Spiritual Practices for Eastertide
Stations of the Cross: 13-15
Dr. He Qi – The Empty Tomb
Preparing for Eastertide
There will be other offerings presenting throughout the 50 days spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. But, it’s good to prepare our hearts, souls and minds for the journey ahead.
The Stations of the Cross
To enter into Eastertide, now through Sunday morning, I’d like share a practice of meditation called The Stations of the Cross.
The Stations of the Cross is a practice that began in the 1500s. It’s a contemplative walk through the story of Jesus’ final days and hours in his human body on this earth. Here are fifteen stations of the cross:
Jesus Is Condemned
Jesus Carries His Cross
Jesus Falls for the First Time
Jesus Sees His Mother Mary
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Jesus Falls a Second Time
Jesus Comforts the Women of Jerusalem
Jesus Falls a Third Time
Jesus Is Stripped Bare of His Earthly Possessions
Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb
Jesus Gives Us Glimmers of Hope
Steps and Application
Using excerpts from Clàudio Carvalhaes’ Liturgies from Below: Praying with the People at the End of the World and Henri Nouwen’s Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross, each day I’ll post the stations—three at a time—along with a verse from the Sermon on the Mount and a prayer.
There are really no rules of engagement in regards to how we should approach the stations. You can pray through each one or simply hold each in silence. Some people like to read them as a daily office, hour-by-hour. Others like to read them all at once. Do what feels right to you.
My only advise is that you bring true, most authentic yourself to these stations. Perhaps you’d like to worship with a song alongside each station. Maybe you’d like to go through a yoga flow in between each reading. You might prefer to go into a period of solitude as you hold each station in silence. Or, maybe you’d like to go through the stations in community. Again, please do whatever feels good to you.
This practice will be our Wednesday bible study lesson for this week and this month’s spiritual practice of Black-Eyed Bible Study. However, I’m also inviting free subscribers to participate as well since this practice will be our hope challenge for the rest of the week.
Invocation
Find a quiet time and space to lean in. Light a candle, maybe. Take a deep inhale. Hold it for one heartbeat and then exhale. Let’s begin.
Shalom,
Marcie
Dr. He Qi – The Risen Lord
STATIONS OF THE CROSS: FOUR, FIVE, SIX
There is immense pain in the wide world around us; there is immense pain in the small world within us. But all pain belongs to Jesus and is transformed by him into glorified wounds that allow us to recognize him as our risen Lord.
— Henri Nouwen, Walk with Jesus: Stations of the Cross
THIRTEEN: JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS
Joseph and Nicodemus tenderly cared for Jesus after his death, though they had some fear in showing their love for him while he was alive. As the broken body of Jesus is carried down from the cross, we remember his words at the Last Supper: “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19).
For us.
Clàudio Carvalhaes
Sermon on the Mount
Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountain (as Moses had done before Him) and He sat down (as Jewish teachers of His day usually did). His disciples gathered around Him. Matthew 5:1-2, The Voice
Prayer Adapted from Henri Nouwen
Yeshua of Nazareth—
We say yes to life!
You have taught us
that though we will have
tribulation, distress and suffering—
there is love, life and abundance!
In death and in life, you have taught us that:
there is never love without sorrow;
there is never commitment without pain;
there is never involvement without loss;
there is never giving without suffering —
and, there is never life without death,
never death without life again.
FOURTEEN: JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB
Jesus enters all the places of our lives, even the tomb. The places of death, the places of absolute loneliness and pain. Jesus is there, ready to hold us and to love us back to life.
Clàudio Carvalhaes
Sermon on the Mount
Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. Matthew 5:17, New Living Translation
Prayer adapted from Henri Nouwen
Jesus, Sweet and Gentle—
Your death offers us rest and hope
that even after death all things will be
made new and fruitful again.
From a silent tomb, The Word Made Flesh
eternally whispered, “Let there be light.”
And Light—good, pleasing, useful,
beautiful and perfect Light rose
and still shines.
FIFTEEN: JESUS GIVES US GLIMMERS OF HOPE
Even as we reflect on the death of Jesus and enter the lonely tomb, we know we are never without the hope of resurrection.
Clàudio Carvalhaes
Sermon on the Mount
You, therefore, will be perfect—growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life—as your heavenly [Abba God] is perfect. Matthew 5:48
Prayer adapted from Henri Nouwen
Jesus—Risen and Alive,
You remind us that in life, yes—
there is sadness, but gladness too.
Yes, there is grief, but joy as well.
Yes, there is fear, but also love.
Yes, there is hard work, but celebration follows.
And, yes, there is death, but also resurrection.
In you, all is the same and all is made new.
In you, the beginning rests at the ending.
In you, undying light shines in the darkness.
Benediction
O Spacious God, have mercy on us.
O Creator hear us.
O Lady Wisdom, have mercy on us.
O Spirit, hear us.
O The Anointed Son, have mercy on us.
O Christ, hear us.
Amen
This is a communal practice. Please feel welcome to add your prayers, thoughts, questions or reflections in the comments below.
Shalom.
I love the artworks you share with your posts - the words are artworks too!