The Way of the Cross

“On the night he was handed over to suffering and death…”

Every time I say these eleven words from Eucharistic Prayer A, I have a deep visceral sense of sadness as I once again am reminded in great detail the physical suffering that God in Christ went through for us – all of us. 

For about thirty years I have had a clinical interest in the cascade of physical and physiologic events that occur before, during and after crucifixion. All of the unconscionable brutality done upon the individual being crucified had a singular purpose – excruciating pain. The intolerable pain of crucifixion is embedded in our English word for excruciating, which comes from the Latin excruciatus, meaning “out of the cross.” 

During Lent the Good Shepherd clergy offers everyone the opportunity to experience the last suffering hours that Jesus experienced from being condemned to death to that death. This shared experience with Jesus has been practiced by Christians for about 1500 years. Today we call the devotional, The Way of the Cross. 

We are blest to have in our Parish Hall magnificent Way of the Cross paintings by Elizabeth Gladstone of Salisbury, North Carolina. The paintings were given in memory of Margaret Petway Moore by her friends and family. There are fourteen paintings along the north, west and south walls. Each painting depicts a moment and place in Jerusalem traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death. Every time I look upon these paintings I see something different. Last Friday we were walking the Way of the Cross, and when we came to the Ninth Station where Jesus falls for a third time it seemed that this time Jesus was looking right at me. Even though I have looked at this painting many times, at that moment I saw in those suffering eyes a kind of peaceful surrender. 

The genius of these paintings is that the artist has managed to bring life into her art. 

During Lent walking the Way of the Cross is offered every Friday at noon. The walk is led by our clergy, but all present participate in the devotions and prayers with the cross carried by each of us. The wooden cross we carry is relatively light. The cross beam that Jesus carried weighed about 100 pounds.

If you cannot make it on Fridays then please take any free moment to just look. 

Peace,