THE TENTH STATION: JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS

Part of the humiliation of crucifixion was that the prisoner was stripped naked, left totally exposed. This was done in an attempt to deny the condemned person’s dignity. Jesus is stripped of his garments. Stripped of his dignity.

When has your own dignity been stripped away? When have you been overlooked, talked over, forgotten, spoken down to or cast aside? When have we allowed the dignity of our sisters and brothers to be stripped from them?

This radical loss of everything continues to be felt in the lives of all of the poor — those without enough food, clothing, shelter, education, respect, dignity, human rights and community. We are called to transform our society with God’s love, yet our society still allows some to be stripped of their dignity. Are we doing all we can to call out and correct the injustices in our midst? Have we formed our conscious in such a way that allows us to acknowledge our own bias and the ways societal structures impact our neighbors?

As members of the Body of Christ, our dignity is intertwined with theirs. How can we not stand humiliated before the cross, knowing that we have failed to adequately protect the dignity of all our sisters and brothers?