“ Going the Way of the Cross? ”

 

Dear Jesus-Followers on the road to Jerusalem, that eventually includes a trip to the cross,

Some years ago, a friend of mine from my youth group days (who’s also now a minister colleague) invited the congregation she was serving at the time to adopt a program where members were invited to “walk” from Nazareth to Bethlehem during Advent.  The idea wasn’t to travel to modern day Israel, but rather, to cover the same number of miles in their own lives as a kind of spiritual journey preparing them for Christmas.  Individuals and families were invited to sign up and keep track of their progress—they even divided it into the number of steps, so people could count their Wal-Mart trips and parking lot steps!  Another church I heard about, celebrated Advent one year by inviting families to contribute baby supplies for a special mission project that year.  Lent can be this same kind of journey, marking time and having a special emphasis, but it’s a lot less fun.  At least during Advent, you get to look forward to holding a baby when you get to Bethlehem.  For Lent …there’s a cross waiting for us!  This may be why many of us struggle with Lenten disciplines! 

In Jerusalem, there’s a journey through the city known as the Via Dolorosa—they way of sorrows or suffering—believed to be the path Jesus made from the trial before Pilate to the place where he was crucified.  The old city of Jerusalem is actually quite small; the passageways are narrow, and the route of the Via Dolorosa is only about 2,000 feet, passing 14 “stations” or places along the way, attributed to some of the recorded events.  It’s important to note that the stations and events are subjective and based on tradition, not historical facts—so it’s a journey that’s more spiritual than physical, or literal, especially for modern day pilgrims like us. 

I like to remind us during Lent that we’re following Jesus to the cross.  But I also get that this is a bit of an unusual itinerary (except that we do this every year!).  So, it’s not lost on me that while the other symbols for springtime and Easter involve fluffy animals and special candy, we’re actually trying to walk or journey toward a crucifixion!  Which seems oxymoronic! 

Several years ago, a speaker at a conference I was attending reminded the audience of the irony that one of the most brutal forms of public execution was the symbol of our faith.  We take the cross, one of the worst forms of human suffering, and somehow transform it …wearing it as jewelry, placing it as decoration, symbolizing our faith and even “love” with a object that represents violence and death.  “We are traveling to the cross,” as if it were a destination that wasn’t harmful, or at least, harmful to us.  We remember Jesus’ suffering, perhaps as if suffering were simply swallowed up, like death, in Jesus’ suffering and death, when he is raised. 

So, I’ve been thinking about what one carries to a cross party …or, a crucifixion?  …If that’s where we’re going, spiritually if not physically. 

When I traveled to the Holy Land, one of my colleagues decided he no longer needed the things he brought with him …so, he left them behind, either donating them or helping others repurpose them.  Part of the Lenten journey is remembering that we’re invited to leave our sins behind, dying to our old life and being raised in a new life.  Mortification and vivification; dying to sin and rising without sin.  …So if you could leave a spiritual suitcase behind at the cross …what would you leave in it?  What do you no longer need to carry with you?  Or, another way is thinking about what you might tell someone else, they get to leave behind, because you’ve forgiven them? 

Some journeys are harder than others.  The journey to the cross isn’t an easy one, physically or spiritually.  But life lies beyond it.  The way of the cross …dying and rising.