HURDLING SHAME

There are many types of humiliation but would you agree that the worst of them is when you’re being humiliated for no reason? A case-in-point would be those moments when you’ve found yourself the object, literally, of ridicule. We used to call it a “bagging session” but you might have known it as “roasting” or “doing the dozens.” Depending on your definition of this experience, you may have had a chance to defend yourself against insults but often times, if the dude bagging on you was skillful, all attempts to return fire failed. Once that guy swayed the crowd in his favor, ignominy was eminent. It’s all still fresh as I remember how we’d talk about each other, setting boundaries to not insult family members. But oddly enough, it always devolved into exchanges typified by statements like, “Yo mama is so fat she stepped on a dollar bill and made four quarters in change.” It’s nice to be an adult.

At any rate, I read a familiar text this week in Hebrews 12:2 and the segment that grabbed my attention read,

“…For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame…”

It got me to think about how the cross was such a fiendish way to die. It was excruciating, a word that actually originated form the practice of crucifixion. Often it involved impalement of the wrists, mutilation of bones and ultimately suffocation all after a series of beatings with glass and bone-ridden whips. It’s been said that the criminals crucified under the Roman government’s command were nude during punishment or at least scantily clad. It was a public disgrace and needless to say, in the case of Jesus Christ, it entailed all of the tangible discomforts we protect ourselves from today:

Public Nudity (Most of us dress before going out)
Wrongful Conviction (A Roman official admitted Jesus had committed no crime)
Physical Agony (Spikes driven through wrists and feet to impale body to cross)
Sleep Deprivation (Trial through the night preceded the scourging by Roman guards)
Ostracism by a native community (Jesus’ community demanded he be murdered)
Abandonment by closest friends

There are six things we either fear or avoid on a regular basis and yet that passage in Hebrews 12:2 said that “for the joy set before him, he endured the cross…” And it placed in perspective the ease I expect from my life, the sense of entitlement I exude. I expect people to respect me, expect friendship, expect inclusion and no cavities when I take a trip to the dentist. Could it be that a life of ease is proof that no joy sits before us? Are we striving for anything that attracts resistance? Is there meaningful purpose to your and my personal development that will expose us to difficult but worthy undertakings? Undoubtedly, the answers should be yes. Life is not about how well we preserve our own ease and pleasure. It’s not about cookouts and birthday parties, though I love me some tri-tip and German Chocolate cake. There’s always more and the more will cost us something just as it cost Christ. Jesus had a vision that by being a sinless representative offering, he would be reconciling mankind with the God of the universe. It meant everything to him and brought him joy which makes me think he may have found a moment to smile even while being shamed. There’s beauty in the pain of right sacrifices.