The crucifixion, "INRI", being alone, and reaching out

The just will be whipped, stripped of their skin, tied and blinded with fire. When they have suffered all these pains, they will be nailed to a cross.
(from The Republic by Plato, 2-5-361-E)


Hello my dear reader.

Today I have been meditating and reflecting on the Latin INRI or IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM. In my mental hard drive I recall images of my childhood back in Catholic school where it was not hard to find a crucifix with the INRI at the top of the cross. What is INRI, and where does it come from?

INRI is usually translated to: "Jesus the Nazarene, (the) King of the Jews" or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". In the Gospel according to St. John, after Jesus had been nailed to the cross, we find the following verses:
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:19-22 (NRSV)

I cannot imagine the physical and emotional pain of a crucifixion. It was usually done to slaves and rebels, and considering who Jesus was and what he did... Cicero called this "a most barbarous and terrible punishment." First, the person was whipped and flogged without mercy. Then the person would be forced to carry the crossbar (of the cross) on his shoulders all the way to the place of the crucifixion. The torture continued with the person being stripped; try to imagine that additional element of humiliation and of course the fear based on the knowledge of what was coming next: to be nailed to a crosspiece and raised up as you were. Unfortunately, the nightmare would not end here. The person would remain there, nailed to this thing 6 to 9 feet above the ground....for hours or days until the moment of death. The end would come via exhaustion, hemorrhage, asphyxiation, etc.

As I was thinking and meditating about this horror (it is quite disturbing that human beings have an amazing talent to find ways to inflict pain and suffering in such elaborate ways) I thought of the complete loss of hope...once you got to this point you knew you were done. There would be no last minute phone call from the governor that could save you...it was the end.

The Gospels have different ways of how this horror ended for Jesus. In the Gospel according to St. John it states that Jesus said: ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. But the Gospel according to St. Matthew says that after Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ he later cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. To this day those verses and that version of his last words still disturbs my soul. Then I started to think about this: if it was me on the cross, after all the torture, the suffering, and the pain...what would my last words be? I simply cannot imagine. I also cannot imagine the terrible combination of despair, of loss of all hope, and of being alone.

Then I thought about that last world: alone.
To feel alone
To be alone.

Have you my dear reader ever felt alone? Have you ever felt the terrible despair that comes with extreme loneliness? I have. And yet as of right now, I know that I am not alone.

This is not only a matter of my state of being and my existence in the love of the Son of Man that walks with me. This is also a matter of knowing that I know that I have people that love me, that I have people that care for me, and that I have people that would miss me if I was gone. And as I thought about this, I remembered that right now there are people who are alone.

Who have no one to call on the phone.
Who have no one to help them if they end up in the hospital.
Who have no one to bail them out of jail.
Who have no one they can talk to about what happened to them at work.
Who have no one that would listen to them about their broken hearts.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Ask yourself my dear reader, is there someone you have not spoken to in a long time? Is he/she doing alright? Maybe you could call him tonight. Maybe you could write her a letter.
Maybe you on your way to class, or to work, while you take out the trash, or while you are at the store you see someone you have not seen in a long time...maybe you both say hello to each other and something tells you "I wonder if she is okay". If you get that feeling my dear reader, reach out! That person may be just fine.

But maybe, he is not...

If you are religious and/or spiritual say a prayer for those who are alone tonight. Take a moment of solitude and center both your mind and your heart and think about those who are alone. Those who tonight feel like they are either carrying a cross of pain, or are have already being nailed to a cross of suffering. And after you pray, reach out!

If you are not religious, then most of this advice can also apply to you my dear reader. You may not see a point to saying a prayer, but you can still take a moment of solitude and center both your mind and your heart and think about those who are alone. And then you can do something as simple as sending a text message to someone with a "hello! how are you?" For all you know you may get a reply like this: "Well, I have been better..."

Reach out!

To my Christians friends: remember that today was the day of the Son of Man being nailed to the cross. And yet, per the Gospel according to St. Luke when one of the men being executed with him asked to be remembered by him, the Son of Man found enough strength to say Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) Even at that last moment of life, the Son of Man reached out.

peace,

Mario

Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it. --Thomas Merton

How will I respond to this letter by a Christian about Purdue's LGTBQ community?

The Exponent is the student newspaper at Purdue University. Yesterday as part of the Letters to the Editor, they posted a letter by a West Lafayette resident with the title Resident provides suggestion for LGBT youth. Now since I am a straight man one could argue that technically this letter does not apply to me. However I disagree.

Here is the text of the letter:


Dear Editor,
Many of us are getting a bit tired of hearing about the demands of Purdue’s so-called gay and lesbian community. I suspect that many of those most vocal are probably out-of-state students. I have to ask why did they apply to Purdue in the first place, if all they are going to do is complain about it? These petulant children have ‘gay friendly’ schools in their home states, and the Hoosier troublemakers (if any) should have applied to Bloomington. As a Christian, I hate the sin, but love the sinner. I see no reason to destroy these people, but they should not be working to destroy our Boilermaker values either. So the best solution for all concerned is for Purdue to set up some kind of Director of Gay and Lesbian Issues on campus, someone well versed in transferring academic credits and the application process, so these young people can be directed to better pursue their values and ‘interests’ unhindered in more accepting institutions, and traditional Boilermakers who love Purdue and are happy with it as it is can better pursue our own values and interests as well.
Boiler Up!
Harlan VanderMeer, West Lafayette resident

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How will I respond to this letter by a Christian that decided to write this letter stating his views and opinions about Purdue's LGTBQ community? Stay tuned. In the meantime, I would like to hear your opinion and comments about this letter.

peace,

Mario

"Wise counsel is precious. Companionship is priceless."

The cartoons and paintings from the "nakedpastor" David Hayward always make me think not only about myself, my possible future in the Church, and my path in life, but also about the lives of others and the world around me. Under the title of the necessity of companionship he opens up about his emotional, mental and spiritual struggles and how two people were able to help him.
peace,

Mario

--
   
   the necessity of companionship
(by David Hayward/"nakedpastor")

Even though we must walk our own path, there are indeed times when we need help. At points in our lives we require someone who will challenge us or give us guidance.

When I left the church two years ago, I had no idea the impact it would have on me. I thought I was doing fine, when in fact I had descended into some kind of numbing spiritual death. At the time I felt fine, but the problem with death is that you get used to it and it becomes the norm. My wife Lisa constantly challenged me to get help. But I was so used to her voice that I never really heard her. Finally, after considerable effort, I finally did heed her advice and contacted a counselor. But I really didn’t believe I was that bad. So, with my considerable deflection skills, I derailed the conversations in my counseling sessions from myself to my website.

Then, about 3 months ago, it became painfully obvious that I was in desperate need of help. It became obvious because I was ready to walk away from everything, including Lisa and my children… my entire family… all my friends… everything!… just walk away into a numbing oblivion to live and die probably very much alone. The thing is, I was already “separated” from all these people emotionally but just didn’t know it. The physical separation would have been the natural development of my unhealthiness.

It was then when I came clean to my counselor. Then the real work began. It has been invaluable and necessary and so, so healing. I am forever thankful for my counselor.

I want to encourage you to find someone to talk to if you are going through such a transition. You might just need someone like I did and still do… someone who will call you on your BS and affirm you and give you wisdom to make the next step.

Wise counsel is precious. Companionship is priceless. I know! It has saved my life more than once. But especially this time.