Pontius Pilate washed his hands to try and avoid accepting responsibility for Jesus' death. In spite of all he believed about Jesus and in spite of being the only one who had the power to crucify Jesus, Pilate caved into the crowds and his past and the threats and the pressures and he allowed Jesus to be handed over to death. And what we see is that it was not Jesus' guilt that led to his death, but it was Pilate's fear that led to Jesus being crucified. Fear pushes us to do things which we should not, to bend to the pressures of the world, and distorts our undertstanding of reality. So how to wash our hands of fear in these days that are so full of reasons to be afraid?