Rosary Reflections: The Scourging at the Pillar
Last summer, I sent my oldest boys to a military training camp in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, for 2 weeks.
It was pretty hardcore... They shaved my sons' heads and issued them a new wardrobe.
It was a private camp, so they offered training from all of the branches of the military. What they experienced was amazing! But the same couldn't be said about the kids they spent their time with.
When we arrived at their graduation ceremony, blurry-eyed from the 14-hour van ride but eager to see our boys, one of the sergeants pulled us aside.
“Are you the parents of the Brix boys?” He asked.
"Yes," we muttered hesitantly as Adam and I exchanged an “oh crap, what did the boys do now?” look.
To our amazement, he said, "You should be so proud."
Then he told us a heartbreaking story.
One of my sons has a tough time paying attention, so he got distracted and didn’t do the task he was asked to. He was punished by being made to wash the inflatable boats they were using that afternoon for drills.
The kids in his company weren't very kind and made fun of him later that evening when they got back to the barracks. My son was seated on the ground by his bunk, tears streaming down his face. Two bullies stood over him, squirting water at him from their CamelBak water backpacks.
My older son realized what was happening and shoved the boys away, putting himself between his brother and the attackers.
This obviously enraged the bullies, who began punching my older son. An innocent bystander ran to get the sergeant, but in the meantime, my son stood like a statue, taking blow after blow, never raising a hand against the two.
When the sergeant finished telling us the story, he reiterated how proud we should be of our son for protecting his younger brother.
That morning, we proudly watched as he stood on stage to receive his graduation award with a busted-up lip, and a lesson he would never forget.
This unfortunate incident reminds me of the irony of the scourging at the pillar.
Jesus quietly submitted to blow after blow delivered out of rage fueled by those who felt threatened by him. It's paradoxical that the one who possessed real strength chose to submit to the cowards.
I think of my younger son, hiding in the shadow of his brother. What was going through his mind as the punches landed across his brother's face and body? In his fear and embarrassment, did he even realize what his brother did? Was he too scared to notice, or was he comforted and grateful that his brother came to his rescue?
Now let's look back at Jesus. A completely innocent man, enduring unimaginable torment.
There is a powerful scene from the movie The Passion of the Christ where He lies in the dirt during the scourging at the pillar, then, mustering all of His strength, Jesus stands back up.
The executioners, who are trained to kill through scourging, all look at each other in confusion. This man, Jesus, willingly submitted to their torture by standing.
Imagine hiding in the shadow of Our Savior during the scourging. His tall figure stands between us and eternal death. We hear each blow. We feel the wind from the instrument of torture, as the spray of warm blood streaks our face.
And He chooses to stand in our place as the fury of hell is unleashed upon Him, bravely accepting each blow in our stead.
That's a lot for us to take in!
We are a hopeful people, and we know the end of that story! He defeated death and conquered the grave! But sometimes we need to sit with the hard moments. We need to remember the pain He endured and love Him in His suffering.
We worship a God who suffered. Being a follower of Christ isn't being given a free pass to a life of comfort and ease. But we have assurance that He truly understands our suffering because He experienced it Himself.
The Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows, experienced so much suffering in her life that she earned a title for it!
Meditating on the Passion has a way of putting everything in our lives into perspective. But meditating on the Passion through the eyes of Our Lady of Sorrows is especially powerful. She had to stand there helplessly watching her beloved Son suffer.
As we pray the second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar, I encourage you to pray through the eyes of the character you can best relate to today.
If you are suffering, unite it with Jesus' suffering.
If you are standing in the shadows right now, scared, confused, or embarrassed about something, take comfort in knowing the darkness you feel may be the tall shadow of our Lord protecting you.
And if you have a child, a spouse, a friend, or anyone in your life who is suffering physically or mentally, unite your pain in watching them suffer to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Until next time, your sister in Christ,
Leah
*This blog post was adapted from a reflection given during the Marian Brunch that Catholic Country Chronicles hosted this spring.
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