The Stations of the Cross show us the last steps of Jesus on his way to the cross and crucifixion. For many years, the faithful have made pilgrimages to the holy city of Jerusalem to visit shrines there along the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of Suffering). The Stations of the Cross originated in churches around the world for those unable to make that pilgrimage. Many Roman Catholic churches have statues or wall carvings placed around the sanctuary, set as a permanent place for worshipers to recount the last hours of Jesus’ life.
Yes, the Stations of the Cross remind us of our human condition of sin and suffering. Our need for forgiveness and the great price Jesus paid on our behalf. But there’s another way to experience the stations. Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B says it best: The Stations of the Cross… are simply an excursion through the hard moments of life as those periods are demonstrated in the life of Jesus himself. They remain universally popular through the ages not because they concentrate on suffering, surely, but because they give us a model of how to live life when our own suffering is unavoidable and life seems impossible.
In our uncertain and most distressing days, we are not alone, we are never alone. Jesus has walked all these ways before us and walks with us now. He loves us and assures us that our salvation is worth every pain, fear and sorrow he suffered on the way to the cross – and through the cross to his resurrection and to ours. He longs to have us with him forever!
On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday of this Holy Week, there will be a display of the Stations of the Cross set up in the fellowship hall for you to visit. Come early before worship, stay late afterword, or come anytime the building is open. May God bless you as you journey through the Stations of the Cross with Jesus.