What was the cross? It was a method of torture and execution. To take up your cross, meant to carry all the trial and difficulties of life and keep going. At the eight station, we see that Jesus is unable to do just that, so Simon is selected to help:
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
We must remember the humanity of Jesus, having suffered a beating and facing a punishment he didn’t deserve. We are reminded here of the dominance of the Roman oppression – that they could force anyone they chose to do whatever they so desired – the lack of freedom.
And even in this state of vulnerability, Jesus still noticed people. At the ninth station, we reflect on Jesus seeing the women of Jerusalem, who were mourning for him. But Jesus knew what he was facing and challenged them to reflect on what was facing them:
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’
The message of the cross is victory, but it does not remove the challenges in life we face but brings hope.
At the tenth station, we see Jesus elevated, not to his glory, but to the shame of the cross—a punishment saved for those who others would say deserved no mercy. But the kingdom of God is rich in mercy and grace, as we see at station eleven. The criminal, deserving of death, called out to Jesus and he answered with hope:
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
