There is a constant deliberate move on the part of those who have charge of the prisoner Jesus to strip him not just of his clothes but of his dignity. Across the world and history, captors have sought excuses for their mistreatment of their fellow human beings, from torture to death itself. The easiest way to do this is to pretend that your prisoner is no longer human. To strip him or her of their dignity, to remove their name, to remove their sense of worth. Also to say that you are merely obeying the orders of another, it is not my responsibility. But Jesus never succumbs to his degradation. His gaze is now on his Father alone. It is in their love that his dignity remains, his relationship with the Trinity. For all those in similar situations today, unjustly imprisoned and tortured, and for those who feel their dignity has gone because life, perhaps through illness, seems to have reduced them to nothing, it is possible to see that your worth is not measured by humanity’s failings or expectations, but by the love God has for you, and where appropriate your ability to forgive.
Kendal Catholic Priest 