Stations of the Cross and Covid19 ... by Eric

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​The Friday Stations of the Cross has never been one of my go to Lenten commitments.  I am not exactly sure why, as the Good Friday service has always spoke volumes to me.  Maybe it is because it feels so automatic, and not something I could really embrace spiritually every Friday for 6 weeks.  Frankly, I never really thought about it much … until now.
 
Now that I can’t physically walk through the stations and things are in such turmoil, I really want to experience it … and can’t.  As we all navigate this new reality of living through a pandemic, and the fear, anxiety, loneliness, and unease it entails; I think the stations of the cross are a great reflection to help us focus our eyes on God’s message of hope.  I want to reflect on a couple of the stations in particular.  I am not going to walk through all the stations, I encourage you to experience all the station prayer through some online sources (see the end of this post).
 
The 1st & 2nd Stations – Jesus is condemned to death, Jesus carries his cross
Though fully innocent, Jesus is condemned.  So many times we have to deal with difficulty through no fault of our own.  This is certainly one of those times.  At those times, we are called to pick up our cross and carry it.  Very often being a disciple of Christ means carrying burdens – in fact Jesus promised us this.  Those burdens can be our own difficulty, they can also be the burdens of others.
 
The 5th Station – Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
Simon had no idea he would be helping carry Jesus’s cross, yet he did.  There are times when we are called upon to help others, and we may not know when and where those instances will occur.  We must keep our eyes and our hearts open for these opportunities.  In your homes right now I am sure you can find many instances for this.  Like Simon, I promise you will meet Jesus in doing this.
 
9th Station – Jesus falls a third time
After scourging and beating, carrying his cross, and falling twice, Jesus falls yet again.  The exhaustion and pain must have been overwhelming.  Even so, Jesus got up again.  We may feel pretty knocked down.  We will get back up, but we will likely fall down again.   We will be dealing with issues associated with Covid19 for a while.  That means there will be good days and not so good days ahead.  When you get knocked down, look to Christ and He will help you get back up.
 
14th Station – Jesus is laid in the tomb
Jesus has commended His spirit to the Father and has died.  He is taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea.  So why am I drawn to this station?  The reason is what happens next, after Good Friday is Easter Sunday.  The resurrection is coming!  One of my favorite recent praise and worship songs is “Sunday” by Tree63.  The whole theme is no matter what crap is going on, Sunday is coming – the resurrected Lord is coming.
 
Our year is ending in a random way and I know there are many things that you were all looking forward to this spring which are not happening.  God calls us at these tough times to look to Him and rely on Him even more.  It is so appropriate that this all comes about during Lent.  Lets take this as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ and enter into a deeper relationship with the Savior of the World.  While traveling through the desert, we look forward together to Easter. 
 
Blessings, Eric

Tree 63 "Sunday"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS_-XtspdWQ&t=85s

A couple versions of Stations of the Cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8lUZ1Hyx4I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9om4YElns&feature=youtu.be

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