Posted on April 6, 2004 in Depression Festivals Myths & Mysticism
The other day, I speculated that it perhaps wouldn’t be a bad thing if I let the Beast feel a little more at home in my head. I’m having second thoughts as we enter the last days before Easter and catch the news from Iraq on televisions and other blogs.
This run of days when we recount the obvious conclusion of the Passion gets to me. The blood of Christ splashes out of its chalice and drenches my spirit even in the best of years. The conclusion of the next three days’ events is obvious: the high priests will still feel threatened after the incident with the money changers in the Temple; the cross isn’t going to fall to pieces; the Romans will still dice for the garments; Pilate’s not going to have a change of heart and pardon Christ; the crowd isn’t going to chant “Give us Jesus”.
The Resurrection? Well, it’s the sign that the recounting of the misery is over and I don’t have to hold my pains up to the crucifixion and find them of so much less importance. After all, the Beast says, Christ suffered in public for the whole world. You, you selfish little bastard, only hurt where no one can see it and for no one but yourself. Where are your wounds? Where are the nails and the thorns? Go kneel and go stand until your kneecaps feel like fossilized dumplings and your spine threatens to telescope out your ass.
Making me feel guilty because I don’t bleed as much as Jesus is a pretty cruel thing for a mind and a culture to do to a person.
Then there is this kind of thinking:
I know who to blame for the crucifixion of my Lord, and it isn’t the Jewish authorities or Pontius Pilate or the Roman soldiers. The blame lies on the one who did the sin that requires the punishment. The blame lies on those who call on their faith in Christ to cry for forgiveness and salvation. The blame lies on the hand that drove the nails and and the hand that dropped the whip and the hand that shoved the crown of thorns.
And that hand is my hand.
To which I responded:
The whole “who is to blame” issue misses the point of the Crucifixion Story as I see it. The event happened to eliminate the distance between God and humankind, to show that God can feel pain, that God can cry, that God can be misunderstood, and that when everyone else is trying to intensify your suffering by throwing a guilt trip on you or calling on you to join their jihad to avenge Christ, God doesn’t do that. God just says “I know.”
If it’s not Original Sin, then it’s the Crucifixion. Salvation seems to be quite a racket for those who like authoritarianism in their religion.
The next time I hear someone tell me “Jesus loves you” I’m going to reply “Yes. Unconditionally. A lesson you should heed.”