"Jesus is Scourged & Crowned with Thorns" Station 6 of the 2022 Lenten Video Series Cross Walk

The Cross Walk Lenten journey continues with a contemplation of the Sixth Station of the Cross: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns.

The crucifixion of Jesus reveals the depth and horror of the human capacity for cruelty and inhumanity. In the gospel of John, Pilate first orders the Roman soldiers to scourge Jesus to appease the mob. Scourging was one of the most feared of all punishments executed by Roman soldiers using the most dreaded instrument of the time - the flagrum. The soldiers assigned to the scourging would deliver blows with the flagrum across the exposed back. As if that was not enough cruelty and violence, the soldiers weave a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus’ head, puncturing nerves in the head that caused Jesus severe facial pain.

The soldiers see nothing wrong with what they do. In their minds, the cruelty and violence were justified and instrumental to regulating social relationships and maintaining power. Still today, we live in a culture of ingrained violence. God deplores violence in our homes and streets and rebukes the world’s bent toward violence and war. We affirm the sacredness of life and the right of all people to be free of unwanted abuse, aggressive behavior, harmful control tactics, and violence. We pray for the grace of God to oppose and resist all forms of unwanted coercion, discrimination, and violence against people in whatever form they present themselves.