6th Scriptural Station of the Cross

Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns (John 19: 1-3)

Prepare your setting. Take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Set your timer.

Begin with the Sign of the Cross. Then pray: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Invite Jesus to visit with you. Tell Him of any concerns that are on your mind.

“Read” the image. What strikes you? What is happening? What objects and symbols do you notice? Ponder the messages. I’ll share my thoughts [in brackets], but your thoughts are what matter.

[I never thought of the soldiers using poles to put the crown of thorns on Jesus until I saw this picture. It makes sense; they wouldn’t have wanted to be punctured by those large, pointed spikes. I never thought of them beating the crown down on His head. How much that must have hurt!

Jesus is pictured wearing the red cloak the soldiers put on Him to mock His claim that He has a kingdom. Bullies! I also notice the white cloth covering Jesus’ groin. How humiliating to be stripped (perhaps all the way as the Nazis did to the Jews before/during World War II) and paraded in front of others. The Romans were so cruel: physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Everything about this painting seems dark to me. It was a dark time. Sin does darken our lives.

The artist makes the bust of Caesar prominate in the picture. Tiberius Caesar is engraved in the stone the bust sits upon. I wonder why the artist chose the steps to be the setting. Maybe just to identify the place as part of the Palace of Caesar. The artist certainly wants us to know that it was the political leader that tortured Jesus. As with Pontius Pilate, it gives us historical, provable facts that this happened.

I think that the artists went easy with the open flesh and bleeding that the torture would have produced. When I saw the graphic Passion of the Christ movie, I closed my eyes or watched through barely parted fingers. It’s difficult to see this. Thorns, whips, mockery. Nudity. It turns my stomach. Makes me regret every unkind action and word I’m guilty of committing or allowing or leaving unchallenged. Again, I need Jesus to guide me, to show me when and how to step in and stop abusive behavior without escalating it further.]

Meditate. Talk to God about the image, how you feel and why. Wrestle with Him about your questions until you have nothing else to say.

Pray. Lord Jesus, help me be patient in my suffering so that my patience brings honor to You. Add more to this prayer if you care to. [Help me protect the vulnerable: the old, the mentally challenged, the physically handicapped, the very young with no voice, the people new to a situation, a job, a parish ….]

Contemplate. Relax. Breathe deeply. Enjoy God’s presence. Let Him speak through your senses, thoughts, imagination until the timer rings.

Write something to keep in your heart until your next prayer session. [Laissez-faire. I never want to have a laissez-faire, non-interferring attitude towards other’s suffering.]

Thank Jesus for visiting with you. End with the Sign of the Cross. Amen.

Thank you for joining us for this meditation. I look forward to praying with you again at the next Station.