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the chosen are the ones most responsible for Christ's death is demonstrated in

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the liturgy of the Church

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artistic representation

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Rembrandt's two depictions of the trial of Jesus

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first image

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depicts the presentation of Jesus to the crowd

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uses details of contemporary buildings in Amsterdam

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viewers from that time would have recognized that the buildings behind Pilate and Jesus

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mark the style of public building in their own town

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presentation of those who demand Jesus' death, they look like the Dutchmen of Rembrandt's day

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emphasizes the ordinariness of the eager spectators

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this would be as if a contemporary Rembrandt depicting Jesus being convicted at your city hall by people who look like you and your neighbors

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in a subsequent work, Rembrandt removes the audience from before the tribunal

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now Jesus looks directly into the viewer of the picture, not the crowd in front

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we the viewers become those demanding Christ's death

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like Peter, no matter how much we want to claim our innocence, we are the ones who demanded the Savior's death

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music

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Bach's St. John Passion

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Bach was deeply immersed in the Christian tradition

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in that portion of the Gospel where Peter is denying his Lord, Jesus has been struck by one of the guards

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Bach inserts a choral which brings the story to the audience, putting us in the middle of the story

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the words the choir sings are arresting:

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"I and my sins which are as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, they have caused the sorrow that strikes you and the grievous host of pain."

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makes it clear that no benefit is gained by reflecting on the question of culpability

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whether Jew or Gentile is of secondary significance

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Jesus' death was occasioned by our sin

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oppression of the Jews by the Catholic Church

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important to retrieve the official teaching

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Christ died for our sins

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we have to present this in some way that we played a role in his death

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when the story of the Passion is read out loud during mass

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it's the congregation who speaks the words that demand the death of Jesus

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just as the sons of Jacob lowered Joseph into the pit, it is the sons and daughters of Christ who condemn him to death

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when we see the disciples acting the way they do in Mark, Mathew, Luke and John, it is not only to teach us about these figures but about us