The 10th Station of the Cross: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
What does this moment in Our Lord’s passion mean? The word that sums it up best is humility.
Not only has Jesus been unjustly sentenced, betrayed by his own Apostles, severely beaten, made to carry the wood for his own crucifixion, and exhausted beyond measure, he then had to endure the public embarrassment of being stripped of his clothing.
Jesus perfectly embodies the virtue of humility, submitting completely to his Father’s will out of love for all of mankind. But, why did Jesus have to be so humiliated?
Remember when Adam and Eve realized they were naked after eating the forbidden fruit? In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve hide from God because they realize they are naked, a realization they could have achieved only through eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Shame of nakedness entered the world at that moment. This is not to be confused with believing the body is bad or evil, because it is not. God still upholds the beauty and dignity of the human body because he personally sews clothes of leather for Adam and Eve (Gen 3:21). With this intimate act of love, God acknowledges that the perfect harmony of the Garden has been shattered and the body now needs protection, both physically and spiritually, until it can be restored to its glorified state at the final judgment.
Thinking about the humiliation Jesus endured when they took away his clothing so violently, I think of the many times throughout history when people have been forcibly humbled. I think of the early Christians, humiliated by the various persecution methods of the Romans. Imagine a bloodthirsty crowd gathered in the Roman Colosseum jeering and laughing at these so-called fools of faith.
I think of all the victims of trafficking, pornography, and prostitution, especially prevalent today but present throughout all of history in various forms, and the way the body is used and abused as a means of financial gain.
I think of the millions of victims of the Holocaust and communist regimes who had everything stripped from their lives, often including their clothing, and were humiliated because of their faith, their heritage, their race. The list could go on and on.
Look at the way children are “growing up” faster than ever these days. The immodest, highly sexualized images that young children are allowed – sometimes even encouraged – to see are damaging their ability to have a healthy understanding of God’s gift of the human body and what it was created for.
We hear a lot about self-empowerment and the importance of the individual, but it’s all at the sacrifice of the concept of humility. When children are not taught to have a sense humility, they lose all sense of self-worth. Chances are a young person who feels his or her body is not worth anything will end up experimenting with anything in an attempt to find worthiness.
Today’s world desperately needs the example of Christ at the 10th Station.
Hope lies in the fact that Jesus gave us the opportunity to unite our humiliations with his. He is an intimate Messiah who has experienced humanity’s messiness and cruelty. Not only that, but our suffering has spiritual merit if we can offer it to God.
Meditating on the stations, and specifically, the 10th Station, is also an opportunity to pray for all who are suffering right now from violent indignities and humiliations related to the body. Ask that they may know the comforting presence of Jesus in the midst of their suffering, and that they may be delivered from their torment.
When Jesus was stripped of his garments, we can be sure that he knew the name and shame of every human who has been stripped bare at the abusive hands of another. But his stripping was a restoration.
As Jesus hung naked on the cross, his was the shame that conquered all shame because he restored the proper order between man and God. No matter what one human might do to another human, we now have the promise of eternal life and the comfort of a Saviour who has suffered along with us.
Many parishes offer regular Stations during Lent, which can be a beautiful experience as a parish community. We can also try to take the time to do them individually, or as a family, to enter into a personal journey with Christ in his suffering. When you get to that 10th station, spend a little extra time asking Jesus how you can help restore humility to this world.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children, and her mom. She can be reached at [email protected].
Share your thoughts and contribute to the ongoing conversation by sending us a Letter to the Editor.