2) SCOURGING

AT THE PILLAR

When have you experienced the second sorrowful mystery of life: the scourging at the pillar?

Sometimes you just can’t win.

The scourge of selfishness slaps us in the face and we’re sick and tired of turning the other cheek.

We do the work and someone else gets the credit – especially the person who sits around doing nothing.

Who said, “Life is fair?”

Sometimes we feel beat – beaten down by the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” as Shakespeare calls them in his powerful play, “Hamlet.”

Others seem to have all the luck.

Then to make things worse, others make comments like, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself!” or “Stop playing the victim game!” or “You’re a whiner instead of being a winner.” And you say inwardly, “Give me a break and just accept me as I am. Don’t you realize, I’m feeling down right now?”

And then there is the caustic remark or racial slur that slices our spirit in two.

A job turns out to be totally what we didn’t expect it to be and we’re stuck in it because we need a job and money is really tight.

The relatives have it all wrong. They judged us unfairly. They don’t have a clue to why we did what we did. And the words that sting keep coming and keep stinging for years now.

Rock throwers are still throwing rocks.

Motive guessers are still guessing without asking.

People are criticized when they work too hard or when they don’t work enough. They hear comments like, “Slow down. You’re making us look bad.” Or “Hurry up. You’re not pulling your load!”

People make comments about a woman if she is too good looking or if she isn’t good looking enough.

Where do we go when we’re experiencing whip lash from crashes and clashes with others?

The scriptures give us some of Jesus’ words in the garden and on the cross, but what was going through his mind as the soldiers tortured his body with whips?

We don’t know. However, we get glimpses of human pain and how people feel beaten down in Alcoholic Anonymous and Alananon meetings, Self Help groups, counseling sessions, or really listening to a friend who is hurting.

If we’re wise, we’ll connect with each other – especially when we’re hurting or beat.

Who needs my ear?

Who listens to me?

Whom have I told my story to?