WHY DOES JESUS have his clothing taken away? There is a simple historical answer: the Roman soldiers wanted to shame him, exposing him fully to the belittling judgments of gawkers. But there is more. Maybe Jesus is disrobed at Calvary because in the Resurrection he will be robed in glory, robed in light.
There are signs of this in the lives of the saints. Peter Claver was a 16th century Spanish Jesuit priest who cared for the slaves shipped from Africa and brought to the New World through the port of Cartagena, Columbia.
Peter would wait for the ships to arrive, filled with the most diseased and broken human cargo. Invading the hulls, he brought practical comfort and companionship to the hundreds of thousands who had been stolen away from their homes; now sick, disoriented, terrified, filthy, abused, degraded.
It is said that his blood, pus and urine soaked priest's cloak smelled of flowers! A bit of Resurrection! Something of Christ's risen presence breaking through into our dirty world of dissolution and sin.
Our Father Who Art in Heaven...
Hail Mary full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
