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Today’s Gospel reading is a courtroom scene.  A trial is taking place, not in the modern, western sense, with a judge and jury and attorney present.  It was instead a Roman trial.  It took place in the private chambers of the Roman governor.  Only two people were present, Pilate, the governor, and Jesus, the accused.  Pilate was both judge and jury.  He held the power of life and death.

This is probably the most famous trial in history.  We all know this story well. There is no need to repeat it here.  Rather I want us to try to give the story a modern and personal setting. Looking back on it we can see the situation more objectively.  Actually, Jesus was not on trial at all; Pilate was.

It is not an ancient story, but rather one that takes place every day.  Life is a courtroom, and we are constantly put to the test in the presence of the person and the principles of Jesus.  Maybe it would be easier for the young people reading this to think in terms of a classroom on test day.  We all remember those times of cramming for the exam, and wondering what the outcome would be, and the sense of relief when it was all over.  But those of us who are older realize that testing does not end with graduation.  The examination goes right on.  We are put to the test almost every day that we live.

We are, for example, tested as to our personal integrity; life, on a regular basis, confronts us with issues of right and wrong, justice, and injustice.  And when those moments come, our personal integrity is at stake.  We can close our eyes and pretend not to see it.  Or we can close our lips and give consent by our silence.

Or we can stand up and be counted.  It is a crucial moment when life comes to test our personal integrity.  If we start to trim and rationalize, we’re in trouble.  Character will be chipped away, bit by bit, until at last little or nothing remains.

Few things in this life matter so much as your personal integrity.  Life will put it to the test.  You will have a thousand chances to sell it for profit or pleasure or power, but don’t do it.  Lose what you must, but at all costs, hold on to that.

Also, life will test us as to our moral courage.  To live with integrity sometimes requires a great deal of courage.  Think about it the next time you are faced with an unpopular issue.  It may be at school, it may be at work, or it may be in our community.  All the sentiment of the crowd seems to be going in one direction, and your heart tells you to go the other way.  What do you do then?  The speaking out for unpopular causes requires more moral courage than most of us possess.  But what a wonderful thing it is when someone has it.

Moral courage is a needed thing.  Build all that you can and hold on to it with all that you’ve got.  You are going to need it, because life will put you to the test.

There is a story of a group of American tourists visiting the Louvre in Paris.  They were conducted on their visit by an elderly guide who had led groups through the famous gallery for more than forty years.  In the space of those years, he had developed a very deep respect and appreciation for the many works of art.  When the Americans finished their visit, a man in the group was heard to say, “I don’t see anything so great about those pictures.”   To which the guide responded, “Sir, these painting are no longer on trial.  You are.”

So it is with the person and principles of Jesus.  He is no longer on trial.  We are.  Every day in the    courtroom of life we are measured by those things that He lived and taught.  God grant that we might have the personal integrity and moral courage it takes to pas the test.