All posts by Keith Earle

Station 12 – Jesus Dies on the Cross

“Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Hunger. Thirst. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Delight. Health. Pain. Friendship. Betrayal. Birth. Death.

Jesus deeply connects to what it means to be human.  Whether one lived in the first century or lives in the twenty-first century, being human is full of ups and downs, unexpected detours and sudden stops.  Jesus embodies the fullness of humanity.

The cross represents for us the fullness of the human experience and gathers up every emotion, every aspect of a life lived in a broken, sinful world.  The cross is the unwavering, unrelenting, unyielding hardness that squeezes our hearts with sorrow, that steals our breath little by little, that drains us, as we watch helplessly, of the life we hold dear.

Jesus surrenders his own life to the hard wood of the cross.  Jesus offers his very own self on the cross to give us hope in the midst of all that might cause us despair.  Out of the soil of sorrow and fear will sprout a new life, a resurrection life.  But first Jesus must surrender to the cross, must commend his very own spirit to the care of his loving, faithful Father.

We who walk the way of the cross, who are followers of Christ Jesus, also are called to surrender our very selves to the cross.  We do so trusting that as we commend our own lives, our own spirits, over the the care of our Loving God we will experience glimpses of the resurrection life that Jesus has promised, indeed, that Jesus has victoriously claimed for us by destroying death by his death thereby ushering us into newness of life in him.

As we draw near the end of our Lenten journey with Jesus we are invited to commend, to surrender, our very deepest selves to God trusting that we will experience abundant joy.  Joy that strengthens us in our weakness, that promises life in the face of death.  Joy which calls and sends us out into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ victory over death once and for all.

-Fr. Ram Lopez

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Recently my husband Richard and I saw the movie, Risen, in which Jesus’ death and resurrection are seen through the eyes of the Roman tribune Clavius.  While the character Clavius is a dramatic invention, what he experiences is not.  In Risen, Clavius was charged with carrying out the sentence of Jesus’ crucifixion.  As Jesus hangs on the cross as a common criminal, there are some who see something different about him.  An awestruck Roman soldier quietly tells Clavius, “This man was innocent.”  Pontius Pilate later says, “It’s as if he wanted to be sacrificed.”

But Jesus did not simply die to make a statement, there is – there has to be – more to his sacrifice.  I have read that, in being crucified, Jesus entered fully into our human experience of pain, that we can then take comfort in knowing that he has felt suffering.  While there is some merit to that view, I do not think it is complete.  One of my spiritual directors put it this way:

 “Jesus died to lead us through our suffering to a better, stronger place.  While the suffering might continue, what changes is how we view and process what we experience.  God’s presence in our suffering is more than mere comfort, it is transformative.   We move from victims to victors as our faith converts our hurt to healing, our injury to strength, and our experience into gift.  It moves from pain to gift when we then stand with another going through what we’ve been through and help them through their ordeal, converting hurt to healing, etc.”

In Risen, the disciple Bartholomew exclaims, “Our only weapon is love!”  As we follow Jesus’ example of love, the world is transformed.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Collect from Morning Prayer, Rite II, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

–Erlinda Blevins

Station 10 – Jesus’ Clothes Are Taken Away

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things. – John 19:23-24

Jesus Christ, God with Us, surrendered himself to us through his love on the day He was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.  He put no conditions on his surrender other than that we witness his love for us and love him in return.

Yet he carried that cross and let us nail him to it with our deadly intent.  He hung out in the sun dying and still he asked his Father to forgive us – forgive us – for having put him there.  He died naked, beaten, bleeding and broken and all the while asking us to join him in Heaven. How can I not love that man for His gift?

Those of us who wish to die in peace sleeping in our own beds might take a moment to reflect on Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, who gave all that up to die as He did for no other reason than that He loved us so very much. Unconditionally.  Eternally.  And He still does.

-Barry Marks

Once a child is conceived, mothers become selfless and worrisome. The commitment to herself vanishes and is replaced with concern for the child, both in terms of the immediate moment and the future, simultaneously. Jesus must have been aware of the struggles parents face in raising a family. The power of love and sorrow, felt in moments of pride and shame, brought on by children can never be severed. The finality is always an unconditional love for them.

Acts of terrorism in schools affect me deeply. Being a mother and teacher reinforces daily feelings of an unknown outcome. Watching the news, reading the horrific instances in an article, or watching videos during lock-down trainings stir up feelings of compassion for all involved. The most innocent of human beings, children, are often the target of individuals who are lost or broken. Everyday I pray and entrust all five of my children’s safety to the Lord. My faith gives me peace in this often times tumultuous world.

Personally, to weep means finally letting go of all the built up emotion whether it is sadness, anger, or happiness. So as I reflect on Jesus telling the women to weep for themselves and their children, it means to let go of the worry and to trust. Trust he can handle the situation. Trust it’s all in his plan for life here on earth.

-Anonymous

I wonder if you have ever suffered a devastating blow in your life – lost a child, lost a sibling, a parent or your spouse? Have you suffered from a debilitating illness which left you uncertain whether it was better to live or to die? Have you ever suffered from depression? These are just a few situations where our Faith can be put to the test.

 Many years ago, I was in charge of a very important and stressful operation running a major crude oil pipeline in Alaska with 500 people working for me and a multi-million-dollar budget. All was going well and I was on top of the world. Then one day, out of the blue, I was told I was fired. Yes, fired for no other reason than my bosses did not like that I had disagreed with an order that I felt was neither best nor safe for the organization – therefore I was the wrong person for that job. My first reaction was not anger, but disbelief and concern for my future and the future of my family. 

 I gathered up my things and rushed downtown to where my wife was working. She too was shocked but she comforted me and assured me of her love, and the certainty that God was with us. Very soon we found ourselves in our church at prayer.

 Over time with support from family and friends and with the deeply felt presence of God, things recovered and we survived the ordeal. I found a new job which led to even better opportunities and brought me new hope and deeper faith. Looking back, I realize that I was very depressed for many months and actually annoyed that the company thought they had softened the blow by offering financial and psychological help that was really worthless. My faith in the Lord was what carried me those days and nights. 

 This station, number 7, is traditionally where Jesus falls for the second time. It does not appear in the Gospels but has traditionally been observed as a mark of the despair and desolation that humans can experience and demonstrates the heavy weight, sometimes almost unbearable, that we can feel upon our shoulders at such a time. Even surrounded by family and friends, as Jesus was, this weight is more than we can bear. How much more so must it have been for Him knowing that He was to suffer crucifixion and carry on His shoulders the weight of all the sin of mankind. He had probably been flogged. He had been stripped of clothing and humiliated, then forcibly dressed again and forced to march to His death carrying His own cross. This was physical agony on top of mental anguish of a degree that we cannot begin to imagine. 

Let us pray:

 We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your death and resurrection you have redeemed this world. We love you for you compassion and your faithfulness to us sinners. We pray in your name – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

-Ron Merrett