Partial Re-Post: Stations of the Cross

Intro

These stations represent the last fourteen steps of Jesus' long journey to the cross.

It was a journey with many twists and turns, with joy and laughter, danger and sorrow, as any great journey is. But Jesus knew how it would end.

Yes, these are the last fourteen steps' of Jesus life. But for us they must be the first fourteen steps on a new journey. 

Unlike Jesus we don't know where that journey will take us, but if it is shaped by our experience here, then we can know that wherever it takes us, we will be able to endure and keep faith. 

For our journey can be no harder than His, and on ours He will be our companion. 

Amen.

Station 1: Jesus Is Condemned By Pilate

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Here Jesus, The Judge of the World, stands trial before a corrupt official. But who is really on trial here? Who is proved guilty and who really stands condemned? We must always beware when we judge others, that in our condemnation we are not really condemning ourselves. And let us seek to never overcome evil with evil. But like Jesus to let our love and obedience be so great, that in defeat God might bring us victory.

P: "Let us not judge lest we be judged."

R: "And not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good."

Station 2: Jesus Takes His Cross

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Jesus is given a mighty burden to bear. But the physical weight of the Cross is only the tip of the iceberg. It reveals to the senses a much more terrible and hidden reality. For the real burden this frail man carries is the weight of all of our sins. Every lie, every betrayal, every harm visited upon anyone, now sits upon the body and soul of Jesus. So whenever we find an opportunity to fight against sin within, or injustice without, let us see that as an opportunity to relieve, if even to the smallest degree, the pain of our Lord.

P: "We know what is required of us."

R: "To love goodness, and do justice, and walk humbly with our God."

Station 3: Jesus Falls For The First Time

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Jesus is God Incarnate, the Lord of the Universe. Now He has so humbled Himself that He falls upon the ground from exhaustion. People so often seek God in the unusual, the extraordinary, the glorious and the distinguished. But Christ came as one of the lowly. And it is among the lowly that we will discover our God. Service to the lowest is not a duty, but the expression of a fundamental truth: God is Suffering Love.

P: "For The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve"

R: "And offer Himself as a sacrifice for many"

Station 4: Jesus Meets His Mother

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

The greatest spiritual pain a person can experience is helplessly watching the suffering of someone they love. But in a very real sense, we should all seek the perspective of Mary, watching Jesus bear this terrible burden. For if our sin causes the suffering of the Lord we love, then should not this knowledge push us away from evil? So let us not turn away, but witness boldly the consequences of our sin, so that we may sin less. 

P: "Create in us pure hearts, O Lord"

R: "And send your Spirit upon us."

 Station 5: Simon The Cyrene Carries Jesus' Cross

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Jesus is not alone on this final leg of His journey. God is with Him. And there are people there, too. Simon bears' Jesus physical burden, when He no longer has the strength to. Simon has no idea what is going on, or who Jesus is. How often do those who know nothing of Our Lord, find communion with Him through the alleviation of suffering in this world. May we follow their example, and let love be our guiding light when others are in pain.

P: "Let not jealousy bring us to stop those who are doing good."

R: "For whoever is not against us is for us."

Station 6: Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Simon comes to us as an outsider. But Veronica appears as one who knows and loves Jesus. Love always issues in obedience and service. And no kindness, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is ever wasted. For to alleviate any suffering to any degree is to do a kindness to God. And no kindness towards God could ever be accounted small.

P: "Anyone who gives even a cup of water to one of these who are His servants"

R: "Will surely receive their reward."

Station 7: Jesus Falls A Second Time

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

How great Jesus' suffering must be. Even without the physical burden of the Cross, now carried by Simon, the spiritual weight of all sin and its consequences weighs Him down. How often do we complain and moan because we have to deal with the after-effects of even one person's mistakes? Only through forgiveness and tolerance of the weakness of others, can we share in the power of Christ.

P: "Let us daily bear each other's burdens"

R: "For to suffer for the wrongs of others is to share in the Cross of Christ."

Station 8: Jesus Meets The Women Of Jerusalem

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Jesus did not seek the pity of others. Rather, He had pity for all those whose sin is so great and so unexamined that a sacrifice like His is required. The women Jesus meets here love Him, and stay close to Him even when His other friends have left. But their pity is misplaced. For it is not the one who suffers because of sin that is pitiable. It is the sin itself that is pitiful.

P: "Let us not weep for Him, but for ourselves."

R: "For if this is what happens when times are green, what will happen when they are dry?"

Station 9: Jesus Falls For The Third Time

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Jesus again reveals to us a God found not on the mountaintop, but in the lowest and weakest. God created us to love and serve Him. But He also created us so that He could love and serve us. We cannot fully understand the meaning of the first principle, if we do not grasp the significance of the second.

P: "If we do not allow Him to serve us, we can have no part with Him."

R: "But as He served so must we, for the student is not greater than the master."

Station 10: Jesus' Clothes Are Taken Away

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

He stands now at His most vulnerable. God Incarnate, naked to the world. Battered, broken, and humiliated. But this is the very reason for which He came: to show us the power of vulnerability, and the Divinity of Love. In helping those most in need, we humble ourselves before the lowest, and make ourselves vulnerable to those most vulnerable. That is the very substance of the Kingdom of God in this world.

P: "We know how to feed, clothe, and comfort our Lord."

R: "For if we do this for the least of these that are His children, we do it for Him."

Station 11: Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

The nailing to the cross is the image that stick with us. The physical pain is something we can scarcely imagine. But, again, that image is but a visible and outward sign of a more terrible and hidden reality. For the pain of the nails merely represents Jesus' place as the victim of every crime, of every sin, every dishonor ever visited upon anyone. So to fight for the right, and to help the victims of sin, is to alleviate the suffering of God.

P: "For we know that our redeemer lives."

R: "And that He has stood upon the Earth."

Station 12: Jesus Dies On The Cross

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

The life of God now encompasses the whole of human existence: from birth to death. There is no place of brokenness, fear, or pain where God has not followed, or where we are hidden from Him. God has fully embraced the problem of Job. Death and suffering are not foreign to the life Divine. So let us never take them as signs of God's disfavor or opposition in this world. Jesus suffered not because He was evil, but because He was good.

P: "Let us be of the same mind as Christ"

R: "Who became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

Station 13: The Body Of Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross

P: "We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for your gift upon the Cross."

R: "For by Your death You destroyed death. And by Your wounds we are healed."

P: Amen

Even through His darkest moment, Jesus brought people to the light. A Roman soldier sees in Jesus' attitude towards death a revelation of the Divine. His battered and broken body, now lifeless is brought down from the cross. Death is painful for those left behind, but for the dying it is a doorway to a greater adventure. For without the cross, there can be no resurrection.

P: "See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness over its people."

R: "But the Lord rises upon you."

Station 14: Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb

[A moment of silence]

It ends with yet another act of service. Joseph of Arimathea has contributed part of his burial land for the one called Jesus. This would've taken great courage, as Joseph was a member of the very council that condemned Jesus. What a wonderful event is to come, however, and Joseph's kindness is richly rewarded, for his name will forever be connected to it. Service to others is service to our Lord, and to serve our Lord is to share in His resurrection. Not just in the future, but right here, right now.

P: "As Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish but was released,"

R: "So shall our Lord descend to the realm of the dead, yet be raised up on the third day."

Conclusion

And so Jesus' journey ends. But yours is just beginning. You do not know where it will take you, but now you know the real stakes in life. Every decision to sin or not to sin; to help or not to help; is a decision to participate in or to alleviate the suffering of God. You will not always make the right choice, but try my friends. And for good or ill know that nothing, absolutely nothing in this world can separate you from the love of God, and all because of the gift Jesus Christ gave us upon that Cross.

Amen.