Meditations on the way of the Cross for Holy Week 2020

1 Jesus is condemned to die
Like a tall tree
I reach up into the sky
And receive God’s power from above
Like the sun emptying light into me.
With outstretched arms
I embrace the world
Compassionately
And see a wilderness
Become an Eden
Of flowers
Before me.
Amen

2 Jesus accepts the cross
I face the cross.
I see the arms of Jesus
outstretched
in love for me.
I take up the cross
and do the difficult jobs.
I carry the burdens of others,
but I know
that Jesus carries me.
Amen

3 Jesus falls for the first time
When we fall Lord,
help us to know
that there is no falling
beyond the boundaries
of your presence and love.
In our pain and vulnerability
continue to come to us
and help us to see you
in the compassionate community
that desires our healing,
in the fellowship of Mary
and Jesus Christ
her son, our Lord.
Amen

4 Jesus meets his mother
Dear Lord Jesus,
who can describe Mary’s sorrow
as she comforts you
on the way to the cross?
This is the “sword that pierces”
her heart.
She will not hold you back.
You have made your choice.
Lord of the crossroads,
help us to know;
when to comfort our children,
when to protect them,
and when to let go.
Amen

6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ,
Let me respond freely
With love and compassion
Like Veronika, the woman
Who came out of the crowd
To wipe your perspiring face
And carried away in her hand
The image of your face.
Let me also be a bearer of your image
Outwardly in my actions
And inwardly in my heart.
Amen

9 Jesus falls a third time
Lord I am in the belly of the whale.
Things are very dark now.
There seems to be no way out
and no way up.
I wander blindly in this agonising deep,
submerged in a sea of troubles.
There is no energy or beauty or delight;
only a dullness.
I can only wait for you Lord.
Spew me out with such a blast,
send me streaming to the surface
and spread me into a fountain
of pleasure and response
to dance in the light of the world.

10 Jesus is stripped
Dear Lord Jesus
Thank you for our health.
Through our bodies,
Eyes and ears, taste, touch and smell,
We can enjoy your world.
When we are ailing
We receive your healing
Through the love and care of others.
Help us in turn
To care for those who are in need of healing.
Amen

11 Jesus is nailed to the cross
Dear Lord Jesus,
Your body shudders with pain
As nails tear through flesh and bone.
Pilate’s misguided powers pin you
To a wooden cross of earth
To stop the river of love in you,
But you become a great baobab tree
Spreading blessings into the heavens
And drawing us into its cool shade
To heal us with your love potion.
We feel a new spring surging
Through the wood of your cross.
Amen

12 Jesus dies on the cross
Dear Lord Jesus
Amidst all your pain
You still commend yourself
Into the father’s care
And so you die.
Dying fills us with fear
It challenges all that we believe.
We spend years running from it.
We struggle not to hand ourselves
Over to its darkness.
To rest in you is more than sleep,
It is the final trust.
When our time comes
Give us a good death.
Amen