Mark 15:16-20: The Paradox of Mockery
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Paraphrasing from La Biblia de América (1538): The condemned man remains silent during this scene. The soldiers convert Jesus into a symbol of mockery and Mark does not record a single word about Jesus’ comportment. Jesus says and does nothing. He does not react. He is the defenseless victim of the soldiers who, in an attempt to mock Jesus, adore him as God.
This paradox is the paradox we are all asked to live each day. We are asked to witness to the injustice we experience – or to the injustice we see others experience. Living in this way, we begin to understand that the persecution we suffer is not the pain and punishment our accusers wish to inflict on us; rather it is the martyrdom Jesus asks us to bear when he says (Mark 5:11-12), Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
When we are mocked for Jesus’ sake, we step into God’s blessed gift of paradox . . . for the punishment our accusers wish to inflict upon us they suffer themselves. And the joy they wish to remove from us . . . they pour on us abundantly.
LA BIBLIA DE LA AMÉRICA. 8th. Madrid: La Casa de la Biblia, 1994. Print.
A favorite from Friday, April 15, 2011.
Image from: http://community.artauthority.net/work.asp?wid=116216&pos=7
The Noontimes 