Is today’s gospel lesson for Palm Sunday a story of victimhood? The answer is “Absolutely not.” While we are struck so hard by the agony of Jesus on the cross where he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” the message of victimhood would’ve never been his intention. Especially more so if we consider he is the one who vicariously runs into the fire to not only rescue those in danger but also model how one ought to live life according to the will of God, (or goodwill).
How do we then perceive this agonizing voice of Jesus that echoes Psalm 22 which we will hear on Good Friday? I would like to suggest that we reflect on three approaches to understanding Jesus’ cry on the cross. 1) It is Jesus’ entry point to the reality of human suffering. As he himself suffers physical and emotional pains, he experiences a sense of feeling abandoned. His suffering is real and there’s nothing to romanticize or heroicize it. Suffering is suffering. Period. As Edith Eger, a Holocaust survivor and psychologist, once said, “There is no hierarchy of suffering. There's nothing that makes my pain worse or better than yours.” 2) As we ponder on Jesus’ experiences on the cross, we are not alone in our suffering. His sense of abandonment from God is our entry point to the presence of God in the midst of our own sense of abandonment. Quite tragically, suffering unites all those who suffer, yet this tragic union and solidarity bear the fruit of the resurrection, which makes this tragic communion hopeful. No “one” is resurrected alone but can only be resurrected “with.” 3) Psalm 22 is not the end of the story. There comes Psalm 23. Jesus might have reminded us how human tragedy should be spoken, heard, and acknowledged in the words of Psalm 22. He then leads himself and those who suffer to the Lord who is our Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:1-4) As we reckon these three approaches to Psalm 22 or the cry of Jesus on the cross, Jesus is not a victim. He is silent when he has all the reasons to blame those mocking and killing him. It may be more accurate to say that he refuses to be a victim. As he doesn’t identify himself with victimhood or in other words as he doesn’t victimize himself, he doesn’t accuse anyone. For example, St. Luke records, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Resentments that would’ve been piled up high, after all, dissolve. Jesus forgives and gives his accusers a choice to be forgiven and reconciled. Jesus’ refusal of victimhood doesn’t, of course, nullify any wrongful behaviors. What it does is actually more for himself in that the wounded part of Jesus that has been unfairly and unjustly wronged doesn’t consume the entirety of who he is. He’s not locked in the victim image. He doesn’t limit himself to painful suffering. He strives for the resurrection as he struggles through the voices of Psalm 22 and wrestles with God. As we enter Holy Week, I would like us to examine and observe how often we play and function as a victim. When someone cuts us off in traffic, anger arises, which is natural. But how do we want to skillfully manage this pure reddish anger energy and respond to the situation? Are we a victim? We can, but we don’t want to. That’s not the identity we want to take on because we are better than that. This creates a glimpse of self-respect and self-compassion: “Treat yourself with respect and compassion that you are mature, considerate, wise, and kind in any situation.” In this Holy Week, Jesus paves the way from victimhood to victory, from a victim to a victor, which is another form of transfiguration, metamorphosis. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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