?
Thinking,
Stan
[1] Frederick William Danker. The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Kindle Location 3865), Kindle Edition.
[2] Ibid.