The Scourging of Christ

Flogging, Paul van Dongen, 2004. Watercolor on paper, 70 x 50 cm.

Lead Me to Calvary by Don Moen, from the album Hymns of Hope. Composed by Jennie Evelyn Hussey.

Poetry:

"Holy Thursday, the Stripping"
by Marda Messick

The stripping proceeds without haste.
In this choreography
of total eviction
a bow accompanies each removal
of chalices and fair linen,
candelabra, the historic
embroidery,
the gilded Gospel.

The priest
has handed his scarlet robe
to the verger.
In the emptied chancel
he pours oil and water
on the undressed altar,
washes naked wood
like a body,
folds himself in shadow.

Lots are cast.
Our hearts are wax.
Eloi,Eloi, save us
from the power of the dog.
We kneel forsaken
until there is nothing for us
but to stagger, speechless,
into the voided
and vigilant night.

THE SCOURGING OF CHRIST

Twelve years ago, we sat outside our home eating with friends. The Nile River was in view and our children were laughing, running around a tree. A stray rock thrown by a child found its mark in a large African honeybee nest. The resulting chaos was a mad dash to flee from the organized, aggressive charge. Local South Sudanese stories recount these bees waiting for hours for people to emerge from hiding to get their revenge. Inside our house we watched them banging against the window and looking for a way in.

The bees beating at our windows relentlessly reminded us of their desire for vengeance––the passage in Matthew also relentlessly reminds readers of the suffering Christ. Matthew 27 draws us right into the swarming hive of Christ’s suffering. Paul Von Dongen in his artwork Flogging draws our eyes to Jesus’ suffering through the medium of etching where he uses acid to focus his watercolor. The acidity destroys the paper in certain ways to allow watercolor to flow differently and the work of the artist becomes an invitation to see Christ’s suffering in a way that recognizes its sacrifice, tragedy, and beauty.

Poet Marda Messick describes a ceremony in some churches on this day. In somber silence, the church is stripped bare and everything that can be removed is carried away in silence. This practice is an all-sensory reminder that Christ himself was stripped and beaten––Jesus stripped himself (Phil 2) to become man, and then he allowed himself to be stripped, beaten, and mocked for us. This stripping echoes how God desires to form us, taking away what is unnecessary to give our heart the freedom to breathe, move, and grow in love for God. “Save us from the power of the dog” says the poem, please strip from us anything that may destroy us.

In South Sudan that day when I looked out my window again, I saw much more than the swarm of angry bees ready to strike. Pastor Andrew from the village had come; he had pulled up a stool and sat under the tree. He quietly stripped off his hat and allowed the bees to place their anger upon his body, to get their vengeance upon him not us.

It was a quiet sacrifice, he didn’t proclaim to the village what he was doing, after the bees left, he quietly walked home where he was sick from the stings for many days. As my eyes trace the scourged Jesus image above, I am reminded of my pastor, his hat off, his head stripped bare.

Christ’s stripping and beating is a somber reminder that we too must be stripped to be formed by His love. Christ was “despised” and “rejected” (Is 53:3) and this stripping invites contemplation about our response to His love. We are led to Calvary, as we intake His love and follow His example to strip away unnecessary things to respond to His sacrifice. Christ was stripped, and we must be too to enter through HIs love into a life of sacrifice where our stripping can be used by God for His glory.

Prayer:

God, today as we remember your suffering, let us also be reminded of our response to your love. Strip us of things that hinder us from knowing and loving you as we ought.
In your name, Amen.

Amie Cross, M.Div.
Chaplain and Missionary
Alumna of Torrey Honors College
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website via the link in our bio.