13th Station of the Cross

Our Scripture Readings today are: Psalms 55, 74; Jer 17:5-10, 14-17; Phil. 4:1-13; & John 12:27-36

We come to this Wednesday of Holy Week and stand before the Thirteenth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

Scripture Reading: "It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit'; and when he had said this he breathed his last."
Luke 23: 44-46

The cross brings us face to face with Jesus' suffering. He was alone -- all his disciples were gone, and only his mother and three women along with John, the beloved disciple seemingly were present. His death was agonizing and humiliating. Normally a crucified man could last for several days on a cross; but the Jewish leaders wanted his death to occur before the beginning of Sabbath. It takes six hours, and he dies mid-afternoon. Pilate publicly heralded Jesus "The King of the Jews" as he died upon the cross, no doubt to irritate and annoy the chief priests and Pharisees.

Do we doubt God's love for us seeing the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross? Jesus' last words, 'It is finished', express triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bows his head and gives up his spirit. Amazingly, the battle was won. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

In the cross of Christ we see the triumph of Jesus over his enemies -- sin, Satan, and death. No wonder, Paul would proclaim, "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

Abbot Rupert of Deutz, wrote in the early 12th century: "The cross of Christ is the door to heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of mankind, the consolation of our imprisonment, the prize for our freedom. The Cross of Christ is throne of love. It is the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross Jesus has redeemed our sin and atoned for our punishment. The way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin, despair, and death is through the cross of Jesus Christ.

A Prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, by your death on the cross you have won pardon for us and freedom from the tyranny of sin and death. May I live in the joy and freedom of your victory over sin and death. Amen."

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12th Station of the Cross

Today's Scripture Readings are: Psalms 6, 94; Jer 15:10-21; Phil 3:15-21; and John 12:20-26

On this Tuesday we stop at the 12 Station of the Cross: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple

Scripture Reading: "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home."
John 19: 25-27

This event is amazing simply because it highlights Jesus' concern for his earthly mother, Mary, during a time of excruciating pain. At the cross of Jesus were four women who loved him. It would be natural for his mother to be present. What grief and pain must have pierced her heart as she watched her son die on the cross. Go back to Jesus' birth and his presentation in the temple at 8 days of age. There, the prophetic Simeon had foretold great suffering for her (Luke 2:35). Now, it is coming true.
Along with Mary were three other women. Mary's sister, Salome was the mother of the disciples James and John (Mk.15:40; Matt.27:56). She was rebuked by Jesus when she asked him to give her sons the chief places in his kingdom. She was humble enough to both receive his rebuke and to follow him to the cross. Mary Magdalene was especially grateful that Jesus had freed her from a demon-possesed life. She would not leave him even in his death and she would be the first to return to the tomb after the Sabbath. We do not know much about the fourth woman, Mary of Clophas, who came to support the other women and to be with Jesus in his last agony.

But it's Jesus with Mary that captivates my meditation. When he recognizes his mother standing at the foot of the cross he immediately takes concern for her welfare and instructs John to take her as his own mother. And he asks Mary to accept John as her own son. By this time, we can assume that Mary was completely united with her son in his divine mission. We can say she really is the first Christian because she accepted the gospel and gave her "yes" to God's plan of redemption way back at his birth; but it's one thing to agree to an idea, it's another to pay the price of sacrifice. As Mary followed her son to the cross she is a model for us of faith and obedience, hope and perseverance, and love and fidelity. Jesus said to us, be ready to take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus in his way of love and sacrifice...that is most evident today.

A Prayer:

"Father, even as Mary's devotion is a model for my faith, so also help me to embrace the suffering of the cross in life itself. There is much pain in the world, and in our own pain we cry out for healing, deliverance and mercy. You've spoken in many ways that 'my grace is sufficient for you'; yet, it is still painful, and it is still sacrifice that calls me deeply to trust in you even when all help seems gone. You are Lord, Savior, our hope and our help...in all things we pray. Amen."

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11th Station of the Cross

Today's readings are: Psalms 51, 69:1-23; Jer 12:1-16, Phil 3:1-14, & John 12:9-19

This is Monday of Holy Week. Today we arrive at the 11th Station of the Cross where Jesus promises His Kingdom to one of the thieves next to him while hanging on the cross.

Scripture Reading: "Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23: 39-43

The thief who selfishly sought his physical salvation stands in contrast to the thief who both understood his sin and guilt, as well as understood Jesus' ultimate end - not in death, but in paradise.

Two things stand out to me in at this station, as well as in the reading. First, I read Psalm 51, but then chose to read it again, slowly, personally, in a first person voice. It's an exercise in confession, in not denying sin, and in realizing the weight of my sin before my Holy God..."against you and alone alone God have I sinned, and done evil in your sight."
It's an exercise I need to conscientiously enter into - intentionally I might add. It's like a shower after working out in the dirt and grease, it feels great to simply wash things clean..."purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
Confession, someone said, is good for the soul. I agree. It brings about a realization that Jesus' death is real, it was for my sin that he died, and to ignore the reality of my sin is to ignore the reality of his death.

The second thing at this station today is the words, "today you shall be with me in paradise." As a Christian I have always understood the words as the promise - stated by the Apostle Paul - "that when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord." Again, I love that, and don't dispute that at all. What hit me is the word, "paradise". What I realize is that terrorism has rendered that word both mythical and in some ways, as nonsense. Religious fundamentalism in Islam has meant young men will strap bombs to their torso and blow themselves up in the name of their god, because of the promise of ending up in "paradise" - a place of luxury, beauty, and virgins waiting. I scoff at such nonsense...but do I then scoff of paradise?

The word that Jesus uses is translated in greek as "paradeisos" - in otherwords, it's a transliteration, the English is essentially an equivalent of the greek word...it's rendering the word in English in its natural form, simply because there is no word in English that expresses well what it might mean. The word "paradeisos" only appears 3 times in the New Testament greek. Originally it is implied in creation in the garden of Eden, and it ends in Revelation. To the first of the seven churches in Revelation,
7 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.' Revelation 2:7 (NASB)
Around 1600, Jan Brueghel (the Elder), a dutch artist rendered the biblical idea of paradise in a beautiful painting.


This is a long blog, and it I don't want to take away from the first part of it, that through confession we honor the death of Christ for us; but I also want to meditate on this beautiful word, "paradise", and let the beauty of Jesus' word to the thief bear the weight of forgiveness, promise, hope, that it was meant to convey.

A Prayer:

"Father of mercy and grace, Jesus Son of God, redeemer and friend, to you belongs worship and adoration. It is through your suffering that I become a partaker of the glory of paradise. Lord, I wait in expectation. Lord, today, I confess before you my sins, and I acknowledge that my sins put you on the cross. In your love and mercy, forgive me and help me to live these days on the earth for the glory of your Kingdom. Someday Lord I have hope in seeing your paradise...the home built for me through Jesus my Lord. Amen."

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Lent - Day 40, Tenth Station of the Cross

Our Scripture Readings today are: Psalms 24, 29, 103; Zechariah 9:9-12 & Zechariah 2:9-13:9; and 1 Tim 6:12-16 and Matt 21:12-17

It is Palm Sunday and therefore the final day of Lent. Beginning today and continuing thru Saturday this is called "Holy Week", in commemoration of the events surrounding the death of Christ on the cross. It's fitting therefore that we come to this station of the cross as we begin this week.

The Tenth Station: Jesus is Crucified

Scripture: "When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
Luke 23: 33-34

On the cross Jesus is still serving mankind. Think about all that God is doing on the cross with his Son. 1700 years ago, Augustine wrote these words:
"As they were looking on, so we too gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection. He bows his head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that he may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul."

A Prayer:

"Jesus, Son of God, on this day we honor you. We give you praise and adoration, for you have loved me with your everlasting love. You have saved me through the shedding of your blood, and I will through all eternity acknowledge your deep, deep sacrifice and love. Amen."

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Lent - Day 39: 9th Station of the Cross

Our Readings for Today are: Psalms 137, 144, 42, 43; Jere 31:27-34; Rom 11:25-36; John 11:28-44 & 12:37-50

Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Scripture Reading: "A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time, people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!' and to the hills, ‘Cover us!' for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?"
Luke 23: 27-31

The day before Lent ends we come to this place where Jesus prophesies even as he suffers. Less than 40 years later Jerusalem would lay in ruins...the Romans sent an army of a million to destroy the city, the temple, and the Jewish nation. Jeremiah centuries before spoke to the people to pray for the nation of their captivity, even as the psalmist cried out in the pain of captivity. God does not delight in suffering even as he proclaims the "what will happen" fact of what our sin does to us. We live in a world desperately in need of God's intervening grace.

A Prayer:

"Father you know the world in which we live and you grieve the pain and suffering of a people who have no regard for your laws and yet reap the fruit of that sin in everyday life. We cry out with the psalmist for mercy and redemption, that which only can come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

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Lent - Day 38, Stations 7 & 8 of the Cross

The Scripture Readings for today are: Psalms 22, 141, 143; Jere 29:1, 4-13; Romans 1:13-24; John 11:1-27 & 12:1-10

The two stations of the cross that we are at are: Seventh Station: Jesus Bears the Cross

Scripture: "When the chief priests and the guards saw [Jesus] they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." ... They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha."
John 19: 6, 15-17

And, the Eighth Station: Jesus is Helped by Simon the Cyrenian to Carry the Cross

Scripture: "They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross."
Mark 15: 21

The scripture reading today from Psalm 22 is worth slowly reading and meditating upon. A psalm written some 1000 years before Jesus is descriptive of the pain and the suffering of the cross.
As we enter into the end of this Lenten period we enter into the journey of Christ to the cross. It has begun as Jesus has the cross placed upon him and he struggles to carry the cross to Golgotha. Along the way Simon, forever immortalized for being selected out of the crowd of those watching to help carry the cross for him.

At this point there is no turning back. There is no place for Jesus to have spoken up and said, "It's all a mistake". He didn't, wouldn't, and because of it he suffered this ignominious shame and death...and why? For us!

A Prayer:

"Holy Father, Precious Jesus, we bow before your throne in humility and adoration. It is for our sins that you bore the cross of grief and shame. You tell us that we must pick up our cross and follow you. It is with pain and grief that you carried this cross...something we can never duplicate. So, we bow...we worship and pray. Amen."

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Lent - Day 36, Station of The Cross

Scripture Readings for today are: Psalms 119:145-176; 128, 129, 130; Jer. 25:30-38, Rom 10:14-21 and John 10:1-18

Today we stand at the Sixth Station: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

Scripture Reading: "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,"Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly."
John 19: 1-3

Probably nothing is more sobering than to meditate on the scourging of Jesus and the crown of thorns on his head. The humiliation of being mocked, beaten, and the cruelty of the physical pain is not easy to sit and meditate on.
One person described the scourging like this:
"Pilate hoped that by having Jesus' scourged the Jews who brought him to trial might be satisfied with this punishment and stop asking for his death. Scourging was the usual kind of punishment given for disturbing the peace and a warning to cease from upsetting authority and civil order. It was also used to weaken a criminal who was about to be executed. The latter was considered a form of mercy since a crucified man could last for days on a cross before expiring. Roman scourging, nonetheless, was brutal, painful, and dehumanizing.When a prisoner was scourged he was stripped, bound and bent so his back was exposed. Long leather whips tied with pieces of sharp iron and bones were used for ripping apart the back. As skin was torn from the body in shreds blood gushed from the numerous wounds. Some died from the whipping alone, some were made unconscious, and some went mad."
It is for my/our sins that Jesus endured this pain. The "punishment of our sins was upon him", Isaiah proclaims. Isaiah further adds, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted."

If we are honest, we don't understand the "why?". Theologians describe it in different ways, and I'll not go into all the theories that surround the "why?" of this pain. Suffice to say, and by faith to hang on to, that Jesus is beginning the journey of the cross that will lead to his death -- but our redemption! There is only one way to respond to this: "Thank You Lord".

A Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, for my sins you suffered and I cannot begin to express all that I need to say in the way of 'thanks'. The gift of your pain and suffering has rippled down through the aeons of time and continued to give the gift of salvation to me, to your church, and to all who continue to put their faith and trust in you. I am grateful in ways that I cannot express...except from the depth of my being with worship, praise, and adoration. Thank You Lord. Amen."

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