Second Station of the Cross

Jesus Accepts the Cross

The courtyard is beginning to bake in the morning sun. Within its high walls the heat builds up - stuffy and suffocating. There is no breath of wind to bring relief, or hope. The rising heat makes the cells and the rubbish stink.

He sits in the middle of the courtyard, shackled to a post. The soldiers cannot be bothered to lock Him in a cell, they will be executing Him soon. To them He is just another Jewish rabble rouser - they have no idea that they have in their power the Son of the Most High God. In their ignorance they go about the preparations for the executions. Under the far wall, and in the shade, they prepare the wooden crosses that the prisoners will carry to Golgotha. The carpenters, not caring much, carelessly nail the bloodstained planks together. Jesus’s eyes narrow against the glare as He watches them. In the midst of the pain, thirst and hunger He is transported back to another time when He worked as a carpenter - before He heard God’s fiery call go to all people and tell them that the Kingdom of God had come.

He remembers, remembers ............

          the quiet peace of His father’s workshop,

          the fragrant smell of wood shavings,

          the rasp of sandpaper smoothing the timber,

          the simple pleasure of constructing everyday pieces that ordinary people will use

          the skill in His hands as He turns raw, rough timber into things of beauty.                                                        

                                                                                                                

But the pain from the beating and crown of thorns brings Him abruptly back to the present. They are ready now. The other prisoners have been brought out.

He is hauled to His feet.

          They are handed their crosses.

                     Jesus staggers under its weight.

                               The soldiers do not care overmuch about this prisoner - it is just another execution.

There are no boundaries to Jesus’s love for us.

He willing accepts a lonely death.

Unknown, to be buried in an unmarked grave.

He willingly goes to His execution, He who is innocent amongst dies between men who are thieves and murderers.

He willingly accepts torture and pain, putting Himself into the hands of evil and ignorant men.

He willingly gives up His life.

Faced with such a Love as this how do we respond?

Stations of the Cross

All through my pre Lenten preparation and during these first few days of Lent I have been directed one way and another to meditate on the death and resurrection of Our Lord. Being a Catholic convert I thought of using the Stations of the Cross, but have been unable to find any that I connected with.

And so I have begun to write my own.

Here then is the first fruits .....

Jesus is Condemned to Death

Dawn is hours away, and He prays alone in Gethsemane. His friends, whom He calls His brothers, sleep nearby unaware that the end of His ministry has come and of the horror which will unfold. But He knows what lies ahead.

Gethsemane is quiet now,

          the wind has died away,

                     the heat of the day has given way to the

                      cold that rises before the dawn

                               the insects sound loud in the stillness,

                                         across the valley Jerusalem is dark,

Jesus has bowed His head in acceptance of what is to come.

He lifts his head as the sound of excited voices reach Him. Looking down to the gates of Jerusalem He sees the lights of torches winding across the Valley. He must face the darkness and evil now. Climbing up toward Gethsemane the rabble grow more and more excited. They have come armed to arrest one man whose crime has been to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven has come.

Abandoned, He faces the mob while His brothers disappear into the darkness.

Hoping that the darkness of the last hour of the night will hide the evil of their actions, Caiaphas and his fellow leaders try Him. In their fear of this simple carpenter from Galilee they do not go openly to the Council but conduct the sham trial in Caiaphas’s own home. Even then they cannot find witnesses who agree. In the midst of false accusations and wild tales Jesus is silent. Though they have no rights over the Lord of Heaven, He willingly grants them their hour of power.

Finally, His accuser’s concoct a charge that satisfies the letter of the law. They condemn Him to death. Still, He makes no protest. Now these self righteous leaders must go to the Roman dictators for permission to carry out the penalty. Their own lack of power exposed.

Pilate is beset. He has the might of the most powerful empire in the world at his back and yet governing this crazy bunch of religious zealots in an unimportant outpost of the empire is no simple matter. Daily his troops are harassed, ambushed and killed by these fanatics, and he needs the cooperation of the Jewish leaders to keep some semblance of order. Jesus is brought before him, and Pilate knows that the charges are bogus. He desperately searches for a way out. It is not Roman justice to condemn an innocent man.

Pilate

      questions Jesus, declaring Him innocent,

but the leaders and the mob are not satisfied,

      orders Jesus to be whipped

but the leaders and the mob are not satisfied,

      offers to free Him in accordance with custom

but the leaders and the mob are not satisfied,

      asks the gathered crowd what they want

Crucify! Crucify!

Now the leaders and the mob are satisfied.

Pilate has given way to mob justice, and washing his hands signs Jesus’s death warrant.

 There are no boundaries to Jesus’s love for us.

Most of us would have given way to despair if our closest friends ran away in our hour of need. Jesus accepted terrible loneliness out of His Love for us.

Most of us would have wailed and moaned if such injustice was perpetrated against us. Jesus gave up His right to justice out of His Love for us.

Most of us would have raged and used all the strength that is born of hatred to smash our oppressors. Jesus gave up His right to life out of His love for us.

Most of us would have blamed God and denied His goodness in the same awful situation. Yet Jesus trusted His Father’s Love for Him.

Most of us would have resented the helplessness that situation. Jesus made His weakness his prayer and so allowed the Father to reveal His Power.

Faced with such a Love as this, how do we respond?