Thomas Griffin 2/16/24
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Each Friday this Lent we will investigate and reflect on two out of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. This is an ancient practice that desires to make contact with what it would have been like to walk with Jesus on that Good Friday two thousand years ago. Lent is all about gaining more access to the events of Jesus’ life, especially those that revolve around his suffering.
Traditionally, there has always been an invitation from the Church to make Fridays different for just that reason. Friday was the day that Christ died. It is a holy day that beckons to the world for notice. Not because God needs us to notice Him in order to be fulfilled but simply because ignorance of his passion leads to an empty life.
Today we will begin our journey by looking at the first two Stations of the Cross.
First Station of the Cross: Jesus is Condemned to Death
He was the most innocent man to ever live, but he was convicted of a capital crime. The crowds yelled for him to be crucified. The Jewish hierarchy plotted his death but the crowds were most likely swept up in the storm of mockery that revolved around this preacher from Nazareth. The accounts in the Gospels point to the influence of the crowd on Pilate’s decision.
On the other hand, Jesus’ closest friends and followers are nowhere to be found. They desert Christ. The crowds that welcomed Jesus in on Palm Sunday as a king have now been made silent or have turned against Jesus.
Which crowd are you in? The loud one that calls for God’s death or the quiet one that remains silent in the face of evil? Do you sometimes condemn God with your sins? Do you occasionally remain quiet when you should speak up?
God became one of us and we killed him. That is what the first station reveals. Our sins condemn him again. While Jesus stands in front of Pilate and the crowds he stands strong in the face of darkness. Reflect on his eyes gazing towards the crowd looking for you. He sees you in your entirety, despite your sin.
Second Station of the Cross: Jesus Carries the Cross
Scholars say the weight of the cross would have been between one hundred and one hundred and fifty pounds. This heavy cross beam is placed on Jesus’ open wounds that he received from the scourging. Scholars say that the beating he received would have needed over two thousand stitches according to modern medicinal practices. The blood from his wounds would have bound him to the wood of the cross.
Imagine the exhaustion Jesus would have experienced as they placed that heavy beam on his shoulders. He has not eaten in a day. He has barely slept. He has been beaten constantly. Now he has a long trek with a heavy cross.
As he carries it, people throw things at him and mock him. The soldiers whip him. He is laughed at and pointed at as if he was an animal.
Through it all, he was thinking of you. He could see the ugliness of your sins but he still suffered for them because of one simple fact: he loves you.
That is the power behind the Stations of the Cross. When we pray and meditate on them we are brought to these saving moments. However, we are also given a new perspective on Jesus’ heart for each one of us as he experienced the worst pain possible.
He was condemned although he was innocent. He carried the weight of the world, including your heart.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine.
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