Stations

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Isa and is based on our Gospel (Luke 22:1-23:56). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Growing up Catholic and spending 20 years of my adult life as a priest, the word station was synonymous with Lent. My parents attended Stations of the Cross every Friday at St. John the Baptist Church in Monaca. As a priest, I led Stations in every parish where I was assigned every Friday afternoon and evening during Lent.

Preparing for this year’s Holy Week, I was reminiscing about these Lenten practices, and wondered if other denominations observe them as well. To my surprise, I discovered that not only do Anglican and Episcopalian churches have Stations of the Cross, but also some Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Evangelical churches. In fact, the other day, a Pastor told me of a Lutheran Church in Lawrenceville that has the traditional stations, and that his congregation prays the Resurrection Stations during the Easter Season. Hence, three points: What is a Station? What are Scripture’s Stations? What is your Station?

The word station is both a verb and a noun. The latter is much more common. It is defined as a place or position in which something or someone stands or is assigned to stand or remain. It can refer to a person’s standing or rank. It is also a stopping place, such as a bus station or train station. In my work conducting background investigations of military personnel, I would review their duty stations. Likewise, firefighters and police officers are assigned to a particular station. One of my favorite comedy shows, Corner Gas, takes place at a gas station. Finally, everyone knows that Pittsburgh had the first radio stations. Station is a Latin term, statio, meaning the same thing it does in English, and is related to its root, sta, meaning to stand or be firm.

Regarding Stations of the Cross, also known as The Way of the Cross, Lutheran Pastor Gerhard Grabenhofer explains them this way. The Stations came into prevalent use in churches during the Middle Ages. The original Stations or Way of the Cross was the course Jesus walked on His journey to his crucifixion through the streets of Jerusalem. We know this route as Via Dolorosa or the Way of Sorrow. We do not know exactly when it became a practice for pilgrims to walk the Way when they visited Jerusalem, but probably in the 1300’s. When the Turks occupied the Holy Land, they prevented pilgrims from visiting sacred sites. The custom then arose of making simple replicas of the stations and erecting them outdoors or inside churches, and the Faithful could then follow the Way while remaining in their home countries.

By the sixteenth century, fourteen stations were adopted by nearly all churches. Today, pilgrims to the Holy Land may join in procession which follows the Way of the Cross, retracing Jesus’ steps, every Friday.[1] Since most of us will not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we can re-read the account of Jesus’ Way in the Scriptures.

You can read more about the Stations on your own, but now that I’ve explained them, let’s move to the next station, Scripture’s Stations. By Scripture’s Stations, I mean our passage today.[2] So, allow me to explain the traditional Stations as we find them in the Gospels.

Following the Last Supper and the sequence of events that occurred in the Upper Room, the Mount of Olives, and the high priest’s house, Jesus was dragged before the Sanhedrin, Pilate and then Herod, before being condemned to death. This condemnation to death is the First Station. The Second Station, occurs not in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke), but in John 19:17, where Jesus carried his cross. This is reminiscent of Genesis 22:6, which reads, “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.” The Third, Seventh and Ninth Stations mark three falls of Jesus, which are not mentioned in the Gospels, but given that the Fifth Station is Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry the cross, which is mentioned in the Synoptics, it is most likely that Jesus did collapse. I would imagine even the strongest of us would strain to carry a beam of wood after being whipped and beaten.

Although Simon is a minor figure in the Gospels, he is a major figure for us. Here’s why. It was customary in Jesus’ day for a condemned criminal to carry his own cross, and unusual for someone to be forced into service to help him. Luke does not explain why Simon was pressed into service, but his language suggests that Simon was some sort of disciple, literally fulfilling Jesus’ prophesy that a disciple must take up his own cross and follow him. We read this in Luke 9:23 and 14:27.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander. Rufus and his mother are mentioned in Paul’s Letter to the Romans (16:13). So, it is conceivable that Simon became acquainted with Jesus while carrying his cross and became a believer. We’ve all had conversations on the airplane or on vacation when we spent an hour or so with a stranger who impacted us to a degree. The experience of getting to know a condemned man would have had a greater impact on Simon. Becoming a believer, he could pass along the faith to Rufus.

Symbolically, each of us is Simon, forced to help Jesus carry the cross with love and reverence. As disciples, we know that Jesus’ journey began in Galilee (9:51), and that it ends in Jerusalem. We also know that Jesus created a new people through his teaching and table fellowship. And so, the story of Jesus’ passion is also the story of his followers, who like Jesus are seized and persecuted for their faith.

At this point, Luke adds six additional verses not found in Matthew or Mark. The Eighth Station, where Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, are among the many people who were following Jesus. It is true that there were people calling for his crucifixion, but there were also people who turned to him in repentance. These are the same people who stood at the foot of the cross (23:48). So, like Simon, the daughters of Jerusalem represent the people of Jerusalem.

As they mourn and lament, Jesus turns to them as he turned to Peter (22:61). His words bring them from remorse to full repentance.[3] All of Jerusalem, Israel and humankind are guilty of rejecting the Messiah who must suffer. Jesus calls all to repent and believe as he warns them of what will happen if they do not.

There are two other Stations that are not in the Scriptures where Jesus meets his mother and a woman named Veronica (a name meaning true icon) wipes his face. On the other hand, all Four Gospels report the last five Stations: Jesus is stripped of his clothes; he is nailed to the cross; he dies on the cross; Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb.

Before I get to my third point, let’s explore this question. Is there some significance that Protestant Christians have adopted the Stations as a form of common or personal prayer? Historically, Protestants have tended to reject the practices associated with the Stations of the Cross, largely because they were associated with indulgences. Over the past few weeks, I have read a lot about how Protestant pastors and theologians view the Stations of the Cross. The clearest writing came from Retired Air Force Chaplain Major Robin Stephenson-Bratcher. He wrote, “In our eagerness to celebrate Easter and the resurrection, Protestants often rush too quickly through Holy Week. … Too much of the week, especially as it draws to an end on Good Friday and Holy Saturday is much too messy for Christians accustomed to the language of triumph and praise. In doing so, we miss the tremendous significance of the Cross as something more than a symbol of the crucifixion and death of Jesus as prologue to the resurrection, or as a symbol of a theological doctrine of the atonement. As Jesus himself taught his disciples on more than one occasion, the Cross symbolizes something far more profound than suffering and death, and perhaps even more significant than theologies of the atonement.”

Continuing, he said that the Cross is about the power of love, the commitment of God to humanity, the faithfulness and grace of God that knows no limits and will yield to no boundary, that will risk even death itself for the sake of new life.

Most of us …  do not live in the triumph of Easter Sunday all the time, or even most of the time. Life simply does not work that way. No matter what victory we claim as Christians, the realities of life are too often difficult to bear even for people of Faith. We struggle on the journey and try to understand the inequities of life. We are misjudged and misunderstood by others. We suffer physical and emotional pain. We experience painful endings. Marriages fail. Children make destructive decisions. Friends betray us. Loved ones die. The world becomes dark and hopeless, like the world of Good Friday as Jesus journeyed to the Cross.

In Jesus’ journey to the Cross on Good Friday, we see faithfulness in the midst of his Passion, perseverance in the midst of endings, and courage in the midst of hopelessness. We too take up our own cross, and in accompanying Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, we gain courage from his commitment to the Father in that journey, from his courage to face what comes, and finally from the realization of the truth that with God endings become the building blocks of new beginnings.

The value in the Stations of the Cross lies in the simple twofold enacted confession. First, life is sometimes dark, painful, and brings endings. That reality will not go away even for the Son of God. Second, God does some of his best work in the darkness as we persist in the journey, even when that journey leads to Golgotha. Resurrection Sunday has no meaning without Good Friday. This journey reminds us of the darkness as a basis to celebrate the light.[4]

Finally, What is your Station? Earlier I offered definitions of the word. Station can be your status in life, your place, where you stand. Our stations differ and in time they change. Recently, I turned 65. In our society, turning 65 brings a major change – Medicare. Apart from that, my station in life has changed quite a bit over the last six decades. Once upon a time, my station was being a young person attending school with my brothers and schoolmates. I was learning subjects in school, how to play the trumpet and accordion, how to drive a standard transmission and dance the polka. My station was to be a young man.

Professionally, my station changed. I was a pastor and chaplain before becoming a nonprofit fundraiser. Personally, my station changed when I met Cindy, and became her husband. In-laws and grandchildren offered the station of father-in-law and grandfather. And two years ago, you offered me the station of pastor once again.

As a pastor, my primary interest is for you to develop and sustain your prayer life, your relationship with our Triune God and with one another as members of Christ’s Church. At times, that is not an easy task. It’s not as difficult as carrying a cross to Calvary, but it does place a burden, an obligation on me because you are all at different stations in your lives. You are at a different station today than ten years ago, and so is this congregation. Your life has changed dramatically in ten years as individuals and a church, and hopefully, through all of that your relationship with God and one another has deepened. That’s why this station in my life as your pastor is just as important as husband, grandfather, brother, neighbor, friend and so on.

I see you like Simon, as one pressed into the service of helping Jesus bear his cross. Circumstances have changed your life. One minute you’re going home and the next minute, you’re thrust into a new situation, and your relationship with Christ and those around you will never be the same. One moment, you’re anonymous, and the rest of your life you are remembered as the one who bore the cross of Christ.

I see you as the women Jesus met. In moments of grief, sorrow, anger or depression, Jesus offers a word to you: a consoling word, an uplifting word, a word of forgiveness and mercy. You may never find yourself standing on the Via Dolorosa, but you need to hear God speak those words to you in your living room, the hospital room, the funeral home. My friends, I pray that you take time this week to enter into Christ Passion by reading the Gospels. And I pray that wherever you are when you hear Jesus’ words that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keeps your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Explanation from Pastor Gerhard Grabenhofer, Faith Lutheran Church, Corning NY. This is an LCMS congregation. See file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/good-friday-stations-of-the-cross-2018.pdf

[2] For a guide to the Traditional Stations and a Scriptural reference to each one, see this website: https://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Stations_of_the_Cross.htm. A web search of Stations of the Cross prefaced by the denomination will provide churches which offer them as a form of prayer.

[3] Arthur A. Just, Jr., Luke 9:51-24:53. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1997), p. 918.

[4] Dennis Bratcher, “The Cross as a Journey: The Stations of the Cross for Protestant Worship.” https://www.crivoice.org/stations.html. You can also read these: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/the-stations-of-the-cross-can-we-learn-from-them.html; https://www.gotquestions.org/stations-of-the-cross.html.