.....and picking up the baggage.
For some, the cross is a piece of jewellery, which can be worn around the neck, and it may in addition have "a little man" on it!
For many Christians around the world, the cross is a challenging experience amidst daily and life-threatening persecution.
For every Christian, the beauty and brutality of the cross is the inescapable reality that confronts us during Holy Week, challenging us to consider what it means for us to follow Jesus in taking up our own cross.
THE SECOND STATION - JESUS RECEIVES HIS CROSS
A cross is not just a piece of wood, it is everything that makes life difficult. Jesus took up his Cross daily, and in a calm and courageous way, he put up with the "holier than thou" threats of the Pharisees, and the lack of understanding of his own Disciples. In the way that he carried the burdens of his life but, in particular, the way in which he carries this awful, final burden, he transforms the cross from a symbol of condemnation and enslavement into one of liberation.
There are burdens that we all carry, some are obvious and others we take great care
to hide. Illness, pain and disability, of old age, dependence, and caring for someone who no longer knows who we are, of loneliness and of isolation.
The burden of constant fear, living under the threat of hatred, reprisal, tyranny,
an ever-increasingly violent world.
What is your burden?
Who am I carrying at present?
Who is carrying me / has carried me?
Forgive us, Lord, for using the cross as a trinket,
forgetting the agony it represents.
Forgive us, Lord, for taking our worship for granted,
forgetting the struggle that has assured its freedom.
Forgive us, Lord, for being calloused to human cruelty,
forgetting that every victim is a creature of God.
Forgive us, Lord, for being nonchalant about injustice,
forgetting that it still nails innocence to the cross.
Forgive us, Lord, for thinking that sacrifice is obsolete,
forgetting that we still contend against the powers of darkness.
Receive our prayers offered in all humility,
as we remember and honour Christ our Lord
who prays for us still. Amen.
~ posted on Life in Liturgy,
“After mocking Jesus, the soldiers stripped him of the robe
and put his own clothes on him.
Then they led him away to crucify him.”
Matthew 27:28-31
WE PRAY May we feel your presence Lord in all the burdens we carry today.
Help us to share our burdens with you more freely,
not to be afraid to acknowledge our fears and our pain.
May we be more aware of the crosses that others bear
and make time and effort to alleviate their burden.
Jesus carries the cross
Your arms are strong.
They have cradled children.
They have broken bread and shared it with your friends.
They have prepared a meal for countless empty bellies.
They have stretched to touch and raise and heal.
Your back is strong.
It has carried many cares.
It has bent to stroke a thousand fevered brows
and stooped to wash the dirt from dusty feet.
It has borne the weight of too much expectation.
Strong arms, strong back.
Strong enough for your cross and mine.
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