Station 1 – Jesus is Condemned to Death
Jesus is Condemned
The world is full of many beautiful sights. In my own travels I have seen the beauty of the mesa in New Mexico, cathedrals and castles in England, and historical sights in the Boston and Washington DC. I have seen the brightly lit streets in Times Square in New York City and the quiet night of the Pacific Coast. And in each of those beautiful places I have sensed the awesome presence of God who has given me the blessing of seeing so much of his world.
I have also seen places less than beautiful. I have seen places where fresh drinking water is non-existent, where cardboard serves as the walls that keep out the wind and rain, where one meal a day is all one can manage, where life is not at all like any of the other places I have seen or experienced. And I have also sensed the powerful presence of God in these rougher edged places.
Journeys are spiritual. Journeys reveal to us the God who lives among his very own people – not inside buildings of our own making or in the books of our libraries. Jesus embodies all, both the lovely and the not so lovely aspects of our humanity. Jesus experiences the highs and lows of life, the victories and the struggles, the joy and the sorrow. All of which make up our human journey through life.
Jesus’ final journey – to the cross of suffering death – is marked by false accusations and the unjust judgment which emerges from those lies. Jesus endures with us the pain of betrayal, the empty feeling of loneliness and, finally, the sting of death. The story of Jesus’ passion and death on the cross leave us no doubts that he indeed knows the heights and depths of human life and embraces it fully in Divine Love. Jesus’ final journey to death on the cross leaves us no doubts that he indeed knows each one of our very complex lives and embraces us fully in Divine Love.
The Scriptures tell us that if we die with Christ then we shall be raised with Christ (Romans 6.8). Jesus invites us to take up our own cross and follow him (Luke 9.23). This Lent walk with Jesus. Walk the way of suffering and death on the cross. Hear once again the magnificent story of the amazing depth of God’s love for us that to redeem sinners he sends a Son (Galatians 4.7).
-Fr. Ram Lopez