A Tangled Web

THE FRIDAY ESSAY



A TALE OF TWO GOOD FRIDAY'S





Here's a thing! Do a Google search for "Good Friday Agreement" and you obtain almost 2,000,000 matches. Then try a search for "The Belfast Agreement" and you will find just a paltry 200,000. Such is the power of political myth-making! Of course despite it's prominence in cyberspace there is no such thing as the "Good Friday Agreement."Yet those who brought "The Belfast Agreement" into being back in 1998 understood the benefits that would flow from mawkish sentiment squeezed through a liberal political prism. Six years later, media pundits still refer to the "Good Friday Agreement" with reverential awe, attaching an almost palpable sense of religious iconography to this political agreement. Who would be so foolish as to oppose "Good Friday"?



Who indeed! Well, given the obscene content of the political arrangement brought into play that day, I contend that to attach the profundity of the original Good Friday to such a tatty deal should be viewed as blasphemous. However since we live in an increasingly post-Christian society this may not mean much. But perhaps there are a few resonances between the original Easter story and that which happened in 1998 after all that we can all grasp!



In each situation, a central role was given to a pragmatist. In the 21st century, being a pragmatist rather than an ideologue is considered to be a good thing by our "see no evil speak no evil" liberal elite. Pontius Pilate was the ultimate pragmatist. The Gospels portray him as being an intelligent man, far from a bloodthirsty monster. He occupied the position granted him by Rome because of his consummate political ability to achieve stability through compromise. He was a fixer. But he had the wit to understand when he was being asked to do that which is wrong. He still proceeded to sentence an innocent man to death by crucifixion. He made the original sacrifice or " risk for peace" if you prefer. Thus the consequences that flowed from the actions of this unprincipled and weak man were to have devastating consequences; The Son of God was taken to Golgotha.



Fast forward in time almost two thousand year and step forward David Trimble. The Ulster Unionist Leader is an intelligent man and an able politician. He must have known that what he has being asked to do was both immoral and contrary to his own political beliefs. He must have known he was betraying those who had laid down their lives to keep IRA terrorists from gaining power. But compromise was the name of the game, once more. There would be no peace without it. He would face immense criticism from the great and the good and President Clinton if he said no. So, in true Pilate mode, he said "Yes" and then spent five years trying to wash the consequnces from his hands.



This brings us to the Barrabas comparison. Pontius Pilate offered the baying mob a choice; He would release Barrabas a "notable prisoner"and "murderer" or Jesus. According to Matthew 27.20, it took the chief priests and elders - the opinion-formers of the day, if you like - to ensure the right result prevailed. And so it was that the mob was persuaded to reject Christ, the Son of God, and instead exhorted Pilate to release Barrabas. It was a low point for humanity.



In Northern Ireland, the proposition was put to the public to release from prison some of the most depraved killers to have ever walked this Earth. Loyalist and Republican, these murderers had been found guilty of truly shocking acts of depravity and put behind bars. The new proposal was that they now had to released if "peace"was to be obtained. The entire apparatus of the establishment, including the main Churches, (The Chief Priests and Elders) all supported this idea. In essence, they bayed again "Release Barrabus!" Thus everything moves on but nothing changes. By a majority of 70% the mob prevailed and the legions of Barrabus strolled free from justice. Rejoicing was everywhere - except for sullen fellows like me.



There is perhaps one final point that I would like to make with regard to the two Good Friday's. The God that watched his son make the ultimate sacrifice for us two thousands years ago is the same God that watched what transpired in Belfast back in 1998. Those who participated in this ignoble event will be called upon to account for what they done. At the point, perhaps the words of Pontius Pilate will resonate with them one final time, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it"



It didn't wash them and it won't wash now.