THIRD STATION: JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME
We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.
Because by your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.
Jesus falls. Here Jesus shows us that being heroic
does not mean staying on one’s feet at all costs.
Being heroic means getting up again after falling
and continuing on the road ahead.
Most people will never resign themselves to staying flat on the ground.
Like Jesus, they will get up again,
pick up their crosses
and keep on searching for purpose.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
For my part I made no resistance, neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face against insult and spittle. (Isaiah 50:6)
REFLECTION IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC
It is not surprising that Jesus falls over.
The cross is heavy, he is weakened by loss of blood,
and the midday heat in Jerusalem is fierce.
The ground is uneven, and the crowds press around.
It will not be surprising if we also fall over in these pressured days.
A moment when we snap at someone;
a moment where we lose patience in a supermarket queue;
a moment where we are reduced to tears by the sheer helplessness we feel
in the face of illness, death, and confinement.
As we lie on the ground – literally and metaphorically –
we can look to our side and see that Jesus is there with us,
on the floor, weighed down.
Together with Jesus, we find extra strength to get up and carry on.
Pause for a moment of quiet prayer and reflection
Jesus, it’s easy to see your image in saints, but you had a place in your heart
- for the Samaritan woman with “a reputation”,
who turned her back on what brought her temporary fulfilment and embraced eternal love and happiness.
-Zacchaeus the unpopular tax-collector , who nobody liked, but who, when he
encountered Christ, pinned all his hopes on eternal values.
- The repentant thief, crucified with Christ, who even in his pain saw the Face of God in the One crucified alongside him.
In falling under the weight of Your cross, You identify Yourself with all who fall.
You understand those who experience failure, weakness, a fall,
and Your Heart goes out to them.
Give us this same compassionate heart.
