On this all-important day in the lives of Christians the world over, I attended a service at an ordinary little church in my ordinary little hometown. It is not my little church, but another in our community. There was no crowd of people, there was no pipe organ, nor any elaborate preparations made for this service. Those attending were few, but we were all there for the same reason in that little ordinary church on this holiest of days in the life of Christ.
The Pastor led us on a palm branch-strewn journey around the perimeter of that sanctuary on the Way of Sorrows, also called The Way of the Cross or the Stations of the Cross. The denominations I have been a part of do not commemorate Good Friday in this manner, so this was a new form of worship for me.
God met me there in that ordinary place. And as we processed from one designated area to the next, tredding all the while on the palms that laid out a path for us, I experienced the grueling journey made by Christ Himself on that fateful day over two thousand years ago. In the noontime quiet of the sanctuary, with sunlight streaming through glorious stained glass windows, I heard God whisper to my heart, "This is what I have done for you."
And during those moments of reflection at each station, I poured out my heartfelt prayers from my soul to God's ears.
Our little band of believers went silently as directed. Our footsteps echoed on hardwood throughout that beautiful old place of worship, and I was moved to tears as we walked from one creaky pew to the next, reverently repeating the liturgy before us.
The Third Station...
Lord God, your Son chose to be weak before the powers of this world, and you worked your power through him. In our time of weakness, help us to turn to you, that your power may work in us also, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, I do not choose to be weak! How did He humble Himself so, and do this for me?
The Sixth Station...
O God, your Son's passion shows us that loving others holds great risks that make us tremble and reluctant to act. Strengthen us in our faith and our resolve to take those risks and to see Your Son in our needy brothers and sisters, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Father, empower me to WANT to step out of my comfort zone. Remove the reluctance that threatens to choke Your purpose out of my life!
The Tenth Station...
All of you must clothe yourselves with humility, in your dealings with one another; for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ...The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.
Lord God, when I consider the humiliations Your own Son endured, I am ashamed of myself for complaining. My life is one of freedom, ease, joy, abundance, purpose, and privilege. Help me to put others before myself, just as He put us before Himself. Remove from me every shred of pride and phoniness! These traits are worldly sins that I want to peel off forever.
The Thirteenth Station...
Jesus, Lord, your gift accepted,
In three days you resurrected;
You did first what we shall do.
Great God, help me to put my faith in you and entrust my loved ones to your infinite care! Sometimes now I daydream about what Heaven will be like! And I long to be there... with you and with all that have gone before.
Before the Altar...
Let us follow the way of the cross until our life's end. Amen.
Lord, the gift of your salvation won through the way of the cross cannot be duplicated and must not be accepted lightly. Make my path straight and keep my feet from slipping from the narrow way.
Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. --Philippians 2:5-11
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