Scourged

John 19:1-3 (NRSV)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face.

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Sometimes I feel
Sometimes I feel ... like I've been tied to the whippin’ post
Tied to the whippin’ post
Tied to the whippin' post
Good Lord I feel like I'm dyin'

"Whippin' Post," written by Greg Allman, recorded by The Allman Brothers Band on their self-titled debut album.

Some days, many days, it's impossible to make sense of current events. Maybe it's because compared to even fifty years ago there are so many more current events with so much more coverage of each of them.

Recently there have been shootings, war and talk of war, terror and those who bring terror from the ends of the world to your town. Drug problem? I'm not advocating drug use, but accounting for prescription drug use and abuse who says there isn't a drug problem. The election cycle? You'd think the world has gone off its rails. The world is gone fully mad.

In the ancient world, it was the time of the Passover, Rome was in charge, the religious leaders were in fear for their status in the temple and synagogues, and politicians were doing what politicians do. Everyone was trying to corner their little part of the power market, and here comes the one who is power.

Then comes the Lord, He who is, He who is the I AM. He was abused for no other reason than being who he was and being himself in the world. Mocked, scorned, ridiculed. Our Lord was scourged, flogged, and whipped. In the end, all I can say is that when I have been run down, lied to, feeling like a fool, I worship a God who has been on the whippin' post too.

Still, even after being tied to the whipping post our Lord stayed by our side, even when humanity did not stand by his. He was generous, even when he was mocked. He turned even when beaten. He was King of the Jews even when he was mocked being called the King of the Jews.

If there is one thing we must say about Jesus, even as we say life is difficult and life is uncertain, it is that he has been there too. Jesus experienced these very same things. He was wrongly accused and then tried and hung up to dry. He was left to rot in the noonday sun on a garbage heap. He has seen our troubles. He still offers his grace. We know our troubles, but have we accepted his grace?