The Stations of the Cross
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
— John 12:24 (First Nations Version)
These stations are a journey of descent. Just as John writes about the grain of wheat falling to the ground, Jesus' journey to the cross is one of descent to the tomb. Let us join him using our bodies, our imaginations, and our souls, rehearsing this story by walking this labyrinth.
I. Jesus praying in the garden
Matthew 26:36–46
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
In the garden, while in agony, Jesus surrenders to God’s call to show divine, self-giving love by willingly being arrested. Wonder about Christ’s agony in the garden. How might he join you in your agony?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I surrender with you in the dark.
II. Jesus is condemned to death
Luke 23:13–25
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Jesus was accused of crimes he did not commit and was sentenced to death. Consider the loneliness of Christ’s condemnation. How does Christ stand with you when you are accused?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I stand with you, named and known.
III. Jesus carries his cross
John 19:16–17
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Jesus was given a cross to carry to the place of the skull, Golgotha, where he would die. His death is not defeat. It is self-giving love followed all the way to its end. Consider the weight of Christ’s cross. What does self-giving love ask you to carry?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I take up what love requires.
IV. Jesus meets his mother
John 19:25–27
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
She cannot soothe or spare his pain. She can only witness it. Witnessing without fixing is one of the hardest things love asks. Wonder about this motherly love. How do you witness and attend to your own pain and the pain of those around you?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I witness what I cannot fix.
V. Jesus falls for the first time
John 12:24 (FNV)
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Jesus is the seed fallen. He does not fall out of failure or exhaustion. He falls because this is what love does when it goes all the way. The falling is not the end, but the beginning. Consider this falling. What if your descent is not defeat, but direction?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: My falling is not the end.
VI. Simon of Cyrene is forced to help carry his cross
Mark 15:21
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
A stranger is pulled from the crowd and forced to help Jesus carry his cross. An unlikely person carries the most necessary thing. Wonder about Simon. How have you been pulled into something larger than yourself without choosing it? What did it make of you?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I share the weight with you.
VII. Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem
Luke 23:27–31
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
The women weep for Jesus. He turns to them and says: weep for yourselves. This is the station that looks back at you. You are not only a witness here. What do you need to mourn? Your own pain. Your own heartbreak. Your participation, even unknowing, in what harms others.
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I turn my gaze inward with you.
VIII. Jesus falls for the second time
John 12:24 (FNV)
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Jesus falls again. The ground is closer. What shifts in you even after you have seen yourself clearly?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I descend with you past what I know.
IX. Jesus falls for the third time
John 12:24 (FNV)
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
The third fall. There is a faithfulness in returning to what is difficult, what looks like weakness or failing. What keeps calling you back to the ground?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I take up what love requires.
X. Jesus is stripped
Mark 15:24
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Jesus’s garments that clung to him as his blood dried were stripped from his body. This is pain and humiliation in one blow. The work of self-giving love is one of complete vulnerability and still God remains present. What is unveiled in you?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I am unveiled in you.
XI. Jesus is nailed to the cross
Luke 23:33–34
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
The three holes piercing Jesus become permanent. They are there at his death and they are there eternally. Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified. What marks do you bear? What wounds have changed you?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: My marks are held in you.
XII. Jesus dies
John 19:16–17
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Jesus breathed his last. Pause in the silence of breath.
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I wait in silence.
XIII. Jesus is taken down from the cross
John 19:16–17
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
Mary appears for the second time. This grief is held in symmetry. The mother whose body was broken in childbirth is holding her son’s body broken by love. Wonder about the nature of grief. What sensations do you feel when you recognize yourself in someone else’s suffering?
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I hold with you what love has broken.
XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb
John 19:41–42
V: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you,
R: for by your cross of love you have redeemed the world.
The seed is buried. Deep into the ground it waits. The loss that has not yet become anything else. The grief that has not yet found its name. The unanswered prayer. The sealed stone. You are not alone in the dark.
Breath Prayer
Inhale: God of fallen seeds,
Exhale: I wait in the dark with you.