With the fears of a virulent virus now a distant past for the first time in quite a while, although still wearing a face mask, I was able to finally attend a retreat face to face during Holy Week instead of the Covid-induced norm of making do with the impersonal flat screen and to participate in the different Lenten liturgical services offered by our parish culminating in the joyous celebration of Easter Sunday commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Attending these services was but a pitifully small way to show repentance and seek forgiveness for all the wrongdoings I had done in the past, to start anew, and to be grateful for whatever else God has in store for me for the rest of my life. Recalling the Passion of Christ is not only a vivid reminder to face up to the reality of life’s mortality but also to be grateful for the singular act of love of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago when He knowingly allowed Himself to be crucified and to die on the Cross.
But what does being crucified suggest to you? To be crucified on the cross is imagery that we see depicted in a predominantly Christian country like ours almost everywhere: in our churches, in our homes, and even in our pockets in rosaries that we carry. But perhaps precisely because we see it everywhere, the extreme cruelty it connotes may have lost its meaning for most of us. Crucifixion comes from the Latin word “crucifixio or crucifixus,” meaning to be fixed on a cross; a form of torture and execution widely used in ancient Roman times involving binding a person to a wooden post or a tree using rope or nails. It was a punishment inflicted on slaves, peasants, and the lowest of criminals.
In the case of Jesus, it was particularly intense as described in a New York Times bestseller book, “A Case for Jesus Christ,” by Lee Strobel and Dr. Alexander Metherell. The authors surmise that Christ had likely been close to death even before He was nailed to the cross because of the beatings he received.
To quote, “As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. When Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was captured, he sweated blood out of distress about the crucifixion.”
This is a known medical condition called hematidrosis. It’s not very common, but it is associated with a high degree of psychological stress. What this did was set up the skin to be extremely fragile so that when Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldier the next day, his skin would be very, very sensitive. Roman floggings were known to be terribly brutal. They usually consisted of 39 lashes but frequently were a lot more than that. The soldier would use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them.
“When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. The whip had pieces of sharp bone as well, which would cut the flesh severely. The back would be so shredded that the deep, deep cuts sometimes exposed part of the spine. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs. It was just terrible. A third-century historian by the name of Eusebius described a flogging by saying, ‘The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.’ We know that many people would die from this kind of beating even before they could be crucified.”
To be crucified on the cross is imagery that we see depicted in a predominantly Christian country like ours almost everywhere.
Reflecting on this while doing the Stations of the Cross during the retreat, I felt a lump in my throat as I tried to imagine the excruciating pain Jesus Christ must have endured. He suffered an inhumanly terrible experience, but He rose from the dead so that we could live and show the world that there is an eternity to live for after we return to dust ourselves. And for those of us who have been blessed to have reached our golden years after going through life’s ups and downs, sorrows and joys, and love, let us rejoice with the rest of Christianity and celebrate Easter for the truth that Christ has revealed. Happy Easter to all!
Until next week… OBF!
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