Could You Wear The Crown Of Thorns?

I’ve never been very good at meditation. My mind wanders so easily and strays from what I’m trying to meditate on. The other day when I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, my mind was anywhere but on the mysteries. So, after the prayers of the Rosary were said, I took some time to concentrate and think about each of the mysteries. I wanted to give each of them the time they deserved.

While meditating on the 3^rd Mystery, Crowning Jesus With Thorns, something occurred to me. Jesus never hid the fact that He was a King. But people misunderstood His words. They taunted Him with a crown of thorns, making fun of the fact that He called Himself a King.

This in itself was nothing extraordinary as far as meditating thoughts go. But, what came from that thought is what made an impact on me. As I said, my mind wanders. And it did this time too.

Jesus was taunted and ridiculed for being Himself. He couldn’t be something He wasn’t, but people wouldn’t accept the truth of who He really was. And so, they made fun of Him, taunted Him, and ridiculed Him. They made a painful crown of thorns to put on His head to mimic a royal crown.

But, did Jesus try to defend Himself against them? Or plead His case? Did He deny His true self to please His attackers? Or did He silently accept the suffering for being who He was?

The lesson to be learned from this is to be who we are, true to ourselves. If this means standing alone for our truth, then so be it. Just as He stood His ground despite the horrible pain they inflicted upon Him, He could not deny His true Self, for He IS a King.

There was a country song that came out in 2010 by Blake Shelton, Who Are You When I’m Not Looking. It is intended more as a romantic song about a new lover, but the concept is the same. Are you the same person when I’m not here as the one that I see now?

These days it seems like it’s hard to be true to yourself because no matter what you do, you are going to displease people you love. In the past, it was acceptable to be different from others. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. There seems to be an unwritten rule now that everyone must be in agreement with everything. If someone doesn’t fall in line, they must be ostracized, cast out of society.

Nobody is safe from this social magnifying glass. It used to be based highly on your political beliefs but even that doesn’t matter anymore. In today’s society, it has become a very social dog-eat-dog world. At this point, I would not be surprised to hear of someone being lynched for simply believing in the man in the moon.

With such a trigger-happy society, it’s hard to be willing to wear that crown of thorns. The temptation is to hide our true identities and just “go with the flow”. But, even that has a price. Mentally and emotionally it will have a devastating effect on a person. Sooner or later they will grow weary of living a lie.

There is no middle ground anymore. There is no “safe place.” It used to be said one should never discuss politics, religion, or sex to play it safe in polite company. But any topic can be a hot topic these days.

The time has come to know who you are. Do you know yourself? Would you be able to stand your ground and be true to yourself if you are put to the test?

And my personal thoughts on this as well: If someone insists that you must believe only as they do to be your friend, then they aren’t really a true friend. A true friend will love you despite your faults and weaknesses or beliefs that are different and respect your right to believe your own truths.

I meditated on this concept after the meditation on the Rosary. I thought about false faces and people who wear a mask over their true selves, and I realized that at one point in my life I was just as bad. Among different people, I was a different person. Those days are over.

Today, I would wear that crown of thorns because I could not be anything but who I am. And, I make no excuses for my true self. Nor do I feel a need to explain myself. Either you accept me at face value and for who I am and profess to be, or you choose to walk away on your own.

Do you feel you could wear the crown of thorns or would you be the one placing that crown on another person’s head?