A Meditation for Good Friday

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.  So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” And that is what the soldiers did.  John 19:23-25

Jesus's clothes were his only remaining possession.  What do I feel for him, stripped of everything? 

First I am thinking of the seamless tunic - a tunic meant to cover a person with no infringement of seams but purely whole. You were stripped of that mantle so, in saving me from death and sin, I now have the mantle of your Presence that covers me, covers as it has removed the barrier of  my sins and failings. 

You were humiliated when stripped bare of all worldly possessions so that You could bravely bear the sins which possess us all. My sins, all sin, covered You and crushed You for you had no earthly barriers at the time of crucifixion. 

You broke each barrier that ultimately keeps me from reconciliation to the Father, your Father, our Father, my Father. 

Crushed with the weight of my sins, the Father turned away from You, his beloved Son. You died in the agony of that separation so I could regain wholeness. 

You were stripped of everything so that I could be clothed again in the Glory of my original relationship to the Father. 

Yet, first, the agony had to be endured as all agonies on this earthly journey have to be endured. 

You made a way for me to move through them. You continue to walk the journey with me because You have walked the path before. Amen.