Are we any different from the Israelites during the time of Moses or the Pharisees who challenged Jesus? Do we ever see what is before our eyes, or do we understand what is unfolding before us? We must admit in all honesty that we do not know the God of Jesus, or the Son of Man ... for we do not look often enough upon the Crucified One, or at our own sin, recognising there the cruelty that we inflict upon one another. If we did, then there would not be such a tolerance for terror and violence among us.

We have much to learn about Jesus' passion from the sufferings of those more accessible to us - in our homes and in the community we live in. "It is profoundly unhealthy to concentrate upon Jesus' sufferings while ignoring the cruelty and torture which are endemic in our world" (Sheila Cassidy). To begin the process of our own recovery, of the health of the human race, we must look on the ones lifted up and crucified among us today.

God beholds the earth and hears the groans (Ex. 3:7) of those in prisons, detention camps, re-habilitation centres and those doomed to die, and we will know Jesus' God when we do likewise. If we complain, let it be about the misery and destitution of all those who die of starvation, lack of medicine, war, racial tensions, or without ever having had a chance to live. May our cry be one that acknowledges our sin, our selfish egos, and our lack of knowledge of God.