Living The Faith

Below are some writing I have been doing related to the Stations of the Cross- something I have been doing for Lent. Enjoy...



Living the Faith

So, we’ve started Lent… a 40 day journey of the soul (Lent at its best I guess). Often during Lent, some traditions emphasize the Stations of the Cross… those places in the life of Jesus that surround his suffering and death, the last few days of his life. I’d like to follow the Stations of the Cross, applying these themes to how we live and think. There are 14 stations, so I’ll try and spread them out over the 6 weeks of Lent. I’ll include a meditation and something to include in our daily lives. Hope this makes this whole Lenten Pilgrimage a little more personal!



STATION ONE – JESUS IS CONDEMNED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mohcOgaXKA

Meditation – Jesus is condemned:

-Lord, when do we condemn you?

-When you condemn the innocent, the vulnerable, the children, the lonely, the outcast, the street people, the people you despise, the people you overlook, the ones your eyes pass over when you go from one place to another. When you condemn any of my children, you condemn me.

-Lord, when did we condemn them?

-When you ignore them, when you diminish their humanity, when you fail to see their beauty, their importance to me, their light… you condemn them.

Lord, forgive my condemnations of your people of light! Forgive my condemnation of you! Forgive my condemnation of myself! Sometimes I’m too caught up on my own thing to see your people…the ones off in far away countries, and the ones around me very day.

It is far easier to condemn than to accept. It is far easier to reject than to love.

Practical –

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to judge in life! We’re called to judge behavior, actions… we have to say some actions are destructive or harmful! Doing that helps us take actions we may need to take to make things better.

But sometimes we are often more quick to criticize, to condemn, to critique than to show compassion, acceptance, or love. Tomorrow, as you go about your day, notice how many times you might criticize someone, or condemn someone, particularly for something out of their control.

Offer that up in prayer… and pray for the person – send them a blessing… maybe they might need it.

Peace,



STATION TWO – JESUS CARRIES THE CROSS

Meditation – this is in the form of a Japanese form of poetry called Haiku:

Lord, help me discern

Which cross am I carrying?

Burdens of wood stand

Jesus carried his cross! Jesus was a classic scape-goat in the sense that he was forced to stop making trouble. The Romans certainly did not want his type to stir up trouble! There needed to be peace at all costs! Nothing would get in the way of their kind of forced peace, especially around the High Holy Days, like Passover! Too many people around, too much potential for revolt and insurrection! Better to be safe than sorry in times like this!

He also raised the ire of the religious leaders – with words like from the prophets of the old days, words that pointed fingers, words that forced responsibility. You’re not doing God’s will – you’re doing the right religious things… but if the poor aren’t being cared for, if the orphans aren’t being tended to… so what if the temple sacrifices are being done right! You’re gouging people with temple taxes, and burdening them with rules they need to live by, or their not good enough… how dare you!

There’s more to it, but basically he knew what he was doing would eventually get him killed.

Generally speaking we don’t like to take responsibility. We avoid this. We avoid it because it means we have to say we’re wrong, or we’re mistaken. And if we’re wrong, it falls on us to start the process of fixing it. Jesus carries his cross. Jesus carries his cross the whole way through the story actually! He’s always very sure he is carrying his cross – his actions are often clear, he knows where he is going, and what it all means. He carries his cross to the end. He carries his cross, but others avoid theirs – they avoid their responsibility, they avoid taking responsibility for what they have done, and need to do. Some crosses need to be carried! Some crosses must be carried!

But not all crosses are meant to be carried! Do we carry burdens? Absolutely! Go deep into your “basement” and check out the boxes you have down there… burdens you’ve been carrying around from year to year… crosses in a way, based on guilt, or shame, or whatever. Now, if you knew someone that carried a burden like what you’re carrying, what would you tell them? Would you say it’s healthy? Would you say they should keep carrying this “cross”? Probably not. So why are you doing it?

In the movie “Up” Mr. Fredericksen ends up going on his adventure down to South America, but he has to pull his house along for quite a while. What a burden! But he feels it’s a burden he has to carry… or pull. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKMHMTbF4pw&feature=channel

Don’t think it’s because God wills it! If you could see that it’s not healthy for someone else to carry a cross like that… what makes you think God wants you to carry the ones you keep carting around? Some crosses are meant to be thrown down… left behind… abandoned! If you’ve seen the movie “Up”, at the end, Mr. Fredericksen actually does unburden himself, and he finds freedom, peace!


Practical –

Take time this Lent to some-how acknowledge the crosses in your life – the ones that you have been avoiding… the ones that need to be carried, and the ones you are carrying that aren’t healthy to carry anymore.

“Letting go” and “picking up” are processes… they won’t happen over night. But the process can start anytime.


There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot

A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build up

A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them up, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing

A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away

A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNopQq5lWqQ

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Peace,





STATION THREE – JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME... under the weight of his burden

http://www.chrisgollon.com/Works/Stations_of_the_Cross_III_Jesus_Falls_a_First_Time.html

Chris Gollon's 'Stations of the Cross' in St. John on Bethnal Green Church:
In this painting, Jesus has moved into the sunlight of the day and into the public gaze. The first two Stations occur in private, and will hang in the vestibule of Soane's church. This station is the first of the works to be hung along the sunlit southern nave. There is no stained glass in St John on Bethnal Green, but the windows are large. Therefore, both to show the harsh light of the day on Jesus' journey, and also to compete with the direct sunlight streaming through the church windows, Gollon has used an electric yellow sky. In this painting, we also see Jesus' face a first time, as he looks up and forward to what awaits. He is hemmed in by the soldiers' spears, covered in blood and roped like a dog.

Meditation –

That morning I’d walked my daughter to school as I always did. I drove to work as I always did. Actually I didn’t expect anything too much out of the ordinary that Tuesday morning in Sept. As I arrived in the office, the other pastor I worked with called me into his office. He had a TV in his office which was out of the ordinary, and it was on. What were we supposed to be looking at?

“Did you hear about this yet?”

“No, about what?”

“Take look at this!”

I saw a building with smoke billowing out of it – the first tower had been hit – he told me what had happened up to that point. I saw the chaos resulting from this. Obviously I felt shock, because I can remember that day pretty clearly!

Not long after that, I saw the second plane hit the second tower – live! There were rumors, talking heads guessing at what this might mean, what might be coming next. You could almost feel the national stress levels rise! In fact, I got a call from a friend who was a minister at another church. She was holding it together, but it didn’t take rocket scientist to know she was getting pretty scared. I asked her if there were people she could be with, people she trusted whom she could go spend time with. She said she did have people in her life like that, and that she’d do that.

The incidents of counseling and therapy went up exponentially after that day. People worked through fear and anxiety in various ways. As a collective body… we’d stumbled! This event had knocked us down emotionally and psychologically.

This was when I really became aware of four things about us as a society: 1 – There’s more to life that’s out of our control than we’d like to admit (remember the “admitting” part in the 12 Step process?)! 2 – On the whole, we’re not as equipped to hand events like this as perhaps our grandparents were. This isn’t a criticism as much as an observation. We’re not weak – we’re just not used to large scale crises. 3 – We live isolated lives. We live close together, but we don’t really know the people we live around very well. And in surveys, many people indicate they lack close friendships! We live farther and farther away from family and friends than generations past. Psychologically speaking, we tend to not have very good support networks- and this is a big reason that we have trouble with numbers 1 and 2! And 4 – I believe we need each other more than ever! Not only will this help us in times of crisis… we can get up quicker when we stumble under life’s burdens! We need each other!

Jesus stumbled and fell under the weight of events in his life… and we do to! He needed the people around him to help him. And we do too! Folks… we can’t do this stuff alone! I’m on one of the Air Force Auxiliary’s Critical Incident Stress Teams and there’s a saying used– Pain shared is pain divided, Joy shared is joy multiplied. We need each other to be able to help each other up when we fall.

Practical –

On the way to his crucifixion, called the via dolorosa (or “painful way”) Jesus had people around him who loved him, who remembered him, whom he shared life with. He didn’t walk alone!

WE can’t walk the path alone either! We weren’t meant to! Pull together! If we’re going to get through this (the economic slump, life, whatever), we’ll need each other more than ever! We’ll need to listen to each other, we’ll need to be a little more understanding, more helpful, more tolerant… more clear! Things are getting harder… and I fear they may get even harder before they get better. We’ll need each other more than ever! Build relationships; mend fences with people who are distant, invite people for dinner or to play games or something, go for a walk with friends or family (when the weather gets better!). Pick one thing that can help you build or mend relationships… and act on it!

Eat dinner with friends/family- at the table

Invite a friend for a walk

Have game night with people you love to be with

Be part of a group that helps you “Live Well!”

Say your prayers

Peace,




STATION FOUR – JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER

Continuing the Stations of the Cross – these are the traditional Catholic stations… there are also the Scriptural Stations of The Cross… which are related. They keep the idea of the “Via Crucis” (The Way of the Cross), but are entirely based on scriptural references. The “Traditional” Stations are based on the bible references as well as popular tradition. They aren’t anti scriptural, just have elements added that have been used to help the person “enter into” the story more easily… This one is one of them.

Meditation –

On the way to the place where he was to be crucified, he sees his mother along the route. She wants to accompany him on his path. She can do no other! This is not in the bible- but I can’t imagine a parent abandoning their child at that point in their lives. I’d do everything in my power to protect my family! And if not that, then to be with them as much as I could! As a parent I can relate!

This afternoon I buried the mother of a friend of mine. She was almost 80. She died peacefully, just as she was going to sleep, they think. She was in bed, ready to watch her favorite show evidently. She had a piece of bread in her hands – she would eat a piece of bread to help get her pills down. When her son found her, she was lying in her bed, with a piece of bread in her hand, still holding it lightly. This indicated she didn’t struggle, or feel pain, or feel any distress.

The word “accompany” assumes relationship. When you “accompany” someone, you travel with them – whether on a “real” journey, or a metaphoric one. Accompanying someone on a real journey is obvious – you travel with them, you keep them company on the trip. But this can be done metaphorically – my mother has cancer; we are “accompanying” her on her journey in the sense that we check on her, ask how things went with the doctor, take her to appointments, etc.

But perhaps it’s more that just “relationship”? Maybe the word “accompany” implies commitment! Not only are you committed to walking with that person… you’re also committed to that person! I believe God is like that with us! God accompanies us on our journey through life. We celebrate this at worship. We celebrate God’s presence with us in many ways… one being in something as common and ordinary as bread!

God accompanied Rita on her trip through life. The word “accompany” has a Latin origin – “A Cum Pane”… it literally means “and with bread”. It’s more than symbolic that she died holding a piece of bread in her hands. God accompanied her through this life, and was accompanying her on her trip through this one to the next one. How powerful this image is!

She leaves behind four children, 6 grandchildren, and a lot of friends. At the funeral service this afternoon, there were lots of tears, which isn’t unusual for people who love the one who died. They were with her as best they could be, on her last trip on earth, to say good-bye, to send her off, to accompany her one last time.

As Jesus says: Who are my mother and my brother and sisters? Those who do the will of my God in heaven are my mother and brother and sisters! We’re not perfect… but it’s not about that! It’s about committing to each other that we’ll walk with each other, that we’ll be brothers and sisters to each other… that we’ll be mother (and father) to each other as well – in the best way! In that sense… we’re all related!

Be open to accompany someone on their journey! And let someone accompany you on yours! Walk with someone on our journey though this world; sometimes the path we trod is very difficult… sometimes the road is lovely… often it’s just ordinary. But it’s better when we’re accompanied… when we meet up with those we love, and who love us in return. Share your stories, your life… your bread!

And With Bread… we meet our family!

Peace,




STATION FIVE – SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS CARRY THE CROSS

Is suffering good? Is there such a thing as “substitutionary suffering” (suffering for, or in the place of someone else)? This may be the thing parents struggle with – we don’t want to see our children suffer. We want to shield them from hardship, from pain, from the bumps and scrapes of life. We know we can’t really shield them from all this… but we want to! They are our kids. But in truth, if we really did that, they might not turn out as good as we hope they will. Some suffering is needed to help them learn compassion, love, and ultimately become a well balanced human being.

Is there such a thing as “redemptive suffering”? Suffering that changes the one doing the suffering? In Station Two I wrote about some crosses not needing to be carried! And yet I am aware that some crosses do need to be carried. A simple definition of “Neurosis” I found in Wikipedia is… a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality." Karl Jung, the “father” of a particular kind of psychotherapy said of this: “Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering”.

The story is still told today of a child born around 2,500 years ago, to a very powerful ruler of a very powerful kingdom. This was the ruler’s first child. When this child was born – a son – there were celebrations and festivities going on for days and days. As was the custom for those in positions of authority, the king took his newly born son to a spiritual leader for a blessing. In the midst of one such celebration, the spiritual leader received the child, and surrounded by well-wishers, family and court attendants, he said something very profound, disturbing and encouraging at the same time. “This child will grow to be either one or the other: He will be a strong king and general! But if he sees the suffering of the world… he will be it’s savior.”

The king forbade any semblance of pain, sorrow, or death in his courts and palace grounds while the boy was growing up. The boy grew in strength and wisdom. But he lacked any experience with suffering. He also lacked any experience with the world outside the palace grounds. His curiosity of what lay on the other side of the walls grew and grew until one day, as a young man, he escaped the grounds and wandered in the capital city for days.

What he saw broke his heart. Certainly he’d seen some of this before… people walking around, going about their lives. This was not new. But he’d never seen beggars; old people and children begging for food. He had never seen homeless people living where-ever they could find to shelter themselves from the rain, or the hot sun. He saw a funeral for the first time- the body was being burned, while the family and friends of the deceased cried in sorrow. His heart broke! Such suffering in this world- he thought. How can I help these people, this world?

He retuned to the palace grounds a change man. He was so profoundly struck by this that he deeply felt called to do something to help the people of his father’s kingdom. There was a deep disquietude in him, a deep turmoil. His mind and heart were not at peace. In fact they never had been, but he hadn’t known that until now. He needed to find peace, a peace he could not find in the palace. There came a day where he decided he should follow this path, not knowing even where it would lead. He expressed his love to his family, bade them farewell, and left his fathers palace behind for ever.

He wandered in the woods for years, living off the grace of others as he begged for food, learning the deeper methods of meditation known at the time. He practiced very harsh ascetic exercises, including long periods of fasting, and meditated for hours, even days at a time. But these harsh practices did not bring peace to him. One day he had a sudden realization that it was balance that would bring him this peace he sought. So he began to eat, but not over do it. He began to sleep, but not be lazy. He meditated to the point that seemed right, but not beyond. It was the balance of joining the pain of the world, but not being overcome by it. The balance of alleviating the suffering in the world, but not being crushed by the burden of it. And one day, he found the peace he had been seeking. As the story goes, under the Bodhi tree Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha. It was there he learned that suffering can teach compassion for all beings, and this brings the desire to alleviate suffering, to lift people and souls from the long and tedious cycles of birth and re-birth and find ultimate peace.

It was here he found that entering into the world of suffering, for the sake of its alleviation, can bring the best in us out. And he began to teach these practices. It was said that after his death he forsook nirvana in order to continue teaching the path of enlightenment for the alleviation of suffering for all sentient beings. But the irony is, we have to carry a cross in order to notice it’s weight, not only for ourselves, but for others. It’s only in carrying a cross that we know what carrying a cross can do! It’s in experiencing some of the hardships of life that we can learn compassion and grace for those who are also carrying crosses.

There was another man who lived and died about 500 years later who told a very similar story! Some suffering can bring redemption and salvation in healthiest sense of the words! Not all crosses are healthy… but some are. Some crosses are meant to be carried!

Peace