Jesus is Condemned to Die

Jesus stands in the most human of places. He has already experienced profound solidarity with so many on this earth by being beaten and tortured. Now he is wrongfully condemned to punishment by death. His commitment to entering our lives completely begins its final steps. He has said “yes” to God and placed his life in his Father's hands. We follow him in this final surrender and contemplate with reverence each place along the way as he is broken for us.

As I view the scene, I become moved by both outrage and gratitude. I look at Jesus. His face. The crown of thorns. The blood. His clothes stuck to the wounds on his back. And Pilate washing his hands of the whole affair.

This is for me. That I might be free. That I might have eternal life. As the journey begins I ask to be with Jesus. To follow his journey. I express my love and thanks.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Carries His Cross

Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders. With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience. He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.

I contemplate the wood of that cross. I imagine how heavy it is. I reflect upon all it means that Jesus is carrying it. I look into his eyes. It's all there. This is for me. So I place myself with him in this journey. In its anguish. In his freedom and surrender. In the love that must fill his heart. With sorrow and gratitude, I continue the journey. Moved by the power of his love, I am drawn to him and express my love in the words that come to me.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Falls the First Time

The weight is unbearable. Jesus falls under it. How could he enter our lives completely without surrendering to the crushing weight of the life of so many on this earth? He lays on the ground and knows the experience of weakness beneath unfair burdens. He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he will ever be able to continue. He is pulled up and made to continue.

I stare at the weakness in his eyes. I can look at his whole body and see the exhaustion. As I see him there on the ground, being roughly pulled up, I know forever how profoundly he understands my fatigue and my defeats. This is for me. As I watch him stand again and gain an inner strength, I accept his love and express my thanks.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Meets His Mother

Jesus' path takes him to a powerful source of his strength to continue. All his life, his mother had shown him love and devotion. Now they look into each other's eyes. How pierced-through her heart must be. How pained he must be to see her tears. Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his heart to its depth. Love and trust in God bind them together.

As I watch them in this place along the way, I contemplate the mystery of love's power to give strength. She knows the sorrow in the heart of every mother that has lost a child to tragedy or violence. I look at the two of them very carefully, and long for such love and such peace. This is for me. Such incredible freedom. The availability of a servant. I find the words to express what is in my heart.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

Jesus even experiences our struggle to receive help. He is made to experience the poverty of not being able to carry his burden alone. He enters into the experience of all who must depend upon others to survive.

I look into his face and contemplate his struggle. His weariness and fragility. I see how he looks at Simon, with utmost humility and gratitude. This is for me. So I feel anguish and gratitude. I express my thanks that he can continue this journey. That he has help. That he knows my inability to carry my burden alone. I say what is in my heart, with deep feeling.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

A Woman Wipes the Face of Jesus

Jesus' journey is at times brutal. He has entered into the terrible experiences of rejection and injustice. He has been whipped and beaten. His face shows the signs of his solidarity with all who have ever suffered injustice and vile, abusive treatment. He encounters a compassionate, loving disciple who wipes the vulgar spit and mocking blood from his face with her veil.

What does the face of Jesus hold for me? What do I see, as I look deeply into his face? Can I try to comfort the agony and pain? Can I embrace him, with his face so covered with his passion? This is for me. In wonder and awe, I behold his face now wiped clean, and see the depth of his suffering in solidarity with all flesh. I say what I can say, to express my gratitude.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Falls the Second Time

Even with help, Jesus stumbles and falls to the ground. In deep exhaustion he stares at the earth beneath him. He has seen death before. Now he can feel the profound weakness of disability, disease and aging itself, there on his knees, under the weight of his cross.

I contemplate Jesus brought very low. As I behold him there on the ground, with all the agony taking its toll on him, I let my heart go out to him. I store up this image in my heart, knowing that I will never feel alone in my suffering with this image of Jesus on the ground before me. This is for me, so I express the feelings in my heart.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

The women of Jerusalem and their children come out to comfort and thank him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. He had broken all kinds of social and religious conventions to connect with them. Now they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers, knowing he can't remain to help them anymore in this life. He knows the mystery of facing the separation of death.

I look at their faces. So full of love and gratitude, loss and fear. I contemplate what words might have passed between them. I remember all his tender, compassionate, merciful love for me. I place myself with these women and children to support him. This is for me. So, I let this scene stir up deep gratitude.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Falls the Last Time

This last fall is devastating. Jesus can barely proceed to the end. Summoning all this remaining strength, supported by his inner trust in God, Jesus collapses under the weight of the cross. His executioners look at him as a broken man, pathetic, yet paying a price they think he deserves. They help him up so he can make it up the hill of crucifixion.

I pause to contemplate him there on the ground. The brokeness that makes me whole. The surrender that gives me life. I pause to experience and receive how completely he loves me. He is indeed completely poured out for me. As I treasure this gifted experience, I express what is in my heart.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus is Stripped

Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. Jesus is completely stripped of any pride. The wounds on his back are torn open again. He experiences the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects him. As they stare at him, his eyes turn to Heaven.

I pause to watch the stripping. I contemplate all that is taken from him. And how he faces his death with such nakedness. I reflect upon how much of himself he has revealed to me. Holding nothing back. As I look at him in his humility, I know that this is for me, and I share my feelings of gratitude.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Huge nails are hammered through his hands and feet to fix him on the cross. He is bleeding more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of his life hangs on those nails. Every time he struggles to pull himself up to breathe, his ability to cling to life slips away.

I make myself watch the nails being driven through his flesh. As I look at his face, I contemplate the completeness of his entry into our lives. Can there be any pain or agony he would not understand? This is for me. Nailed to a cross to forever proclaim liberty to captives. What sorrow and gratitude fill my heart!

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus Dies on the Cross

Between two criminals, a mocking title above his head, with only Mary, John and Mary Magdalene to support him, Jesus surrenders his last breath: “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

I stand there, at the foot of the cross, side by side with all of humanity, and behold our salvation. I carefully watch and listen to all that is said. And then I experience the One who gives life pass from life to death for me. This is the hour to express the deepest feelings within me.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross

What tender mourning! Jesus' lifeless body lies in his mother's arms. He has truly died. A profound sacrifice, complete.

I behold this scene at the foot of the cross. I contemplate touching, caressing his body. I remember all his hands have touched, all who have been blessed by his warm embrace. I pause to let it soak in. He knows the mystery of death. He has fallen into God's hands. For me. That I might love as I have been loved. I pour out my heart to the God of all mercies.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

They take the body of Jesus to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty? That Jesus would show himself alive to his disciples? Or that they would recognize him in the breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us as we realize how he had to suffer and die so as to enter into his glory for us.

I pause to contemplate this act of closure on his life. In solidarity with all humanity, his body is taken to its grave. I stand for a moment outside this tomb. This final journey of his life demonstrates the meaning of the gift of himself for me. This tomb represents every tomb I stand before with fear, in defeat, struggling to believe it could ever be empty.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

The Stone is Rolled Away

When they came to the tomb, they found the stone had been rolled away. As he promised, Jesus had returned from the grave and defeated death. He is risen, indeed.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

---

He is Risen

In the fullness of faith in the Risen One, given by his own Holy Spirit, I express my gratitude for this way of the cross. I ask Jesus, whose hands, feet and side still bear the signs of this journey, to grant me the graces I need to take up my cross to be a servant of his own mission.

I adore you, O Christ, and I worship you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Photos taken from Lourdes, France by John McAlister.

John McAlister is senior editor for The Salvation Army's Editorial Department. From 2006-2008, he served in Zimbabwe with his wife, Rochelle. John and Rochelle have a baby boy named Kieran Tinashe.