His burdened walk is over. Jesus drops his heavy cross to the ground. Exertion gives way to humiliation. His priestly seamless tunic is stripped from him. Matted and fused to flesh, the fabric tears free. His wounds are reopened. Like Adam cast out of the Garden, Jesus stands before us naked. He takes on this intimate humiliation in love to redeem us even as we mock him. The damage of our disobedience is being repaired. There is no corner of our minds, souls, or bodies God does not see. There is nowhere to hide from his sight. The Divine Physician’s gaze heals all who allow it.

They took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled that says: “They divided my garments among them, and for my vestures they cast lots.”” John 19:23-24

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