Page 99 - laten-08-06-2020

To Unclothe is to Cover

On the contrary we see the soldiers stripping Jesus of his
dignity. Though Jesus was undergoing such torture, pain and
humiliation, He still chose to forgive the soldiers. When he was
stripped naked he was asked to give the last of his possessions,
out of His nothingness. Jesus, at that point, had lost everything
except for the clothes that were covering His bruised body
before He died. He let them take away the clothes, along with
everything that they have forcefully taken from Him, setting
an example for what he preached during the Sermon on the
Mount (Matthew 5:38-48), which is to give away everything
when someone wants it from you. To give what you have even
if you’re left with nothing is also acknowledged by Jesus when
the widow was offering at the temple (Mark 12:41-44). Through
this incident of being stripped, Jesus is teaching us to even give
what is rightfully ours so that through the act of giving what
we have, we are giving something to people that do not have
anything. The Lenten aspects of generosity, forgiveness are both
highlighted in this single incident.

The unclothing of Jesus has covered not only the soldiers,
but the entire world with forgiveness. We see such similarities in
the life of Gandhi who followed the teachings of Jesus. Gandhi
unclothed himself to cover the differences between the haves and
the have nots. He becoming naked has covered the nakedness of
the people and made him equal to them. This equality achieved
through his attitude of sacrificing has made him a leader to one
of the greatest revolutions against an empire.

Conclusion

In our society today, we see many atrocities happening
around us based on religion, caste, sex, honour and so on. The
oppressed and the under privileged are being victimised again
and again each and every day. People around us are being
stripped off from their basic rights and privileges. We see the
power structures forcing the oppressed/victimised to further
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Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People