The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

For creation awaits with eager expectation … in hope that [it] would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

-Romans 8:19–21

When we think of the goods the poor are stripped of daily, several key items come to mind: food, water and shelter among them. In reflecting on the Democratic Republic of Congo, we see a country rich in resources-and a people driven into poverty. How do we ensure that the wonders of the natural world are used in a sustainable, equitable way? Giving a man a fish, as the old adage goes, only solves the problem for the day.

We must look at the world from which we get essential resources. How do people-the poor and rich alike-get food and water? Are we living in environments that are conducive to good health? Questions like these have ecological and environmental answers.

God calls us to be good stewards of the resources he has given us, to look out for one another by sharing and collaborating, rather than grabbing up everything we can get now and worrying about others later. After all, teaching a man to fish will be of little value if we’ve left him a polluted pond.