His Face

“Crowning with Thorns” (1880) by Carl Bloch, Ordrup Church, Denmark, Source https://www.carlbloch.com/, (PD)

“They asked Him to identify Himself when they arrested Him.

Jesus refused to answer.  They questioned Him further.  They asked Him why He was there and where He had come from.

Jesus said little.

I tried to imagine why Jesus was so silent when so much was at stake.  Why didn’t He make a sermon or tell them a parable?  Why didn’t He explain his life to them?  Why didn’t He convince them of His innocence.  I have no doubt He could have.

Still, Jesus said nothing.

All His friends had deserted Him.  He was accused of crimes He didn’t commit.  He had no reason to trust the people who interrogated Him.  He had no reason to trust anyone.

Even His Father in heaven had rejected His pleas for help.

Jesus must have been scared, angry, frustrated and deeply hurt.  Zack [the young homeless man sitting in my office] wasn’t the first person to be struck dumb by heartbreak.

He wasn’t the first person who felt he didn’t have a friend in the world, and who didn’t trust those who said they were trying to help him.

‘We’re really glad you’re here,’ I told Zack.  ‘I hope you and I can talk at some point, but it doesn’t have to be now.  I just want you to know you are safe here.’

I started to stand up, but Zack shifted his weight and shook his head slowly.  Something told me he want to talk.  I sat back down.  I waited.  A long time.

‘I don’t talk so good,’ he said.  ‘I guess I’m not too smart,’ he said.  ‘My teacher said I got a problem learning,’ he said, struggling mightily to say the words.  ‘My dad says I’m just stupid.’

It was only a couple of sentences, but I suspected Zack was telling me an enormous amount about himself.

I asked him to say more.

He told me his mother died of cirrhosis.  He said, ‘I loved my Mom.  I mean, she used to hit me, but only when she was drunk.  I wish she didn’t die.  I really wish she was here.’

He said his father and stepmother didn’t want him…When his mother died and no one would take him in, he lived in the park.  He stole food to eat.  He didn’t eat much.”

The excerpt above is from Sometimes God Has A Kid’s Face by Sister Mary Rose McGeady of Covenant House https://www.covenanthouse.org/, a shelter for homeless youth.

During Lent, Christians contemplate the suffering of Christ, and rightly so.  But suffering is all around us.  He would have us recognize that.

Contemplating the suffering of Christ is not a sterile exercise.  It is meant to change us, to motivate us to action out of love, as He was motivated.  After all, what we do for the least of these, we do for Him (Matt. 25: 40).  Surely, we can see His face in theirs.

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com