What’s a Life Worth?

 I felt sad on Wednesday. In our post was a flyer from a local supermarket, the headline blazoned “Turkey, 87 cents a lb”. As I read it, with an incredible feeling of sadness, I thought is that all a life is worth. Eighty-seven cents a pound for the life of a magnificent bird. I have had the privilege of meeting turkeys — actually our annual practice at this time of the year is to sponsor one or two at Farm Sanctuary. These birds like to be stroked, have unique personalities and have a natural life span of about ten years. Each year in the US alone 68 million turkeys are bred and slaughtered at less than a year old. And these lives are only deemed worth 87 cents a lb. 

 

To make me even sadder yesterday’s (Saturday) junk mail and flyers included an advert from another supermarket who proclaimed their worth of the lives of these young birds. For them they are only deemed worth “48 cents per lb.” 

 

Many years ago, Andy and I decided we would not eat anything that, to quote Linda McCartney, had a face. It was our personal choice. As I read the lectionary passage for this week my mind was already whirring with thoughts about the worth of a life and personal choice. 

 

Interestingly, the text (John 18: 33-37) is the Gospel of John’s account of Jesus examination before Pilate prior to the crucifixion. 

 

It made me wonder about the worth of a life in the eyes of those who had handed Jesus over to Pilate wanting execution. Perhaps, my thoughts on the worth of a life are all the more poignant this weekend with the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and all that led up to it. 

 

Ultimately, as the gospel story continued, the chief priests were offered a way out, a way to save a life but they held firm. They wanted the life of Jesus. This was their choice. 

 

 

Today’s text also made me muse a lot on choice. I’m not really thinking about little, everyday choices like which sweater to wear today but on big choices that change the future direction of one’s life. When one reads all four gospel accounts of Jesus before Pilate it is fairly clear that Pilate did not want to have Jesus put to death but bowed to the pressure from those who demanded his death.  

 

On re-reading the account of Pilate’s interrogation in this week’s passage I think Pilate had some serious choices to make. This part of the interrogation was all about the sovereignty of Jesus. If I was thinking critically about this text, I would be inclined to ponder how each gospel writer included this conversation as a technique to emphasize the notion of Christ as sovereign to their early readers.  

 

However, today I want simply to view the conversation as an attempt by Pilate to avoid a difficult choice. In other words, he wanted a confession from Jesus which would remove from him the necessity of making a hard choice.

 

Choices can be really hard, especially if they go against the status quo. As Pilate found it can be difficult to make the right choice when the crowd is shouting for the decision to go the other way — to be a lone voice shouting for justice. Pilate was ultimately unable to do so. 

 

So, I have two important issues to muse on this week — 

What is the worth of a life? And

Can I have the courage to make the right choice even if it goes against majority thinking.