By Mgr John Devine OBE

 

Street protests in the world’s cities are an everyday occurrence. As I write, there are such protests in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Thousands are challenging the repressive policies of a corrupt government closely allied with Russia. Social media mobilises vast numbers of people in pursuit of a common cause on every continent.

 

At the same time, authoritarian governments and populist movements use the same social media to promote false claims that feed prejudice – the scapegoating of minorities and calls for the deportation of immigrants.

 

In the weeks leading up to Holy Week, the readings at Mass relate mounting hostility to Jesus. His attacks on the powerful become bolder and more explicit: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practise. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honour at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the market places and being called rabbi by others.”

 

There is a mounting sense of menace, and we begin to fear for his safety. Yet, at a moment of his own choosing, he makes a public return to Jerusalem.

 

On Palm Sunday, the crowds turn out to hail Jesus as their hero. On Good Friday, the same crowds bay for his blood. And all of this in a world without social media. Would things have been different if Jesus, his friends and his enemies, had had smart phones? Maybe the crowds would have been even bigger and the backlash greater. Today, we still allow ourselves to be swept into a frenzy of enthusiasm – Taylor Swift, remember her? We are equally prone to be manipulated into calling for the elimination of “the enemy within”. Jesus continues to be crucified again and again.

 

The day of Pentecost saw the Gospel spread to the frontiers of the known world. It happened by word of mouth. In the rush to blame or credit social media, human nature remains the same.