Way of the Cross - 3

THE WAY OF THE CROSS – 3

(Preached Lent 1997 and 2003)

Introduction

Over the past two weeks, since we cannot all go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, we have sought to bring Jerusalem here this Lent.

We have been walking with Jesus along the Via Dolorosa. This is the name given to the possible route that Jesus took from Pilate's house to Calvary. As we have walked, we have stopped every so often to consider how the various experiences of Jesus along that route can help us to understand our own experiences in the spiritual life today when we too find ourselves suffering innocently as a result of other people’s actions.

So today we shall stop three more times and those three experiences I have summed up with the words Wiping, Speaking and Weeping.

VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

"Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,

like a root in arid ground.

Without beauty, without majesty, we saw him,

no looks to attract our eyes:

a thing despised and rejected of men,

a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,

a man to make people screen their faces

he was despised and we took no account of him"

(Isaiah 53.2-3)

Wiping

What was the face of Jesus like?

Since photographic cameras and cam recorders had not yet been invented, and since Jesus appears not to have attracted sufficient attention for an artist to paint his portrait, we do not know what the face of Jesus was like. Nevertheless, people have often wondered and wanted to see the face of Jesus throughout the ages.

According to tradition, Veronica was one such person. So she steps forward from the crowd and wipes the face of Jesus and looks at it.

And what does she see? Skin torn and bruised by the beating of the Roman soldiers. Eyes tired from the all night court sitting. Eyebrows closely knit with the mental strain of the past hours. Hair tangled and disarranged from wearing the crown of thorns. And the lips, dried and cracking from lack of drink and excessive heat. This is the face Veronica wipes.

This is the same face that had looked in love and pity upon the sick; that had come alive with the telling of humorous anecdotes; that had looked with understanding at the slowness of the disciples and which had shone like the sun at the Mount of Transfiguration. This is the face that Veronica wipes.

Imagine the relief and pleasure that that little act of love must have given to Jesus.

As her eyes look into the eyes of Jesus, Veronica sees the eyes of God looking out at her.

Jesus has been described as a window into God. In other words, as we look at Jesus we see God in human form. Alas windows often get dirty and one has difficulty in seeing through them. They need wiping clean every so often so that one can see through more clearly.

We know what Jesus was like from the Bible. As Christians we need to be regularly wiping our windows by Bible reading so that we can see clearly the face of Jesus coming through the pages of scripture and not our own interpretations. As we come to see Jesus more clearly, and love him more dearly, so we are brought nearer to the vision of God whom one day we shall see face to face.

As St. Paul says to the Christians at Corinth "Now we see a dim reflection in a mirror but then we shall be seeing face to face."

JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME

"Yet he was pierced though our faults,

crushed for our sins.

On him lies a punishment that brings peace,

and through his wounds we are healed".

(Isaiah 53.5)

Speaking

The scribes and pharisees said that Jesus was irreligious. The sadducees said that Jesus was a political revolutionary. The chief priest said that Jesus was a blasphemer. The crowds said "Crucify him" and Peter said "I do not know this man".

Each person lied through the words they spoke. The words spoken by each person contributed to the weight of the cross. Little wonder that Jesus stumbled and fell a second time on the way to Calvary.

We continue to contribute to the weight of the cross by the sins we commit through speaking. The lies we tell (whether white or black);the half-truths we use to protect ourselves or damn those we dislike; the words left unsaid when we could have corrected a false impression or inaccurate statement, or just put the other side of the picture; the insidious words whereby we cast suspicion, raise unprofitable curiosity and merely titillate and satisfy evil minds.

If only we were better at controlling our tongues - just think what a better world this would be!

It seems that at times we are hell bent on poisoning relationships, destroying reputations, assassinating characters by our continual use of words. So often we speak with authority where in fact our knowledge is partial. So often we speak and refuse to hear the other person's point of view. So often we speak and our minds are closed.

Why, oh why is it that we find it so necessary to speak and so add to the weight of the cross? There is so much Jesus could have said in his defence before Pilate. There is so much Jesus could have said - but he chose to remain silent.

Silence is often the most positive attitude one can adopt. Silence can often prevent evil being built upon evil. Silence is often the way of love. Silence is often the cement which can heal relationships which words have broken.

Silence is a costly way and can involve greater suffering. Yet silence can win in the end. After all, it was not Pilate, nor the crowds, nor Peter, nor the chief priest, nor the Sadducees, nor the scribes and the pharisees who were victorious 2000 years ago, but Jesus.

Words can destroy relationships, but silence can heal. So through the cross man is united once again with God.

JESUS SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM

"Large numbers of people followed him, among them women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children." (Luke 23.27-28)

Weeping

It is interesting to note that of all those who opposed Jesus, according to the Gospel writers, there was not one woman! Now this may well reflect the male-dominated environment in which the evangelists wrote, for to this day, certain Jews still praise God daily that they have not been born a woman. But having said that, we must still recall that it was women who went first to the tomb; that it was women who watched at the foot of the cross, and that it was women who wept as Jesus walked through the narrow streets of Jerusalem from Pilate's palace to Calvary.

Jesus looks towards the women, sobbing their hearts out, wiping their eyes and says "Do not weep for me". There can be no doubt that the weeping was genuine for to mourn a criminal publicly on his way to execution was unlawful and therefore liable for punishment under the law.

Yet, in spite of such courage, Jesus says "Do not weep for me". He did not want their pity. He was not a person who thrived upon sympathy. He willingly chose the way of the cross. He once said "I am laying it down from my own free will".

Jesus doesn't want us to follow him out of pity or give him sympathetic encouragement. The kingdom's cause is not a charity. He doesn't want us to form a supporters club.

Jesus doesn't want people weeping after him. Such tears are misdirected. Rather, he wants tears of repentance. He foresaw the fall of Jerusalem - he saw clearly what was in store for people that would not look to themselves.

Some people thrive on pity. They are never content unless they are moaning some personal misfortune in the hope that someone will show some pity towards them. Such people are the most difficult to befriend and help. Fortunately there are those selfless ones who will accept no pity, no matter how cruel a blow they have been dealt. Such people follow firmly in the path of the cross refusing to allow their misfortune to become occasions for wallowing in self-pity

No one has suffered more innocently than Jesus – yet he refused tears of pity.

If weep we must, let us weep for ourselves. If pity we must let us take pity on ourselves. If we must be sorry, let us be sorry for ourselves.

Tears of pity are easy. Tears of repentance are hard.

Michael Quoist recognises this when he writes,

"I manage very well Lord, to pity your sufferings and the sufferings of the world. But to weep for my own sins, That’s another matter. I'd rather bemoan those of others. It's easier. I'm well up on that: the whole world passes every day before my tribunal. I've found plenty of guilt: in politics, economics, slums, alcohol, films, industry. I see it in many people: in laissez faire Christians, in priests who don't understand a thing and in many others, Lord, many others. All in all, in just about the whole world, except me."

Prayer

O Jesus, in your face we look on God, help us to show your face to others and bring them hope.

O Jesus, in your sufferings you are silent. Help us to control our cruel tongues And teach us what we should speak.

O Jesus, Light of the world, Help us to know ourselves as we are And move our hearts to seek your forgiveness.