Prickly Caps

Today's Friday which means it's time for the third installment on the Sorrowful Mysteries. Up today is the Crowning with Thorns. I find this one gives insights on how we should be treating each other. Jesus loved everyone a lot. And yet despite that He was killed. Even though He loved everyone so much, a lot of people couldn't understand it or didn't want to accept it. Instead they mis-interpreted Him, ridiculed Him for it, and then mocked Him by giving Him that crown of thorns. This happens to us too, just not quite so extremely.

One way is when we have to tell others they are in the wrong. A good example is when a friend is going out and doing drugs. As their friend, it's our obligation to try and stop them. It is not possible to properly love somebody and yet step aside and let them continue to hurt themselves no matter what the situation. This goes with strangers too, who we are also called to love, but I'll go easy for now and stick with the friend example. The problem is that there are times when we won't confront our friends. Maybe it's because we don't want to look uncool, or we think we are going to lose or hurt our friend. In this sorrowful mystery we clearly see that Jesus did not care. Our desires for companionship and acceptance must not be allowed to inappropriately effect our actions. Of course we need to confront one another with care and delicacy but ultimately we need to approach one another including complete strangers. So often I hear people tell me to stay out of it, it's not my problem or my place to speak up. This is simply not true. If we have true Christian love then we are called to speak up and act out whenever a wrong is taking place.

The second way is when we worry about how our good actions will be interpreted. One example of this may be not entertaining others with a particular talent we have because we don't want to make a spectacle of ourselves or are worried that people might think we are trying to show off. For example, I'll pick the piano since I and my sister both play it. Having taken many more years of lessons than my sister, I am better at it than her. She is quite good but just from sheer practice I am the better player. So at a family gathering, I may have a desire to not play my best pieces in order to not embarrass her or make her out to seem less. I think in these cases our hearts are in the right place. We are concerned for the dignity of the other. But if her embarrassment is due to her being jealous of my skills or people think less of her because of my better playing, those are sins that I should not be held responsible for. The good that can come from my actions should not be prevented out of worry on how others will interpret it. Again Jesus was not concerned with how others perceived His good works.

Another example is how people will perceive our motivations. Going back to the piano example, some may think that by playing my best pieces I am just trying to show off. When in actuality I may just be wanting to entertain my friends and family as best I possibly can. Another type of example is with our relationships. Sometimes we may want to hang out with a friend but may be hesitant to do so because we worry about what others will think of our motivations. Some people may think we are just talking to or doing things with that person because we are really trying to get closer to someone else. Or maybe even that person. And so friendships can suffer because of it. This one hits home on several occasions in my life. Let's face it, a lot of times we do try to hang out with others in order to get closer to someone who also hangs out in that group. But just because that can happen doesn't mean we should just let our good relationships fall apart. Jesus hung out with a sinners and prostitutes and people didn't like it and questioned what He was up to. Alright, most of us don't have intentions quite so sweet as Jesus, but still if we are going to not let ourselves perform good works simply because we are worried what others will think of it then we will never do anything worth while.

And that's the third sorrowful mystery. Next week we have the Carrying of the Cross. Tomorrow, bright and early, there will be a much lighter post involving bing-bongs. And to leave my Catholic friends with some humor, today at morning Mass a bit of the Eucharist got stuck in the crown of own of my teeth and it reminded me of a reflection I read from this person who loved it when the host got stuck to the roof of her mouth, because she wanted to savor her Savior.