Closing Prayer for the Kingdom (The Fifteenth Station of the Cross)

< Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Oh Lord, you taught us to resist Empire by living with confidence in the reign of God, but our hearts are turned by fair winds and vain promises. Sometimes we are crushed under the heels of Empire, and sometimes we aid in Empire’s oppression, whether by active participation or by silent assent. We are the ones who shout “Hosanna!” and we are the ones who cry, “Crucify him!”

In the dark illumination of the Via Dolorosa, we have seen ourselves. We have seen ourselves capitulating to Empire; we have seen ourselves facing sorrow and death. We have also seen Christ among the living and the dying. We have walked the path that separates the Way of Life from the way of death.

In the darkness that is Good Friday, we stop to experience the absence of your light. We dwell in the moment of death and non-being as though the light has gone out. It is only by knowing the magnitude of loss and the depth of sorrow that we can truly honor the Way of Life and the hope of God's reign in our hearts.

You taught us in Matthew 25 that a nation is to be judged not by victories over its enemies, but by how it treats the weakest within its borders. May we therefore set out to care for the sick, give purpose and rehabilitation to the prisoners, provide for the hungry, and make a way for the destitute that in doing so we may all share in the bounty and gladness of the reign of God. Teach us also to care for the good earth. May we come to see all creatures that dwell within this fragile home as integral parts of your wondrous creation. 

May we live with your confidence in the reign of God, even in the face of hardship and death.           
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ CK

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                         From The Book of Common Prayer:

                         (just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table)

Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our

eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver

us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace

only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for

renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one

body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the

world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.

                                                                ( Eucharistic Prayer C)

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Note: For a meditation on Holy Week beginning with Holy Thursday, see Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey

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Sixth Station of the Cross: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Fifth Station of the Cross                                                                       The Seventh Station of the Cross >

Veronica steps through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus

Homeless Jesus sculpture (Photo by Mark Rumsey)

He Died Not Too Far From Here

By Charles Kinnaird

It was my first time volunteering at the soup kitchen. A lady named Veronica handed me an apron and told me I could work with Fred. “He can show you ‘round this place,” she said.

Fred was an older man, tall and lean with closely cropped hair that was mostly gray. He said he was retired now, but before that, he did “just about everything.”

“I come down here every Saturday morning and I help ‘em set things up,” Fred told me as he handed me a washrag to wipe down the tables.  “You know, most folks will wipe down the tables after everybody gets done eatin’, but I like to wipe ‘em down before they get here, too. That way they know we’re thinkin’ about ‘em. They know they’re  comin’ to a place prepared just for them.”

“How long have you been doing this?” I asked.

“It’s been a few years now. Been more than a minute, I’ll say that. And I’ll tell you why I do this, though I don’t know how you might take it.” Fred paused and took a deep breath, “You see, I heard all my life about how Jesus died for my sins. Then I come to find out he died not too far from here – and I’ve got Veronica to thank for tellin’ me that.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I just looked at Fred in anticipation of what he might say next. He looked at me with a side glance and wry smile, then he tilted his head back and laughed.

He then continued, “I can tell you don’t know what in the world this old man’s talkin’ about, but I’ll tell you what happened. Now you don’t know Veronica, but Veronica love to cook – that’s what she do. She cook up yonder at the schoolhouse for the kids then she comes over here on Saturday and cook for these folks that are down and out right now.

“Well, this one Saturday morning she come up here and found this man lyin’ on the sidewalk up against the wall. She told me she didn’t know if he was asleep or dead, but she called out to him.  He stirred just a little bit so she got down closer. That man was all dirty and had scratches and scabs all over his face. She didn’t know if he had fallen or if somebody beat up on him, but he was so weak and tired. She ran inside and got the preacher, ‘We got to help this man,’ she said. She grabbed a towel and a washcloth out of the charity closet, got a bowl of water and went out there to see if she could wash off his face.

“And this is the way she told it to me – she said when she knelt down to wash that man’s face, somethin’ told her this might’ve been somebody important. Now I won’t lie to you,” Fred continued, “I’d have probably said he was just some bum who’d been drinkin’ and bein’ no count all his life, but Veronica said somethin’ told her different.

“Well, Veronica and the preacher brought this man inside so they could get him somethin’ to eat and drink, but when they helped him on in, that’s when she knew he was too sick for them to do much for him. And that’s when they called 911.

“When the ambulance came, they got this man loaded up and Veronica told the preacher she had to go with him to the hospital. She told the ambulance drivers she was gonna ride up there in the ambulance, and she just hopped on in. Veronica says she still don’t know why she done it, but it was like somethin’ told her to go on with them to the hospital. And she stayed up there ‘til the doctors came around and saw the man. She told ‘em she didn’t know who he was, but she just found him out on the sidewalk by the soup kitchen. Then they told her that they were gonna get him into a room, so she came on back. She called the preacher to come pick her up so she could get on with her cookin’.

“Well, that was the first time she seen this man. The next day was Sunday and she decided she would go back up to the hospital to see how he was. She got up there and saw he was still real sick, but he just barely opened his eyes and saw her. Then he just barely smiled, and he just barely opened his mouth and spoke to her just one time. He said, ‘I remember you – you’re just like an angel to me, and I don’t know why. I feel like I’m just one of the least of these and you don’t even know me, but you come to help me out.’

“Now that’s when Veronica said it happened. She said it was when he said ‘I’m the least of these,’ it just hit her like a lightnin’ bolt. This is how she told it to me, she said, ‘I felt this electricity just come through me and it was like Jesus was sayin’ you done it do me – and all I could do was cry.’ She said she had to leave out from there because she wasn’t doing nothn’ but cryin’ and shakin’.

“So that was the second time she seen him,” Fred said, “and it turned out there would not be no third time. When she went up to the hospital the next day after work, they told her he had passed – there wasn’t really anything they could do, you know. Well Veronica – she was still kinda tearful then, but she said she was somehow feelin’ stronger inside.  It was after all that happened that she came and told me the whole story, what I told to you just now, and this is how she started it off:

Next time you hear somebody say Jesus died for your sins, you tell ‘em, No, he died not too far from here. And not only that, you tell ‘em he’s dyin’ somewhere every day, and if you look around you might see where he’s dyin’. And if you see he’s dyin’, feed him if you can, give him some medicine if you can, but if you can’t do nothin’ but wipe his face, then you just wipe his face, because Jesus is dyin’ somewhere, and he’s dyin’ not too far from here.

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The Fifth Station of the Cross: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

                                 [The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]


< The Fourth Station of the Cross                                                                                The Sixth Station of the Cross >

Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross

A wood engraving of handcuffed and shackled slaves passing the U.S. Capitol

According to tradition, Simon of Cyrene was a black man ordered by Roman soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. In the United States, our own Empire was built in large part upon the backs of African slaves, forced to carry the burden inflicted by Empire. It is a blight we cannot erase, but slavery has been a common tool of Empire throughout the ages.  

Twelve American presidents owned slaves and eight of them, starting with Washington, owned slaves while in office. Almost from the very start, slaves were a common sight in the executive mansion. A list of construction workers building the White House in 1795 includes five slaves - named Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Daniel -- all put to work as carpenters. Other slaves worked as masons in the government quarries, cutting the stone for early government buildings, including the White House and U.S. Capitol. According to records kept by the White House Historical Association, slaves often worked seven days a week -- even in the hot and humid Washington summers. (From "Slaves Built the White House and Capitol" at Afrocentric Culture by Design)

We still struggle to overcome the inertia of slavery as we wrestle and argue over voting rights, racial profiling, and prejudicial hiring practices.

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Fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Third Station of the Cross                                                                            The Fifth Station of the Cross >

Jesus meets his mother, Mary, who is filled with grief

A woman cries after her son was killed in an airstrike in Basra

When a nation increases its strength and influence to the point that it becomes Empire, the primary concern becomes to preserve its own power and influence.  In Matthew 25, Jesus said that the true measure of a nation is in how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable within its borders. Empire, on the other hand, often relies only upon one tool – military power – to solve any problem. As such, the loss of innocent lives becomes collateral damage which, to Empire, is only to be expected.

When collateral damage has no face that Empire can recognize, then many mothers will weep in the wake of military campaigns, airstrikes, and drone attacks done in the name of establishing freedom and security.

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The Third Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls the First time

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Second Station of the Cross                                                                           The Fourth Station of the Cross > 

Weakened by torments and by loss of blood, Jesus falls beneath his cross

“It is hard to make a desert in a place that receives sixty inches of rain each year. But after decades of copper mining, all that remained of the old hardwood forests in the Ducktown Mining District of the Southern Appalachian Mountains was a fifty-square mile barren expanse of heavily gullied red hills–a landscape created by sulfur dioxide smoke from copper smelting and destructive logging practices. In Ducktown Smoke, Duncan Maysilles examines this environmental disaster, one of the worst the South has experienced, and its impact on environmental law and Appalachian conservation.” http://legal-planet.org/2012/06/18/how-to-turn-a-forest-into-a-desert/

Relatively early in our nation's entering into the Industrial Age, we saw the sheer havoc and destruction that industry can have on the landscape. The copper industry did much to build the country and move it into the modern age, but Empire often moves with callous disregard for the environment that should nurture all of its inhabitants.

Copper smelting—the process of separating copper from rock—is credited with doing most of the environmental damage in the Ducktown Basin in the 19th century. The process required wood to fuel the smelters, and there was no wood left in the area by 1876. Logs were floated down the Ocoee River from Fannin County, Ga., and about 50 square miles within the Ducktown Basin had been stripped of vegetation by 1878. http://nooga.com/165052/historic-ducktown-basin-a-landscape-transformed/

Ducktown was an early example of the Empire's crucifixion of the environment. Unfortunately, there is still resistance from corporations to make any changes in their practices which continue to pollute, continue to contribute to climate change, and continue to bring damage to the sacred body of the earth, our only habitation.

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The Second Station of the Cross: Jesus Takes Up His Cross

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The First Station of the Cross                                                                        The Third Station of the Cross >

Jesus willingly accepts and patiently bears his cross

© AFP Immigrant workers harvest grapes in California's Napa Valley

"We do rely on a foreign workforce. We really have an issue in terms of attracting domestic workers. They typically don't want to work in agriculture. It's out in the elements, it can be a hard job" http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2013/03/california-harvests-delayed-by-shortage-of-workers

Many of us live in comfort in the Empire, taking our bounty for granted. It is a bounty that is largely dependent upon the work of immigrant laborers who are poorly paid, lacking in many services such as housing and healthcare, living in substandard conditions. We, in turn, denigrate the illegal immigrants upon whom we rely for the food and wine on our tables. Undocumented immigrants willingly take up the burden while Empire enjoys the bounty.

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The First Station of the Cross: Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< Introduction: The Hard Lessons of Lent                                                                The Second Station of the Cross >

"Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death."

A scene from an American Indian Boarding School

“Aside from the U.S. Government's Attempt at Genocide, what Has Caused the Most Egregious Cultural Harm to the Psyche of the American Indian People?”

(Read more at Indian Country Today Archives)

The United States engaged in a systematic process of genocide in dealing with the Native American Population. Although today there is greater awareness and the boarding schools which sought to eradicate Native American culture are no more, Native Americans continue to suffer under the grips of a death-making Empire. On Native American reservations, people suffer the numbness of alcoholism and poverty which includes a poverty of income, a poverty of opportunity, a poverty of healthcare and a poverty of choices. Pilate, in his modern incarnation as representative of the Empire on American soil has condemned many to their deaths.

 The Second Station of the Cross >

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The Hard Lessons of Lent

[The following is from a series I first posted during Lent in 2015. Since most of us will likely be finding alternatives to public worship in the weeks ahead, I will be re-posting this 15 part series during the remainder of this Lenten season]

Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

                                                                                                 ~Psalm 44:22 (NIV)

One of the central devotional practices of Lent is found in the 14 Stations of the Cross. It is a practice of the Catholic Church that dates back to the fourth century when people would make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to retrace Jesus' steps to the cross. In church, the people walk to the various icons positioned around the sanctuary which represent each station of the cross while devotions and prayers are said.

I have friends and family who question why we continue to emphasize the crucifixion of Christ. Do we still think of God as a punitive deity who demanded the sacrifice of his own son to redeem the world? Well, no, I don't believe that, but I will not attempt to answer that question theologically in this brief space (see the writings of Jürgen Moltmann for a much more complete articulation of thought than I could give to the subject). Instead, I am inclined at this time to give a more visceral response to the question.

For all the good that humanity does, we are a people well acquainted with sorrow, suffering, and grief. Moreover, we continue to organize ourselves under empires that practice death-making and crucifixion as a method of control. I believe that we engage in the passion of Christ at Easter because we ourselves live with suffering and crucifixion and we find hope in the Christ who resisted Empire, suffered, died and was buried and transcended the soul-numbing forces of Empire.

In the posts that follow, we will walk through the Stations of the Cross with few words. From a non-traditional point of view, we will view images demonstrating how the way of the cross is manifest in our day and time. The following guideline is taken from Loyola Press at http://www.loyolapress.com/stations-of-the-cross.htm

Stations of the Cross

The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesus’ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.

1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death.

2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
Jesus willingly accepts and patiently bears his cross.

3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
Weakened by torments and by loss of blood, Jesus falls beneath his cross.

4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
Jesus meets his mother, Mary, who is filled with grief.

5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross.

6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
Veronica steps through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus.

7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
Jesus falls beneath the weight of the cross a second time.

8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
Jesus tells the women to weep not for him but for themselves and for their children.

9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
Weakened almost to the point of death, Jesus falls a third time.

10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
The soldiers strip Jesus of his garments, treating him as a common criminal.

11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
Jesus’ hands and feet are nailed to the cross.

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.
After suffering greatly on the cross, Jesus bows his head and dies.

13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.
The lifeless body of Jesus is tenderly placed in the arms of Mary, his mother.

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.
Jesus’ disciples place his body in the tomb.

15. The Closing Prayer
Sometimes included as a 15th station, reflects on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

                                                                                                                       The First Station of the Cross >

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Closing Prayer for the Kingdom (The Fifteenth Station of the Cross)

< Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Oh Lord, you taught us to resist Empire by living with confidence in the reign of God, but our hearts are turned by fair winds and vain promises. Sometimes we are crushed under the heels of Empire, and sometimes we aid in Empire’s oppression, whether by active participation or by silent assent. We are the ones who shout “Hosanna!” and we are the ones who cry, “Crucify him!”

In the dark illumination of the Via Dolorosa, we have seen ourselves. We have seen ourselves capitulating to Empire; we have seen ourselves facing sorrow and death. We have also seen Christ among the living and the dying. We have walked the path that separates the Way of Life from the way of death.

In the darkness that is Good Friday, we stop to experience the absence of your light. We dwell in the moment of death and non-being as though the light has gone out. It is only by knowing the magnitude of loss and the depth of sorrow that we can truly honor the Way of Life and the hope of God's reign in our hearts.

You taught us in Matthew 25 that a nation is to be judged not by victories over its enemies, but by how it treats the weakest within its borders. May we therefore set out to care for the sick, give purpose and rehabilitation to the prisoners, provide for the hungry, and make a way for the destitute that in doing so we may all share in the bounty and gladness of the reign of God. Teach us also to care for the good earth. May we come to see all creatures that dwell within this fragile home as integral parts of your wondrous creation. 

May we live with your confidence in the reign of God, even in the face of hardship and death.           
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ CK

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                         From The Book of Common Prayer:

                         (just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table)

Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our

eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver

us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace

only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for

renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one

body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the

world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.

                                                                ( Eucharistic Prayer C)

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Note: For a meditation on Holy Week beginning with Holy Thursday, see Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey

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Sixth Station of the Cross: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Fifth Station of the Cross                                                                       The Seventh Station of the Cross >

Veronica steps through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus

Homeless Jesus sculpture (Photo by Mark Rumsey)

He Died Not Too Far From Here

By Charles Kinnaird

It was my first time to volunteer at the soup kitchen. A lady named Veronica handed me an apron and told me I could work with Fred. “He can show you ‘round this place,” she said.

Fred was an older man, tall and lean with closely cropped hair that was mostly gray. He said he was retired now, but before that he did “just about everything.”

“I come down here every Saturday morning and I help ‘em set things up,” Fred told me as he handed me a wash rag to wipe down the tables.  “You know, most folks will wipe down the tables after everybody gets done eatin’, but I like to wipe ‘em down before they get here, too. That way they know we’re thinkin’ about ‘em. They know they’re  comin’ to a place prepared just for them.”

“How long have you been doing this?” I asked.

“It’s been a few years now. Been more than a minute, I’ll say that. And I’ll tell you why I do this, though I don’t know how you might take it.” Fred paused and took a deep breath, “You see, I heard all my life about how Jesus died for my sins. Then I come to find out he died not too far from here – and I’ve got Veronica to thank for tellin’ me that.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I just looked at Fred in anticipation of what he might say next. He looked at me with a side glance and wry smile, then he tilted his head back and laughed.

He then continued, “I can tell you don’t know what in the world this old man’s talkin’ about, but I’ll tell you what happened. Now you don’t know Veronica, but Veronica loves to cook – that’s what she does. She cooks up yonder at the school house for the kids then she comes over here on Saturday and cooks for these folks that are down and out right now.

“Well, this one Saturday morning she come up here and found this man lyin’ on the sidewalk up against the wall. She told me she didn’t know if he was asleep or dead, but she called out to him.  He stirred just a little bit so she got down closer. That man was all dirty and had scratches and scabs all over his face. She didn’t know if he had fallen or if somebody beat up on him, but he was so weak and tired. She ran inside and got the preacher, ‘We got to help this man,’ she said. She grabbed a towel and a wash cloth out of the charity closet, got a bowl of water and went out there to see if she could wash off his face.

“And this is the way she told it to me – she said when she knelt down to wash that man’s face, somethin’ told her this might’ve been somebody important. Now I won’t lie to you,” Fred continued, “I’d have probably said he was just some bum who’d been drinkin’ and bein’ no count all his life, but Veronica said somethin’ told her different.

“Well, Veronica and the preacher brought this man inside so they could get him somethin’ to eat and drink, but when they helped him on in, that’s when she knew he was too sick for them to do much for him. And that’s when they called 911.

“When the ambulance came, they got this man loaded up and Veronica told the preacher she had to go with him to the hospital. She told the ambulance drivers she was gonna ride up there in the ambulance, and she just hopped on in. Veronica says she still don’t know why she done it, but it was like somethin’ told her to go on with them to the hospital. And she stayed up there ‘til the doctors came around and saw the man. She told ‘em she didn’t know who he was, but she just found him out on the sidewalk by the soup kitchen. Then they told her that they were gonna get him into a room, so she came on back. She called the preacher to come pick her up so she could get on with her cookin’.

“Well, that was the first time she seen this man. The next day was Sunday and she decided she would go back up to the hospital to see how he was. She got up there and saw he was still real sick, but he just barely opened his eyes and saw her. Then he just barely smiled, and he just barely opened his mouth and spoke to her just one time. He said, ‘I remember you – you’re just like an angel to me, and I don’t know why. I feel like I’m just one of the least of these and you don’t even know me, but you come to help me out.’

“Now that’s when Veronica said it happened. She said it was when he said ‘I’m the least of these,’ it just hit her like a lightnin’ bolt. This is how she told it to me, she said, ‘I felt this electricity just come though me and it was like Jesus was sayin’ you done it do me – and all I could do was cry.’ She said she had to leave out from there because she wasn’t doing nothn’ but cryin’ and shakin’.

“So that was the second time she seen him,” Fred said, “and it turned out there would not be no third time. When she went up to the hospital the next day after work, they told her he had passed – there wasn’t really anything they could do, you know. Well Veronica – she was still kinda tearful then, but she said she was somehow feelin’ stronger inside.  It was after all that happened that she came and told me the whole story, what I told to you just now, and this is how she started it off:

Next time you hear somebody say Jesus died for your sins, you tell ‘em, No, he died not too far from here. And not only that, you tell ‘em he’s dyin’ somewhere every day, and if you look around you might see where he’s dyin’. And if you see he’s dyin’, feed him if you can, give him some medicine if you can, but if you can’t do nothin’ but wipe his face, then you just wipe his face, because Jesus is dyin’ somewhere, and he’s dyin’ not too far from here.

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The Fifth Station of the Cross: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

                                 [The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]


< The Fourth Station of the Cross                                                                                The Sixth Station of the Cross >

Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross

A wood engraving of handcuffed and shackled slaves passing the U.S. Capitol

According to tradition, Simon of Cyrene was a black man ordered by Roman soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. In the United States, our own Empire was built in large part upon the backs of African slaves, forced to carry the burden inflicted by Empire. It is a blight we cannot erase, but slavery has been a common tool of Empire throughout the ages.  

Twelve American presidents owned slaves and eight of them, starting with Washington, owned slaves while in office. Almost from the very start, slaves were a common sight in the executive mansion. A list of construction workers building the White House in 1795 includes five slaves - named Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Daniel -- all put to work as carpenters. Other slaves worked as masons in the government quarries, cutting the stone for early government buildings, including the White House and U.S. Capitol. According to records kept by the White House Historical Association, slaves often worked seven days a week -- even in the hot and humid Washington summers. (From "Slaves Built the White House and Capitol" at Afrocentric Culture by Design)

We still struggle to overcome the inertia of slavery as we wrestle and argue over voting rights, racial profiling, and prejudicial hiring practices.

-

Fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Third Station of the Cross                                                                            The Fifth Station of the Cross >

Jesus meets his mother, Mary, who is filled with grief

A woman cries after her son was killed in an air strike in Basra

When a nation increases its strength and influence to the point that  it becomes Empire, the primary concern becomes to preserve its own power and influence.  In Matthew 25, Jesus said that the true measure of a nation is in how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable within its borders. Empire, on the other hand, often relies only upon one tool – military power – to solve any problem. As such, the loss of innocent lives becomes collateral damage which, to Empire, is only to be expected.

When collateral damage has no face that Empire can recognize, then many mothers will weep in the wake of military campaigns, air strikes, and drone attacks done in the name of establishing freedom and security.

-

The Third Station of the Cross: Jesus Falls the First time

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The Second Station of the Cross                                                                           The Fourth Station of the Cross > 

Weakened by torments and by loss of blood, Jesus falls beneath his cross

“It is hard to make a desert in a place that receives sixty inches of rain each year. But after decades of copper mining, all that remained of the old hardwood forests in the Ducktown Mining District of the Southern Appalachian Mountains was a fifty-square mile barren expanse of heavily gullied red hills–a landscape created by sulfur dioxide smoke from copper smelting and destructive logging practices. In Ducktown Smoke, Duncan Maysilles examines this environmental disaster, one of the worst the South has experienced, and its impact on environmental law and Appalachian conservation.” http://legal-planet.org/2012/06/18/how-to-turn-a-forest-into-a-desert/

Relatively early in our nation's entering into the Industrial Age, we saw the sheer havoc and destruction that industry can have on the landscape. The copper industry did much to build the country and move it into the modern age, but Empire often moves with callous disregard for the environment that should nurture all of its inhabitants.

Copper smelting—the process of separating copper from rock—is credited with doing most of the environmental damage in the Ducktown Basin in the 19th century. The process required wood to fuel the smelters, and there was no wood left in the area by 1876. Logs were floated down the Ocoee River from Fannin County, Ga., and about 50 square miles within the Ducktown Basin had been stripped of vegetation by 1878. http://nooga.com/165052/historic-ducktown-basin-a-landscape-transformed/

Ducktown was an early example of the Empire's crucifixion of the environment. Unfortunately there is still resistance from corporations to make any changes in their practices which continue to pollute, continue to contribute to climate change, and continue to bring damage to the sacred body of the earth, our only habitation.

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The Second Station of the Cross: Jesus Takes Up His Cross

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< The First Station of the Cross                                                                        The Third Station of the Cross >

Jesus willingly accepts and patiently bears his cross

© AFP Immigrant workers harvest grapes in California's Napa Valley

"We do rely on a foreign workforce. We really have an issue in terms of attracting domestic workers. They typically don't want to work in agriculture. It's out in the elements, it can be a hard job" http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2013/03/california-harvests-delayed-by-shortage-of-workers

Many of us live in comfort in the Empire, taking our bounty for granted. It is a bounty that is largely dependent upon the work of immigrant laborers who are poorly paid, lacking in many services such as housing and healthcare, living in substandard conditions. We in turn denigrate the illegal immigrants upon whom we rely for the food and wine on our tables. Undocumented immigrants willingly take up the burden while Empire enjoys the bounty.

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The First Station of the Cross: Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death

[The following is from a series first posted during Lent in 2015.]

< Introduction: The Hard Lessons of Lent                                                                The Second Station of the Cross >

"Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death."

A scene from an American Indian Boarding School

“Aside from the U.S. Government's Attempt at Genocide, what Has Caused the Most Egregious Cultural Harm to the Psyche of the American Indian People?”

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/10/29/aside-us-governments-attempt-genocide-what-has-caused-most-egregious-cultural-harm-psyche

The United States engaged in a systematic process of genocide in dealing with the Native American Population. Although today there is greater awareness and the boarding schools which sought to eradicate Native American culture are no more, Native Americans continue to suffer under the grips of a death-making Empire. On Native American reservations, people suffer the numbness of alcoholism and poverty which includes a poverty of income, a poverty of opportunity, a poverty of healthcare and a poverty of choices. Pilate, in his modern incarnation as representative of the Empire on American soil has condemned many to their deaths.

 The Second Station of the Cross >

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The Hard Lessons of Lent

[The following is from a series I first posted during Lent in 2015. Today with Ash Wednesday we begin the Lenten season and I will be re-posting this 15 part series throughout Lent]

Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

                                                                                                 ~Psalm 44:22 (NIV)

One of the central devotional practices of Lent is found in the 14 Stations of the Cross. It is a practice of the Catholic Church that dates back to the fourth century when people would make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to retrace Jesus' steps to the cross. In church, the people walk to the various icons positioned around the sanctuary which represent each station of the cross while devotions and prayers are said.

I have friends and family who question why we continue to emphasize the crucifixion of Christ. Do we still think of God as a punitive deity who demanded the sacrifice of his own son to redeem the world? Well, no, I don't believe that, but I will not attempt to answer that question theologically in this brief space (see the writings of Jürgen Moltmann for a much more complete articulation of thought than I could give to the subject). Instead, I am inclined at this time to give a more visceral response to the question.

For all the good that humanity does, we are a people well acquainted with sorrow, suffering and grief. Moreover, we continue to organize ourselves under empires which practice death-making and crucifixion as a method of control. I believe that we engage in the passion of Christ at Easter because we ourselves live with suffering and crucifixion and we find hope in the Christ who resisted Empire, suffered, died and was buried and transcended the soul-numbing forces of Empire.

In the posts that follow, we will walk through the Stations of the Cross with few words. From a non-traditional point of view, we will view images demonstrating how the way of the cross is manifest in our day and time. The following guideline is taken from Loyola Press at http://www.loyolapress.com/stations-of-the-cross.htm

Stations of the Cross

The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesus’ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.

1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death.

2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
Jesus willingly accepts and patiently bears his cross.

3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
Weakened by torments and by loss of blood, Jesus falls beneath his cross.

4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
Jesus meets his mother, Mary, who is filled with grief.

5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross.

6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
Veronica steps through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus.

7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
Jesus falls beneath the weight of the cross a second time.

8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
Jesus tells the women to weep not for him but for themselves and for their children.

9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
Weakened almost to the point of death, Jesus falls a third time.

10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
The soldiers strip Jesus of his garments, treating him as a common criminal.

11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
Jesus’ hands and feet are nailed to the cross.

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.
After suffering greatly on the cross, Jesus bows his head and dies.

13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.
The lifeless body of Jesus is tenderly placed in the arms of Mary, his mother.

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.
Jesus’ disciples place his body in the tomb.

15. The Closing Prayer
Sometimes included as a 15th station, reflects on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Closing Prayer for the Kingdom (The Fifteenth Station of the Cross)

< Fourteenth Station of the Cross

Oh Lord, you taught us to resist Empire by living with confidence in the reign of God, but our hearts are turned by fair winds and vain promises. Sometimes we are crushed under the heels of Empire, and sometimes we aid in Empire’s oppression, whether by active participation or by silent assent. We are the ones who shout “Hosanna!” and we are the ones who cry, “Crucify him!”

In the dark illumination of the Via Dolorosa, we have seen ourselves. We have seen ourselves capitulating to Empire; we have seen ourselves facing sorrow and death. We have also seen Christ among the living and the dying. We have walked the path that separates the Way of Life from the way of death.

In the darkness that is Good Friday, we stop to experience the absence of your light. We dwell in the moment of death and non-being as though the light has gone out. It is only by knowing the magnitude of loss and the depth of sorrow that we can truly honor the Way of Life and the hope of God's reign in our hearts.

You taught us in Matthew 25 that a nation is to be judged not by victories over its enemies, but by how it treats the weakest within its borders. May we therefore set out to care for the sick, give purpose and rehabilitation to the prisoners, provide for the hungry, and make a way for the destitute that in doing so we may all share in the bounty and gladness of the reign of God. Teach us also to care for the good earth. May we come to see all creatures that dwell within this fragile home as integral parts of your wondrous creation. 

May we live with your confidence in the reign of God, even in the face of hardship and death.           
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ CK

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                         From The Book of Common Prayer:

                         (just prior to the consecration of the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table)

Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our

eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver

us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace

only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for

renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one

body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the

world in his name.

Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.

                                                                ( Eucharistic Prayer C)

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Note: For a meditation on Holy Week beginning with Holy Thursday, see Paschal Triduum: A Personal Journey

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