Reflections on the Stations of the Cross #4 ~ by Lula Lamb

The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Die

Jesus stood before Pilate as an innocent man. He did nothing that deserved capital punishment, or the abuse he was given. He was wrongfully condemned to punishment by death. But he has said "yes" to God and placed his life in God's hands to destroy the power of sin and death.

Now that he is condemned to death, let us ask for God's grace to be with him and to accompany him on his journey to more fully understand it and be more fully grateful for its gift.


The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross

Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders! Each step he took cut deeply into his already battered shoulders.

I couldn't believe he could manage even a few steps. With each step, he enters more deeply into our human experience. As we imagine each step he takes, pause now to say "thank you" in our own words, deep in our hearts.


The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

The weight is unbearable. Jesus falls under it. He lies on the ground and knows the experience of weakness beneath unfair burdens. He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he will ever be able to continue. This was already too much. He is pulled up and made to continue.

Let us remember how he loves us and that this is all about his mercy and the gift of life we have in him.


The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

Jesus' path takes him to a powerful source of his strength to continue. All his life, his mother had taught him the meaning of the words, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord." Now, they look into each other's eyes. How pained he must be to see her tears! Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his heart to its depth. Love and trust in God bind them together.

He has tasted the separation and loss that every person in the world knows who has lost a loved one. And he has understood the heart of every loving mother who grieves at the suffering of her children. He has become so completely one with us.


The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

I am so relieved that he is getting help even though my heart went out to Simon for being drawn into the journey. Jesus even experiences our struggle to receive help. Depending on others - not being able to make it alone.

He is made to experience the poverty of not being able to carry his burden alone and receive the satisfaction of being able to do this on his own.


The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Jesus' journey at times is brutal. He has been whipped and beaten. His face shows the signs of his unity with all who have ever suffered injustice and evil, abusive treatment. He meets a compassionate, loving woman who pushes past the Roman soldiers and wipes the vulgar spit and mocking blood from his face. He smiles and continues on the journey. On her veil, she discovers the image of his face - his gift to us to consider forever.

We give thanks for this unity with us in every aspect of our lives.


The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

Even with help, Jesus stumbles and falls to the ground. My heart sinks as he seems to just lose control. I can feel the jarring pain through my whole body. In deep exhaustion, he stares at the earth beneath him. "Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return."

He has seen death before. Now he can feel the profound weakness of disability and disease and aging itself, there on his knees under the weight of his cross. I hope that we know we can always turn to Jesus for understanding and comfort.


The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

The women of Jerusalem and their children came out to comfort and thank him. They are not there to condemn him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. They try to comfort him.

He had broken all kinds of social and religious rules to connect with them. Now they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers, knowing he can't remain to help them more in this life.


The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

This last fall is devastating. Jesus can barely proceed to the end. Summoning all his remaining strength and supported by his inner trust in God, Jesus collapses under the weight of the cross.

Jesus had lost so much blood, he looked dead. His executioners look at him as a broken man, pathetic yet paying a price he deserves. They help him up so he can make it up the hill of crucifixion. Jesus finds himself in unity with all who fall in any way.


The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes

Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. The soldiers simply had to strip him of any dignity he had left. The wounds on his back are torn open again.

He experiences the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects him. As they stare at him, his eyes turn to heaven. His incarnation is almost complete.


The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Huge nails are hammered through his hands and feet to fix him on the cross, sending spasms through his whole body. How can he stand it? He is bleeding much more seriously now.

As the cross is lifted up, the weight of his life hangs on those nails. Every time he struggles to pull himself up to breathe, his ability to cling to life slips away, so that we might be free.


The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

With great courage and compassion, Jesus still speaks of mercy and love. Between two criminals, a mocking title above his head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to support him, Jesus surrenders his last breath: "Into your hands I commend my spirit" and died.

To watch life leave the body of someone you love is unforgettable.


The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross

The nails are removed and that horrible crown of thorns is removed from his head. Jesus is made as presentable as possible, his hair is pulled back and his face is wiped clean before being handed over to his mother. What a tender moment!

Jesus' lifeless body lies in his mother's arms. He has truly died. The ultimate sacrifice, complete.


The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

No mother should ever have to bury a child; but the body of Jesus is taken to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the death.

Such emptiness is felt. We are drained of all emotions. In a few days, in this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb will be empty and a sign of Jesus' surrender to the forces of sin and death for us all. Let us understand that he had to suffer and die so as to enter into his glory, for us.


~ Image by Hermano Leon Clipart