The Crowning with Thorns

Catholic presentation

The third sorrowful mystery

In the previous scene, we saw people injuring God.  But when you're not on His side, injury might not be enough.  If God is truth, and you're not with Him, then you live a lie.  So if someone tells you that you are living a lie, what's your natural reaction.  Retaliate in anger?  Or belittle your oponent.  If you want to retain your self respect, probably the best strategy is to fob them off, ridicule them.  If you do it loudly enough, and convincingly enough, there's a fair chance that everyone else, who doesn't really know what's going on, will side with you.  Humiliate your opponent, make them look incompetent, ludicrous, weak and stupid and that way you can ensure that no one else will side with them.

Just one problem.  If your opponent is the truth, has your life stopped being full of lies?  perhaps that'll make you angry, want to bring down blows on your opponent.  If they offer no resistance, why not go and let off some steam!  Celebrate your feelings of victory over truth!

Oh dear, there it is again, that truth thing.  Or is it God, the truth you can't bear.

These days we Catholics don't have to look too far to see some aspect of these reactions and aspects of these strategies towards Christ and Christians.  People say the Church is out of touch.  It grew out of the dark ages!  Christians don't think for themselves.  The path of true freedom is called restrictive.  Catholicism is a straight-jacket!  Sin has been re-labelled freedom.  And supporting the life of our most vulnerable human brothers and sisters - is now extremism.  Children restrict your options.  And fidelity is so often just an inability to 'move on' to something better.

All of these are offences against the truth.  And God is truth, so they hurt - Him!  And how does He react?  The saying 'God is love' is not just a saying.  Love is what He is.  And love does not retaliate.  Love forgives.

So how will a rebel against truth repay forgiveness?  There comes a point when we all tire of a futile strategy.  And fighting God, who never tires of forgiveness, must ultimately be futile.  The trick is to know when we are not getting anywhere.  The people mocking Jesus in the picture here, sticking agonising thorns in his head, and making fun of him, eventually left him and led him back to Pilate.  Did they achieve anything personally, make themselves better?  Grow nearer to paradise?  Did they reflect on their actions?

Without reflection, there can be no conversion.  No change of sides.  That's why Jesus calls us to repent and 'then' believe the good news that Jesus can be our salvation!  That's why the Church teaches us to examine our consciences before confession, to make the repentance have some substance.  Without substance to repentance, conversion - the changing of sides - will be without loyalty, without staying power.  In short, without substance, repentance is a sham.  So let's make sure that our salvation isn't a sham either.  Let's make a habit of reflecting daily on our thoughts and actions, and seeing which side we were on.  And if we weren't on God's side, then let's not doubt the need for our repentance, conversion and yes, a repeated entering into the good news of our salvation.  Jesus said to the Apostles:

John 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

Go find an apostle!