Last Sunday morning, I put together a wholly different kind of lesson for our youth--"The Stations of the Cross." It is a self-guided prayer time, where the students physically walk around the room to different stations representing points along Jesus' journey from his condemnation to his burial. At each stop, there is a Scripture passage, an image, a meditation, a prayer, and an activity to perform. I'm posting here the material I compiled and invite you on a virtual journey to the cross (or you can come by the church before Friday and walk through it yourself!).
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Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Explanation of Stations:
Today I’m inviting you to participate in an activity called “The Stations of the Cross.” This experience is designed to help you bridge the gap between this Sunday, Palm Sunday, and next Sunday, Easter Sunday. If all you knew were these two Sundays, all you would know would be celebration and victory. But there’s more than that going on in the life of Jesus in the last week of his life.
Take a moment to review the events of Jesus' final weeks: Palm Sunday (triumphal entry), weeping over Jerusalem, cleansing the temple, intense time with his closest followers, Maundy Thursday (washing feet, Passover meal, Last supper, high priestly prayer, garden, betrayal), Good Friday (arrest, trial, humiliation, beating, execution, on the cross, burial).
There will be Easter and resurrection and victory, but not yet. Don’t lose sight of the significance of the journey by rushing through the messiness and gruesomeness of Thursday night and Friday in order to get to the victory of Easter Sunday. Take time to focus on the cross and all that it means so that you can fully appreciate the Resurrection.
There are 7 stations and each one represents a point along Jesus’ journey from being condemned to die to his death on the cross and being placed in his tomb. At each station I want you to read the Scripture, look at the picture, read the meditation and thoughtfully participate in the activity. Take your time. This is for you.
The first point to note is that this is
prayer. It isn't an intellectual exercise. It is in the context of my relationship with God. I could read through the text of each of the stations, and look at the pictures, but that wouldn't necessarily be prayer. This is an invitation to enter into a gifted faith experience of who Jesus is for me. It becomes prayer when I open my heart to be touched, and it leads me to express my response in prayer.
The second thing to remember is that this is
an imaginative exercise. Its purpose is not a historical examination of "what really happened" on that day in history. It's about something far more profound. This is an opportunity to use this long standing Christian prayer to let Jesus touch my heart deeply by showing me the depth of his love for me. The context is the historical fact that he was made to carry the instrument of his death, from the place where he was condemned to die, to Calvary where he died, and that he was taken down and laid in a tomb. The religious context is that today Jesus wants to use any means available to move my heart to know his love for me. These exercises can allow me to imaginatively visualize the "meaning" of his passion and death.
The point of this exercise is to lead us to
gratitude. It will also lead us into a sense of solidarity with all our brothers and sisters. In our busy, high tech lives we can easily get out of touch with the terrible suffering of real people in our world. Journeying with Jesus in the Stations, allows us to imagine his entry into the experience of those who are tortured, unjustly accused or victimized, sitting on death row, carrying impossible burdens, facing terminal illnesses, or simply fatigued with life.
Beyond all the good statements and the sentimentalism associated with the Cross, finally it is about faithfulness, servanthood, the commitment of God to his creation that will not abandon that commitment even when rejected. In a real sense, the cross is about the power of love, the commitment of God to humanity, the God whose faithfulness and grace knows no limits and will yield to no boundary, that will risk even death itself for the sake of new life.
Station 1: Jesus is Condemned to Die
Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. . . . So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." . . . and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. (Matt 27:11-14, 24, 26b)
As the journey with him begins, I view the scene, I become moved by both outrage and gratitude. I look at you. Your face. The crown of thorns. The blood. Your clothes stuck to the wounds on your back. Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair. You stands there silently with your hands tied behind your back. This is for me. That I might be free. That I might have eternal life. I express my love and thanks.
Jesus, I wish you would speak! I wish you would proclaim who you are. I wish you would confront the disbelief of the crowds and the arrogant cowardice of the powers that be. Surely someone will speak up for you! Where are the lepers who were healed? Where are the blind who can now see? Where are all the people who ate the bread and fish on the hillside? Where are those who followed you so easily when they thought you would become King of the Jews? Yet no one speaks. No voice in the crowd comes to your defense. You stand alone.
You stand before Pilate, the power of Rome. Weakness stands before strength. And yet, Pilate, the ruthless enforcer for the Empire is not really in control here. He cannot make you confess. He cannot quiet the crowds. For all his power, he cannot find the courage to do what is right. So he does what is safe. He yields to the crowds for the sake of order. Courage and strength do not always sit on thrones or judgment seats. Power is not always in the hands of Empires.
I have been alone. I have been falsely accused, and no one has spoken for me. I have been treated unfairly by those who could have used their power for better purposes. I can understand some of your feelings as you stand silently before Pilate and watch him proclaim his own innocence as he condemns an innocent man.
But perhaps I have treated others unfairly as well. Perhaps I have not spoken up for others when they needed a voice. There are those around me who have been treated unjustly. Have I always had the courage to come to their defense? There are those around me who feel alone and abandoned. Have I always been there for them? O Lord, forgive me for not always being who I should be.
Pray: Jesus, I see in your silence the quiet strength that reveals a peace and a resolve. O Lord, help me deal with the unfairness of life without becoming critical of others. Help me to be sensitive to the pain and feelings of others. Give me the courage to do what is right without being swayed by the demands of others. Let me understand that this was for me. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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As the journey begins, ask to be with Jesus. To follow his journey.
Spend a few moments looking at yourself in the mirror. Think about how it feels to be treated unfairly. Remember what it feels like to stand alone.
Know that he stood alone, so that you would never have to stand alone again. Say to yourself, “He did this for me. He did this for me.”
Station 2: Jesus Carries His Cross
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27-31)
Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. (John 19:17)
You are made to carry the cross on which you will die. I contemplate the wood of that cross. I imagine how heavy it is. It represents the weight of all our crosses, our burdens, our anguish, our sufferings. What you must have felt as you first took it upon his shoulders! With each step you enter more deeply into our human experience. You walk in the path of human struggle and experience its crushing weight.
Jesus, I see you accept the Cross in the midst of such mockery. You could have refused. What more could they have done to you? Yet you begin this journey, knowing full well where it will lead. I hear no words of complaint, no protests of innocence, no cursing the injustice. And yet I am so prone to complain and whine. Sometimes the troubles of life are very real and bear down on me. But I so easily fall into self-pity. I too often assume that I am the only one who bears a cross, or that my cross is larger and heavier than any others.
You told me, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
Pray: O Lord, forgive me for forgetting that in my weakness I am driven to trust on you, and that in that trust my weakness becomes your strength. Forgive my attitudes of self-pity that make me more bitter and ugly than loving. And when crosses come, give me the strength to bear them as one who follows your example. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Jesus bore the weight of the world on the cross.
What are some of the weights that your bear?
Write your struggle or burden on a slip of paper. Join your link to the chain of sorrow, misery and sin.
Give it to Jesus and commit to trust Him with it.
Station 3: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21)
Jesus, I can only imagine the awful weight of that cross you carry. It is not just the weight of beams of wood that presses down on you. It is also the weight of the burden you carry for those whom you have loved. You came to offer them life, and yet they return only death.
So I see you fall from the crushing weight of pain and grief. I don’t know how many times you have fallen, but I know that your physical strength is failing. The soldiers must recognize this as well, because they force a man from the crowd to help you carry the cross the rest of the way to the place where you will be crucified. Perhaps they are afraid that you will die before you make it to the top of the hill. The man of Cyrene was just a bystander passing through on his way into town from the countryside. And yet he bears the weight of the cross to save your strength.
I look into your face and contemplate your struggle. Your powerlessness. Your dependence on another. I see how you look at Simon, with utmost humility and gratitude. This is for me. So I feel anguish and gratitude. I express my thanks that you can continue this journey. That you have help. That you know my inability to carry my burden alone.
I would like to think that if I had been there I would have rushed from the crowd and volunteered to carry that cross for you. But would I have had the courage to face the Roman soldiers and risk being forced to join you on a cross? Would I have been willing to risk everything to ease your suffering for a few moments by letting you know that you were not alone?
Besides, I have my own crosses already. I have as much as I can bear without taking on the added burdens of others. And what would people think of me if I were seen consorting with criminals and enemies of Rome in such a public spectacle? So instead of offering to help, I tried to become invisible in the crowd. And when the soldiers were looking around for someone to press into service, I looked away and pretended not to notice what was happening.
It is easy to pretend not to see the needs, the grief, and the suffering around me every day. It is easy to pretend not to hear the cries for help that come in many forms from those among whom I walk every day. It is easy to convince myself that I am too busy, or too tired, or have too much on my plate already to get involved in the lives of others. There are simply too many who need too much.
And yet I remember something that you said, something about becoming a servant of all, of putting myself last and others first. Is this what it means to be a servant? Jesus, are you showing me what it means to be that kind of servant. Is this man from Cyrene modeling for me the path of discipleship?
Pray: O Lord, forgive me for becoming so preoccupied with myself that I have become deaf and blind to the grief and suffering of those around me. Forgive me for my indifference. Constantly remind me that I cannot love you without loving others as well. Help me always remember that to be a follower of yours means that I share in the burdens of others. Lord, show me someone whose cross I may help carry. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Put yourself in Simon’s place.
Be a burden-bearer.
Light a candle for someone near you. Quietly pray a prayer of encouragement for that person.
Now put yourself in Jesus’ shoes.
Pray a prayer of thanks for those who have helped and encouraged you.
Open up your life and allow others to come alongside you who might share your burdens… giving you the strength to fulfill your purpose.
Station 4: Jesus is Stripped
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. (John 19:23-25a)
Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. You are completely stripped of any pride. The wounds on your back are torn open again. You experience the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects you. As they stare at you, your eyes turn to heaven.
I pause to watch the stripping. I contemplate all that is taken from you. And how you face your death with such nakedness.
I reflect upon how much of yourself you have revealed to me. Holding nothing back. You have trusted me with everything of you, revealing the depths of your heart to me. And I realize how much I hide from you. I conceal my ugliness, my weakness, my sin. I am so scared that if you really knew me, I would disgust you. You are so good; I am filled with so much darkness.
Can I trust you with my real self? Will you still find me worth loving? Or will you give up on me? If I reveal too much, I’m afraid you might leave me alone and naked.
As I look at you in your humility, I know that this is for me so that I could trust you not to reject me. So that I would not have to hide anymore. I share my feelings of gratitude.
Pray: Jesus, help me to trust you enough to have the confidence to expose myself to your Spirit. Forgive me for my distance and hiddenness. Make me free. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Take a moment to stand in front of the fan.
Feel the breeze as it penetrates and overwhelms you.
Allow God’s Spirit to blow through you.
Feel the Spirit strip away everything you hide behind. Everything that is not His.
Ask Him, “Remove everything that stands between us.”
Station 5: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. (Mark 15:23-32)
Huge nails are hammered through your hands and feet to fix you on the cross. You are bleeding much more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of your life hangs on those nails. Every time you struggle to pull yourself up to breathe, your ability to cling to life slips away.
I make myself watch the nails being driven through your flesh. And I watch your face. I hear your words spoken from the cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
“I am thirsty.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“It is finished.”
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
I contemplate the completeness of your entry into our lives. Can there be any pain or agony you would not understand?
This is for me. The brokeness that makes me whole. The surrender that gives me life. I pause to experience and receive how completely you love me. You are indeed completely poured out for me. As I treasure this gift, I express what is in my heart.
Pray: O Lord, thank you for this gift. I am amazed that you did not give up on your dream for me to be with you, even when it cost so much. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Take piece of ice in your hand.
Hold it in your palm.
Hold onto it as long as you can through the rest of the stations.
As you feel the cold stab through your hand, remember the nails that pierced his flesh.
Let it remind you of his suffering… and love.
Station 6: Jesus Dies On The Cross
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Matthew 27:45-54)
I watch as, between two criminals, a mocking title above your head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to support you, you surrender your last breath. Outside the city, as a convicted criminal, you are executed.
I stand there, at the foot of the cross, side by side with all of humanity, and witness our salvation. The One who gives life now passes from life to death, for me. Behold the ransom paid, the price of my rebellion given for me. I am bought with the highest price.
Can you imagine how much God loves you?
Pray: O Lord, may I understand this more and more. Let my heart more fully experience this unapologetic and unconditional love for me. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Take to heart the price of salvation.
Express your deepest feelings within you. Write your words on the cross.
Communicate your feelings of love, thanks, adoration, whatever.
Station 7: Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb
Then he took (Jesus’ body) down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. (Luke 23:53-55)
What tender mourning! As you are taken down, I behold this scene at the foot of the cross. The preparations for burial. Gently touching your broken body. I remember all that your hands have touched, all who have been blessed by your warm embrace. I pause to let it soak in. Your lifeless body is laid in the tomb. A profound sacrifice, complete.
They take your body to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty or that you would show yourself alive to your disciples, or that they would recognize you in the breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us, as we realize how you had to suffer and die so as to enter into your glory.
For me. That I might love as I have been loved. I pour out my heart to the God of all mercies.
I stand for a moment outside this tomb. This final journey of your life has shown me the meaning of your gift of yourself for me. This tomb represents every tomb I stand before with fear, in defeat, struggling to believe it could ever be empty.
Pray: In the fullness of faith in the Risen One, given by your own Holy Spirit, I express my gratitude for this way of the cross. I ask you, Jesus, whose hands, feet and side still bear the signs of this journey, to grant me the graces I need to take up my cross to be a servant of your own mission. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”
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Pick up a stone.
Carry it with you this week.
As you wait for Easter Sunday, when the stone was rolled away, use it to remind you of Jesus’ journey to the tomb.
Of your journey with Him.
Bring it back with you next week.
Amen.
* Here's some of the places I found material for this.
One of the coolest things about our trip was where we stayed. We called a while back and made arrangements to stay with "The Jesus People." The Jesus People USA, or JPUSA (pronounced Ja-POO-za), is an intentional community of Christians who live, worship and work together. Started over 36 years ago, members of JPUSA live in an old hotel in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Currently they have about 450 people living together, and through their faith community they support one another and share resources (like food, transportation, kids' education, bills, etc.) by the money they make through the businesses they run (roofing supply stores, coffee house, skate shop and even the large outdoor music festival, Cornerstone). They also run five shelters in the Chicago area (one of which our youth will be working in during the mission trip). It was great to see the place in action and hear them talk about what life was like living there. Alex and I stayed in the single men's apartments and helped out by washing dishes on Saturday morning.
On Friday morning, after devotions at JPUSA, we headed over to the offices for the Center for Student Missions on the edge of Northpark University campus in the Albany neighborhood. CSM is the organization that is coordinating our youth mission trip this summer. We met with the city directors, Julia, Kelly and Tim, and talked about what we would need to know to prepare for our trip. Because this is a larger group than we've ever taken before, our group will be divided into two groups for most of the project sites. So we talked about our city hosts, our ministry sites, transportation, the logistics of picking up one of our students from the airport, other schedule issues, and some things we wanted them to know about our group. They took us by the housing site where we will be staying and explained the challenges of accommodating so many students in the summer (food, bathrooms, fans, etc.). Then they took us over to Cornerstone Community Outreach, the shelter run by JPUSA for women and children, and explained about the VBS we would be running for the kids while we're there. Afterward we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant (one of the features of our trip is that we'll be eating dinner at local ethnic restaurants like this one each night).
After walking around some more, we took the train to the Wrigley area, got some pizza, and found another Jamba Juice.
As you know, Saturday morning Alex and I washed breakfast dishes for JPUSA and chatted with people there til lunch. Then, since we needed to kill some time and it was a beautiful day, we headed down to the waterfront and sat and read. After a while, we made our way back into the city to find a good spot to watch the NFL draft (btw, I think Cleveland drafted pretty well overall this year). Right when we were getting ready to head out, there came a downpour. I thought there was a Jamba Juice pretty close so, while Alex went back to the car, I decided to go find it. It was not close. So about an hour later (and a couple miles, a hail storm, and being very cold and wet), I finally got back to the car with my smoothie. We stuck around a little longer to hear our friend, Brad's band "Suzy Brack and the New Jack Lords" play at the Bird's Nest on Southport. They were great, and I'm glad we stuck around to hear them play.
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