The Sixth Station: Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns and Scourged

Presider: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the prae­torium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes . " (Mark 15:15-20) 

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SOLDIER
I was there when the rabbi was handed over to us, to have our fun with him. I'm just an ordinary soldier, not one to get In­volved In politics. I know how to handle this whip and I do my duty. I'm not bragging when I say I can turn a person's back Into ribbons, red ribbons. 
When we heard the rumors that Jesus was pretending to be a king-well, we've got some clowns In our outfit who love a little horseplay. We found some branches with thorns and wove a crown and threw an old purple cloak over his bleeding shoulders. Then we had our sport with him, kneeling before him like he was a king and hitting him on the head with a stick. Everybody got Into the spirit of the thing, whistling and hooting, shouting, "Hall, King of the Jews!" It was nothing personal, you understand. It's what we get paid for making people miserable. Jesus wasn't a bad fellow really; In fact, he was braver than most, standing there and taking our best shots. He didn't beg for mercy, not once. Well, they took him, you know, and made him king of the hill, they did. The hill of Golgotha, that is. You get my drift. 

PRESIDER: Let us pray .
ALL: Jesus, in silence you suffered the cruelty and mock­ery of the Roman soldiers. Out of deep love for us you endured so much. May we see your face in every human being we meet, especially in the most persecuted and abandoned. Amen. 
Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns?
Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!
Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns? 

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