Stations of the Cross
by Karen Alger
This is adapted from an article featured in the Spring 2022 Lent/Easter issue of The Table magazine. If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Stations of the Cross as well, you can also check out this post from the Rev. Dcn. Leah Wall.
I want to begin this article by stating that I am in no way an expert on the Stations of the Cross. In fact, I had to do several hours of research just to put together this article! The Stations of the Cross were actually intended to help ordinary people to understand the last moments of Jesus’s life more clearly. My hope is that these words will facilitate the focusing of your worship and prayer during this Lent and upcoming Holy Week season.
Our worship and liturgy in the Anglican tradition is based on the life of Jesus and the growth of His Church. Weeks-long seasons of Advent, the Season after Epiphany, Lent, and Easter all focus on the “big pictures” of Jesus’s life and ministry. We prepare for and celebrate His birth, learn about the early days of his life and the calling of his disciples, mourn our sin and the necessity of Good Friday, and share in feasting and reveling in His resurrection and grace. However, during Holy Week, we take time to focus on what Jesus would have been doing each day of the last week of his life. Praying the Stations of the Cross actually takes that magnification even further—focusing on the last moments of Jesus’s life.
The objective of the stations is to help an individual or group to contemplate what it must have been like for Jesus in his last moments. Jesus intentionally chose to experience arrest, beatings, scorn, and ridicule. Participants become pilgrims along the Way of the Cross, giving Him glory and thanksgiving in remembering each intentional choice He made on their behalf.
The Stations of the Cross may have some variability between traditions, but generally the participant enters into the timeline of Jesus’s last moments on Thursday evening, the night before He was crucified on Good Friday. That was a busy evening for Jesus and the disciples, including His Last Supper and the washing of the disciples' feet. He then took a few disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and prepare for what was to come. Jesus intentionally chose to go through so much agony, even knowing beforehand how painful it would be. Jesus’s intentional choice is made more clear as the participant travels the Way of the Cross with Him. The participant walks through fourteen deeply moving moments from his condemnation through his burial in a borrowed tomb.
The Redeemer Kids Team also makes intentional choices. We choose to prioritize these hard truths and contextualize them for adults and children alike. It would be easier to avoid these painful moments, but God would not receive the glory, and we would miss the opportunity to recognize the depth of His love. The Stations of the Cross at Church of the Redeemer is designed to be prayerfully walked but also humbly interacted with, allowing for pilgrims of all ages and walks of life to receive what blessings God wants to give. Each of the fourteen stations includes scripture, prayers, and activities to more concretely remember and experience Jesus’s last moments.
All members of Church of the Redeemer and wider community are invited to participate in the Stations of the Cross. God is full of grace and longs to show us the extent of His love. Please prioritize this practice of walking the Way of the Cross. The stations will be available on the grounds of New Garden Park the evening of Palm Sunday through the evening of Holy Saturday, 9 a.m.-sunset each day.