We honed in on five parts of Jesus' passion: The Gardens, The Trials, The Way, The Cross and It Is Finished. Below is my reflection on The Way.
There seemed to be only one way.
The walk from Pilate’s headquarters to the Place of the Skull, or Golgotha, the site of crucifixion was well established. The streets were narrow and cramped, hemmed in with high stone walls on each side. The way from the Praetorium to Golgotha was full of twists and turns; stumbling and falling was a threat in each step.
The walk was known as the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of Sorrows. Thousands of prisoners and criminals had walked that way before, shedding their blood, their tears, and raising up shouts for mercy. On this Friday that we call Good, our Lord made his own way from the vitality of life to the certainty of death down this Way.
There seemed to be only one way for the soldiers to go with Jesus.
They were hardened by battle and made tough by endless training. Brutality was second nature and humiliation was just part of breaking down prisoners sentenced to death on the cross. In order to survive as a protector of Rome, they learned to deny their own humanity, to inflict punishment instead of offering compassion, to strike instead of embrace, to push instead of pull. And so they took him down the Via Dolorosa, the only way they knew how – with violence, with pain, with vengeance.
There seemed to be only one way for Simon to go with Jesus.
He was caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was just coming back in from a trip to the country. He didn’t know his way around Jerusalem – he was visiting from his homeland of Cyrene, a pilgrim for Passover. The jostling of the crowd sucked him in and before he realized it, he was yanked from the crowd and a heavy, rough, crossbeam was thrown on his back and he was forced down the Way of Sorrows, an unwitting participant in the darkest parade known. He went the only way he knew – reluctantly yet in awe.
There seemed to be only one way for the women to go with Jesus.
They were the backbone of his traveling companions – cooking, making camps, seeking shelter, caring for the physical needs of Jesus and his disciples. Some of them, like Mary Magdalene, had been healed by Jesus. Others were convinced by their sons, whom Jesus called as disciples. Others were won over to his way by his gentleness with children and the power of his teaching. And now, after seeing him through the years of miracles, sermons, stories, and laughter, they went on this final journey with Jesus the only way they knew how – weeping, wailing, beating their breasts, and yet staying close in honor, in love and in service.
There is only one way for us to go with Jesus to the joy of the resurrection, to the miracle of Easter Day. And that way is down the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows, keeping pace with Jesus as he stumbles, as he falls, as he limps his way to his sure and certain death. Where will you be on The Way of Sorrows? Will you turn your back on Jesus like the soldiers, your heart hardened by the pain and struggles of life? Will you go reluctantly like Simon of Cyrene, pulled along by the crowd, yet open to the power of what you see and experience? Or will you go willingly like the women, staying close through the horror, through the grief, through the desolation of what lies ahead?
There is only one way to the cross, and that is the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows. Where will you find yourself tonight?
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