Jesus is stripped of his garments
"We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world. "
Mark 15:19
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. They stripped off his clothes and began to mock him, saying: “All hail, King of the Jews.”
Reflection:
They’ve taken everything from Jesus, even his clothes. But it doesn’t matter–no amount of humiliation, no amount of pain, will stop Jesus from fulfilling God's plan. What’s stopping you, right now, today, from fulfilling God's plan? Our problems, our struggles with sin, and the challenges of life can stop us dead in our tracks, sometimes for years. We feel afraid to bring our problems and sins to God. Why? Because we are ashamed. Imagine that you have a disease that only one doctor in the world knows how to cure. Not bringing your problems and sins to God is like refusing to visit that doctor, that's crazy, right? Yet so many people in the world refuse to give their problems to God. I challenge you to bring everything to God and don’t let shame, or humiliation or mistakes stand in your way any longer. Be persistent like Jesus did in following God's plan, and I promise you, when you follow the path of God, good things will come from it.
Prayer:
Lord, you suffered pain, embarrassment, and humiliation, yet you persisted to do the will of your father. We ask you to give us the strength that even when things get hard as we know they will, that we may also persist on doing the will of your father. We pray that you will help lead us to the path of your father, and know you'll be with us the whole time.