The way of the Cross is the road which leads to Paradise; it is the sure way to holiness.
The Passion of Christ is the greatest and most stupendous work of Divine Love.
Station Two – Jesus takes up his cross
Station 2 – Jesus takes up His cross
Matthew 27:27-31 ESV
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
Reflections:
Jesus was scourged. The whips cut His back until it was shredded and bathed in His blood. A crown of thorns was set upon His head in mockery. Then they returned His robe to Him, and brought Him to the cross on which He was to die.
Jesus embraced the cross, resting it painfully on the smarting wounds of His back.
Most fortunate is the soul who walks by the way of Calvary, following Jesus our Redeemer, for if we suffer with Christ now with Christ we shall reign in the glory of the Father.
Lord, You were scourged and wounded; You deserved no punishment, but were punished in our place. Thank You, Jesus.
When You were already hurting, You embraced the cross. Thank You, Jesus
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O God, through the sufferings of Your only-begotten Son, You have crushed the pride of the ancient enemy: grant us the grace to remember with great devotion all He has suffered for us, so that with tranquil soul we may bear all the sufferings and adversities which come upon us. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.
Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.
The way of the Cross is the road which leads to Paradise; it is the sure way to holiness.
The Passion of Christ is the greatest and most stupendous work of Divine Love.
Station One – Jesus is condemned
John 19:1-16 ESV
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
Station 1 – Jesus is condemned
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
Reflections:
His accusers brought many false charges against Jesus, but He spoke not a word in His own defence. “Crucify him!” they shouted.
Pilate washed his hands, to show the decision was not his own, but he did not dare to side publicly with Jesus; instead, he was willing to content the people.
It is necessary that we accept the cross of tribulation willingly, at least with the higher part of our soul, as Jesus accepted His condemnation in perfect conformity to the will of the Father.
Lord, when You were misunderstood, You silently forgave; but we so often respond in anger. Lord have mercy.
Lord, You gave us opportunity to choose Jesus, but for so long we have chosen the rebellion that demanded Your death. Lord have mercy.
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All powerful and eternal God, You have given as a model to us Christ your Son, our Savior, who became man and was humiliated unto death on the cross: grant that we may always keep present before us the lesson He taught us by His Passion, so that we may share in the glory of His resurrection, Who lives and reigns forever and ever, Amen.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________
Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.
Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.
Sovereign God, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart, and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns; Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice, for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire….
Lord, use me as thou wilt, do with me what thou wilt; but, O, promote thy cause, let thy kingdom come, let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world! O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus! Let me see that glorious day…. It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.
O, answer thou my request!
Morning reading
John 18:33-40 ESV
“Christ before Pilate” Jacek Malczewski, 1910 Lviv State Picture Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Reflections:
Jesus’ kingdom
Jesus’ kingdom is otherworldly because he himself is not of this world and neither are his followers. He and his disciples have their source in God and reflect God’s own life and character. “Jesus’ kingdom is based on something other than . . . power or protection. It is based on his self-surrender, on his offering of himself for the sin of the world” (Ridderbos).
Jesus is working on a different level, one not of this world. His kingdom is quite distinct from other kingdoms, but he does indeed have a kingdom. Jesus’ explanation reveals that he is king in a sense that transcends all other kings: for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world. If Pilate thought about what Jesus said at all, he would probably hear it only on a human level, that Jesus was claiming to be like any other child who was born a prince, in line to become king. But Pilate may not have gotten that far in his thinking, for Jesus says that he came into the world not to be king of the Jews, but to testify to the truth.
revealer of truth
“He is the king of Truth, and He manifests His royal power not by force, but by the witness He bears to the Truth” (Hoskyn). The truth he refers to is the truth of God.
Pilate thinks of Jesus as a defendant, but Jesus is taking the part of a witness, who “has come to testify against the rule of the lie and for `the truth,’ that is, for God and for God’s claim on the world” (Ridderbos). So Jesus is asking for Pilate to pass judgment not on him as king of the Jews, but on him as the revealer of truth. And he puts pressure on Pilate, for if he does not decide in favor of Jesus, he will judge himself as not being on the side of truth – more literally, “of the truth”; it refers to one’s inner disposition as tuned to the truth, able to hear the voice of truth. “Absolute truth is a very uncomfortable thing when we come in contact with it” (Ward).
Pilate does not listen to Jesus, so, according to what Jesus has just said, he is not of the truth. The judge has been judged and found self-condemned through his response to Jesus. The Jewish opponents had come to this same place during the course of Jesus’ ministry. So now both Jew and Gentile have been given a chance to respond to the one come from God, and they have rejected him.
liberation choice
There is a stark contrast between Barabbas, a violent man concerned with this world’s politics, albeit religious politics, and Jesus, whose kingdom is not of this world, though it is active in this world. There is also irony in the name Barabbas itself, since it means “son of Abba” — the word Abba, “father,” was used as a proper name (Brown), but, especially in John’s Gospel, Jesus is known as the Son of the Father. The crowd was choosing between two different approaches to liberation as represented by two men identified, in different ways, as “son of Abba.”
Here is the deceptiveness of sin that has been evident since the Garden of Eden. There is a path that looks right and seems to be of God, yet it is actually against him and his ways. The people choose their own path of liberation rather than God’s, and they therefore choose “not the Savior, but the murderer; not the Giver of life, but the destroyer” (Augustine). Every time we choose sin we do the same, whether the sin is blatant or deceptive.
Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________
Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.
Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.
O Lord, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried…. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life, for I wish to be as dead and buried to sin, to selfishness, to the world…. Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation, the shame of being thought old-fashioned, the desire to be cultivated or modern…. Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour – resolute and Christ-contained.
Morning reading
“Christ before Pilate” Duccio di Buoninsegna, c.1311 Museo dell Opera del Duomo, Florence
John 18:28-32 ESV
Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”
They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.”
Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
Reflections:
defilement
The irony of the opponents’ concern for defilement is evident. They wish to remain ritually pure even while seeking to kill someone by the agency of the Romans. They avoid defilement while bringing about the death of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the root defilement that prevents one from intimacy with God and sharing in his life. Perhaps most ironic is the fact that their very act is a sin that defiles in this deep sense yet contributes to the cleansing of their sin and the sin of the whole world.
evil intent
Long before now Jesus’ opponents had come to the conclusion that he had to be eliminated…. Presumably they could request permission to kill Jesus themselves – they seem set, however, on having Rome execute Jesus, for then it would be by crucifixion. They probably want him crucified not only because it was a particularly brutal and painful form of death, but also because it would signify that Jesus is accursed by God (Robinson; Beasley-Murray). In John’s Gospel the focus is on Jesus as the revealer of God. His opponents have rejected that claim and desire his death in order to vindicate their conclusion.
witness to glory
John, however, sees this desire as a fulfillment of Jesus’ statement that he would die by being lifted up from the earth. “Both Jewish accusers and Roman judge are actors in a drama scripted by a divine planner” (Brown). John’s note reminds us both of Jesus’ identity as the Word whose words are God’s words, which will be fulfilled, and of the significance of this death: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself”. Even the actions of his enemies are used to bear witness to the glory of his identity and of what he is in the process of accomplishing.
Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________
Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.
Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.
O God, Though I am allowed to approach thee I am not unmindful of my sins, I do not deny my guilt, I confess my wickedness, and earnestly plead forgiveness….. Help me to place myself always under thy guiding and guardian care… to have more compassion, love, pity, courtesy, to deem it an honour to be employed by thee as an instrument in thy hands…. Thou hast done for me all things well, hast remembered, distinguished, indulged me…. My trials have been fewer than my sins, and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from thy hands. Thou hast often wiped away my tears, restored peace to my mourning heart, chastened me for my profit. All thy work for me is perfect, and I praise thee.
Morning reading
John 18:25-27 ESV
Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.
The Denial of Saint Peter Caravaggio (c. 1610) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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Canticle:
Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________
Peanut Gallery: A brief word of explanation – the general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world.
Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.
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The Peanut Gallery 