CENTURION
They fret and chafe and set us all on edge
as their religious festivals approach.
But this week, men, the gods have smiled on us ‑
a stroke of genius, the Governor’s plan
to set an execution just before.
The northern rebel caught last night ‑ a gift
to show how weak their worn-out “Lord of Hosts”
who has no answer to our power of Death,
our army or our Empire’s mighty gods.
So clear the site, men, send the stragglers home.
I’ll certify to Pilate all is done.
Pax Romana sit semper eis.
This exercise in irony explores the historical realities of that “Good” Friday, stripped of the wisdom of Christian hindsight. The Latin Pax Romana sit semper eis is deliberately modelled on the Latin liturgical greeting (Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum ‑ meaning “The peace of the Lord be always with you”). The phrase Pax Romana describes the two centuries of relative peace (from Augustus, 27 BCE, to the death of Marcus Aurelius 180 CE) which was sustained by Rome’s military might in its occupied territories such as Israel/Palestine.
10 September 2012
© Revd James M McPherson
Maryborough Qld
Follow us: