Not now

Matthew 26:3-5

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

Not now

It's not safe

Wait awhile

until it's quiet

When the crowd has dispersed

Then we can arrest him

Even the chief priests

and the elders

underestimated the fickleness

of the crowd.

Who hailed Jesus one day

and shouted Crucify him! 

the next.

There was a riot

A riot baying for the blood

of an innocent man.

Today's crowds

are just as fickle

Easily swayed

by skilled rhetoric

or false promises.

The Son of God

would fare no better

at our hands.

We probably wouldn't even wait

for the cover of night.

He'd be tried and condemned

in the cold light of day.

And we'd barely spare him

a passing thought

before moving on

to the next cause

the next petition

that catches our imagination

and demands

our swift action

while love lies

trampled in the dust.