The Stations of the Cross are an artistic depiction of the last moments
of Jesus Christ’s life. They are
meant to capture what we would have seen and experienced if we had been there
when the actual events occurred.
Often, in Roman Catholic Churches, you will find the Stations of the
Cross as sculptures or artwork around the sanctuary. During Lent, and especially on Good Friday, Catholics, and
now Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists, and even other denominations will
find ways to meditate and pray as they follow the Stations of the Cross.
Some of the Stations come directly from Scripture while others come from
tradition. What is important is not whether each is Scriptural, because the
Stations do remain faithful to what Scripture teaches us about the Crucifixion
of Jesus, but what is important is that the Stations remind us of the human
element – they remind us of what others would have experienced.
Let us Pray
Lord God, you reign in Heaven, and so that all creation could know you,
you sent your only son, Jesus Christ – God in the Flesh – to dwell among
us. On the day of his crucifixion,
humanity said, “no” to You. But, you had bigger plans. We know that you rejected
our “no” and said, “yes” to us on Easter Sunday. Before we get to Easter, help us focus our minds and spirits
on the true and painful sacrifice you made for us and our sins through your Son
on the Cross who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen!
Hear now the Word of
God
Luke 23:32-47
32Two others also, who were
criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33When they came to the place that is
called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his
right and one on his left. 34Then
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35And the
people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved
others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” 36The soldiers also mocked him,
coming up and offering him sour wine, 37and
saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38There was also an inscription over
him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39One of
the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not
the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40But the
other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed have been condemned
justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done
nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.” 43He
replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44It was now about noon, and darkness
came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45while the sun’s light failed; and
the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then
Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Having said this, he breathed his last. 47When the
centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this
man was innocent.”
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| These are the Stations of the Cross. Use the Roman Numerals to help you as you follow the meditations and prayers. |
As we enter
into the Stations of the Cross, realize that this is a process that is new to some
of you. This is a contemplative
worship. Look at the pictures, Listen to the Devotion, Hear the short prayer
that goes with each station. Most of all, put yourself into the story that happened
about 2000 years ago, but is still relevant today to our identity as
Christians. We will all have
different experiences. Some may be emotional. Some may not. Whatever you
experience is OK. Let the cares of the world leave your mind as you enter into
Christ’s story – which is our story. Think of the magnitude of what happened on
Good Friday. Meditate on how all
of this was done for you personally and yet it was done for all of humanity.
Let us now begin the Stations of the Cross.
Station 1: Jesus is Condemned to Death
Jesus stood alone before Pilate. He was tried by
what we would call a “kangaroo court.” The cards were stacked against him. Yet
he never offered a defense. No one else came to Jesus’ defense. All of his
friends abandoned him. No one spoke on his behalf. He never said that he was
innocent, though he was. He was condemned on trumped up charges.
As humans, we too feel abandoned. Where are our
friends when we need them most? Where is our family when we are struggling? We
get criticized for doing good and it seems that those who do evil are
rewarded. But Jesus knows our pain.
He died under these circumstances. When no one else is with us, if we let Jesus
be with us, he will be. We must never forget that. People will fail us, but
Christ will not. The road we travel may be tough – we were never promised an
easy trail, but we were promised that God would be with us.
Prayer: As you were condemned to death, you took
your sentence willingly. Were you scared? Were you afraid? You showed courage
despite knowing that soon they would beat you and pound nails in your
flesh. Help us in our daily walk
with you to gain the courage to face the trials of this world with the courage
that we can only gain through you. Amen!
Station 2 Jesus Carries his Cross:
Not
only was Jesus sentenced to death, but he had to carry his instrument of
death. In modern times, that would
be like a death row inmate carrying his or her own electric chair. Meditate on
the psychological torture in forcing someone to carry their instrument of death
to the place they will be killed. Imagine how the cross dug into Jesus’ shoulder.
Think of the splinters from the wood – the heaviness of the cross – the crowds
looking on and laughing and mocking him.
How did this affect Jesus’ spirit and mind?
We
often feel we have to carry a load more than we can bear. Our responsibilities
sometimes feel like they control us. Being Christians, our goal is to be
Christ-like and to help those in need, but that can be frustrating and even
burdensome at time. Add onto that the responsibilities of everyday life – work,
family, friends, life obligations, and so forth. We carry our own symbolic
crosses. But, Jesus does not make us carry these burdens alone. We are told to
cast our cares on Him. God’s love and care is greater than we can imagine. We
may not see or feel immediate results, but our feelings often deceive us. God
is active in our lives when we invite Him in.
Prayer:
Jesus, you carried your cross weighed down by our sins and burdens. We still
carry our burdens and lie to ourselves that we can do it alone. Convict of us
this sin of self-deception and lack of faith. Lead us to a greater faith in
you. Amen!
Station 3 Jesus Falls the First Time:
The
cross was heavy. Jesus was not only carrying the instrument of his death, but
he was also previously beat and tortured. He suffered a night with no sleep. In
this cross was the weight of the world. It weighed him down. He fell. No one
helped. The crowds laughed and shouted. The guards shouted for him to hurry up.
We
fall. We give up. We have good intentions, but when the going gets tough, we
fall. We give up. We sometimes
make our trials seem bigger than they are. Christ promised to bear our load. We
may not feel His help immediately, but we can be assured that the help is
there. We may not know how the help is there, but God’s promises are true.
Prayer:
Jesus, the world abandoned you in your suffering, but you promised not to
abandon us if we call out to you. When we suffer, no matter how small or great
that suffering is, remind us of your great love and remind us to call out to
you. Remind us that you are there. Amen!
Station 4 Jesus Meets His Mother:
On
the road, Jesus meets his mother Mary. Her pain was great. Her son was
suffering and she couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t take it away. She
couldn’t even comfort him. But to
Jesus, that loving face showed him that he was not alone. That loving face
showed him that despite the pain, she was with him, if only in spirit.
Mary
is a great example to us all. We can’t stop all of the suffering in this
world. Sometimes, the greatest
gift we can give is our presence. Sometimes the greatest gift we have is
sitting with someone and showing that we care. Sometimes that person may be a
loved one as it was with Mary, and sometimes it may be a stranger. This caring
may manifest itself in many ways. We may spend long periods of time with a
person, say just the right words to a person, or even just exchange a smile
from a distance.
Prayer:
Lord, help us to be a “Mary” to the world. Help us to show your love to the
world. Our acts of mercy can be great or they can be small, but they must
originate from and bring glory to you. Amen!
Station 5 Simon of Cyrene Helps Carry the Cross:
The
soldiers escorting Jesus are growing impatient. They forget that Jesus is weak
because of what they have done in beating Jesus before making him carry the
cross. Because they are in a
hurry, they pull Simon of Cyrene from the crowd and force him to help Jesus
carry the cross.
We
are often asked to help. We don’t always realize what it means to be asked to
help. Is the person taking advantage of us? Does the person really need our
help? What if we are busy? What if we are stretched too thin? These are
legitimate questions. We are not God. We have limits. God does not expect us to
go beyond what He has gifted us to do. God does expect us to love our neighbor,
and that does involve helping.
Prayer:
Lord, as we conform ourselves into the image of Christ, help us to discern what
our role in helping others means. Though “helping” sounds like such a simple term,
in reality, it is a complex task. Guide us in to what you would have us to do
to glorify your name and further your Kingdom. Amen!
Station 6 A Woman Wipes Jesus' Face
A
woman named Veronica wipes the face of Jesus and his image is left on her
cloth. Though this is not recorded in scripture, it still holds great
significance to the power of Christ. Small acts of mercy go long ways. The
image on the cloth represents the growth into Christ’s image people receive
when they act in ways Christ would have them act.
The
world is full of needs. There are needy people, hungry people, lonely people,
people who live in fear, and the list goes on. God doesn’t ask us to do earth
shattering acts of kindness, but rather we are asked to be faithful in showing
kindness and showing acts of mercy and charity to those in need.
Prayer:
Lord, help us not to be blind to those around us who need us most. Help us not
to fear the criticism we will receive for helping the people labeled as “those
people.” To be your church, we are called to help the least of these. Guide us
in what you would have us do. Amen!
Station 7 Jesus Falls a Second Time
The
weight of the cross is becoming more overbearing. The wood was digging into his
shoulder. The crowds are laughing and jeering. Jesus stumbled and fell a second
time. The guards are angry. As though he were on a mission, He reaches for more
strength and struggles to get back up and go on – Go on to the point of his
death.
Life
is difficult. We are compared to others – either by others or by ourselves.We
are driven in a “success oriented” culture where our worth is determined by how
much we accomplish. When we “fail,” we “fall.” Worldly success is not how God
determines our worth. For God, our worth is set by being His creation. We are
of ultimate worth. When we forget that, we need to only turn to God in prayer
and in Scripture to remember that we are loved in a way no human can ever love
us.
Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for accepting us and loving us for just being your creation.
Guide us to love You and Neighbor the way we should. Help us not to be deceived
by worldly success but rather help us to notice that which you value. Amen!
Station 8 Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
As
Jesus passed the Women of Jerusalem, he saw compassion in their eyes. He had
been abandoned by his friends, but these strangers were there, suffering in
their own way at what they were seeing. He saw that they believed that this
isn’t the way things should be. He saw love. At the same time, Jesus, in his suffering reached out to
offer them peace of heart, mind, and spirit.
Like
Jesus’ Friends, it’s easy to get so self-absorbed that we forget our closest
friends in their times of need, much less strangers in their times of
need. We get consumed with
busyness, frustration, the self-deception of being effective rather than being
faithful, and the lie that small outreaches don’t make a difference.
Prayer:
Lord, help us to reach out to those in need. Help us to reach out to our
friends and strangers alike. Guide this church and all churches to do your will
in this community and in the world to bring your Kingdom to the hearts of all
people. Amen!
Station 9 Jesus Falls a Third Time
Jesus’
struggle was coming to an end. He was sweating, the pain of the cross on his
shoulder was unbearable. He was thirsty. The wounds he received from the
beating before this journey were hurting. Jesus stumbled and fell a third time.
He got up and kept going.
In
our lives, we will fail. Failure is not a sign of weakness. Failure is not a
sign of unfaithfulness. Failure is a statistical reality. Failure can be a sign
that we tried. Failure can be a sign that we listen to God’s call, and we just
didn’t get it right. Maybe failure isn’t the right word. Maybe a better way to
say it is that we need to reevaluate and try again.
Prayer: Lord, despite the obstacles in our way,
help us to get back on our feet each time we fail at our mission in life. Guide
us to use these opportunities to turn back to you and to aim for a more
intimate relationship with you. Amen!
Station 10 Jesus Clothes are Taken Away
The
soldiers took away Jesus clothes. They did this to humiliate him. They drew
lots to see who got to keep them. The crowd made fun of Jesus. They shouted for
this “miracle worker” to perform another miracle. He stayed silent. Little did
they know what was in store 3 days later.
Sometimes,
being a Christian can be humiliating. The world wants to shame us. The world
has a narrow definition of what it means to be Christian. Most often they base
their definition off of a bad experience they had with someone who didn’t live
the Christian life the way God would have us live it – or maybe that Christian
was having a bad day and left a bad impression. Christians are always under the
microscope. As people who are supposed to bring Good News to the world, every
slip up we make is brought to attention.
Prayer:
Lord, help us to endure the humiliation that goes along with being a Christian,
but more than that help us to mirror you. Guide us to give the world a positive
example of what it means to be a Christian so that others may join our ranks.
Amen!
Station 11 Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
The cross that Jesus has carried, is now the cross
he is nailed to. The nails are pounded into his hands and into his feet. The
pain is unbearable, but it is only a hint of what is to come. The people he
loved have gone crazy and have done this to him. He hurts – physically and in
his spirit.
We hurt others. We hurt those who are different from
us. We hurt those we don’t understand. We hurt those with whom we disagree. But
Jesus told us to love our enemies. Loving and hurting just cannot go together.
We need to be trained to do this. It starts small. We start with those around
us. We then grow into loving those distant from us.
Prayer: Lord, you were hurt for our sake. Guide us
so we do not hurt others because hurting makes no gain in your Kingdom. Help us
to love and be charitable – even to our enemies. Amen!
Station 12 Jesus Dies on the Cross
Jesus
died willingly on the cross. He forgave those who killed him. He did this so we
could live eternally if we choose to follow Him. On Easter, he will defeat
death, making death just a “crossing over,” rather than an end.
Contemplate
the magnitude of what happened. Jesus died. Jesus forgave those who killed him.
He did this willingly. As we grow as disciples, can we learn to forgive more
deeply? Can we forgive those who harm us? Can we live sacrificially so that
others can have basic necessities?
Prayer:
Lord, We don’t understand the fullness of your death on the cross. We know that
it brings the possibility of salvation. We don’t understand the fullness of
salvation, but we know that it involves union with God in this life and the
next. Guide us to be closer to you and to draw others to that same
relationship. Amen!
Station 13 Jesus Body is Taken from the Cross
When
Jesus was taken from the cross, his suffering had ended. His soul, however
descended to the dead and freed the captives to death and gave them the chance
to be reconciled to God. His body was cleaned and prepared for burial.
When
people die, we often show more compassion than when they were alive. Help us to
see the needs and goodness in people when they are alive. Help us see their
potential and that they were created in your image.
Prayer:
Lord, guide us in the ways of living in your name that we see all people as
created in your image. Help us to minister to all people in your name. Amen!
Station 14 Jesus Body is Laid in the Tomb
Joseph
of Arimathea donated his tomb to bury Jesus. They laid Jesus’ body in it and a large stone was placed in
front of it – a large stone too large to be moved by less than several people.
Reflect
on the generosity of Joseph of Arimathea. He risked his life in donating his
tomb. Reflect on the stone. These stones were so large that it was impossible
to move them without attracting attention and without several people. Reflect
on the tomb. Jesus is dead.
Prayer:
Lord, we remember your death. We remember this is not the end of the story. But
tonight, we stop here. We live in the tension of life and death. Amen!
Hymn: "Were You There"
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my
Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble,
tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my
Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to
the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to
the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble,
tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to
the tree?
Were you there when they laid Him in
the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in
the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble,
tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in
the tomb?
