Stations of the Cross - Day seven

Image by Taylor Hersey, aged 13

Today’s images are the winning entries in the St Peter’s Easter Art Competition -

Taylor Hersey (winner of the Youth category, above)

Anton Erbreiders (winner of the 5-9s category, below top)

Elijah Portch (winner of the under 5s catefory, below bottom)

Prayer & Reflection by Jo Hossain

Mary proclaims the Resurrection to the disciples (NIV John 20:18, Matthew 28:8)

(John 20: 18) Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

(Matthew 28: 8) So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Reflection

Mary must have been overcome with joy at seeing the Lord, alive. Imagine her running to the disciples to tell them she had seen Jesus! How would you feel? Fear and joy, like these women? Maybe you’ve had an encounter with the Lord and you’ve wanted to shout it from the rooftops, or maybe you’ve been afraid of what people might think. Ask Jesus to reveal himself to you today.

Prayer 

Lord, how wonderful is the news that you rose from the dead, defeating death once and for all! I will choose to celebrate today, that Jesus is alive. Thank you for setting me free from the power of sin. Thank you for winning eternal life for me, for restoring access to the Father. Draw close to me today. Amen.

By Anton Erbreiders, aged 5

By Elijah Portch, aged 3

Stations of the Cross - Day six

Today’s image is by Laurence Callaghan

Prayer & Reflection by Jo Hossain

Mary finds the empty tomb and meets the risen Jesus (NIV John 20:11-17)

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 

Reflection

Mary is grieving, does she realise she is talking to angels? Maybe her grief is what stops her recognising the one she grieves for is standing right in front of her! Imaginer her delight and shock when she realises she is talking to the risen Jesus.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, thank you that you revealed yourself to Mary Magdalene when you rose from the dead. Thank you for your presence here with me today. May I sense your gaze and presence in the joys and sorrows of life. Help me to gaze upon your face today, to not be distracted. Amen.

Stations of the Cross - Day five

Today’s image is by Paul Chapman

Prayer & reflection by Jo Hossain

Jesus is placed in the tomb (NIV John 19:38-42)

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Reflection

This was a sad day for many; those who had followed Jesus during His ministry and those who doubted He would rise again. He had healed so many. He came as the light and Saviour of the world. What would you be thinking/feeling having followed Jesus, even been a disciple of Jesus, like Joseph of Arimathea? What must it have been like wrapping His body in linen and laying it in the tomb?

Prayer 

Lord, help me to understand the sadness Joseph and so many others felt as your body was taken down from cross and placed in the tomb. Please help me to reach out to others who are grieving today. Amen.

Stations of the Cross - Day four

Today’s image is by Richard Lawrence

Prayer & Reflection by Jo Hossain

Jesus is taken down from the cross (NIV John 19:31-37)

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Reflection

Today’s image is based on Michaelangelo’s Pieta – a sculpture depicting Mary, Jesus’s mother cradling the body of Jesus. Although this is not anywhere is the gospels, can you imagine the loss she would have felt? Now imagine you are one of the soldiers in this scene helping to take Jesus’ body down from the cross to prepare it for burial. You are “looking on the one who you have pierced.” How do you feel looking at Him? Do you know who He is? What has He accomplished on the cross?

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, help me to look at you today, to remember your death. Help me to remember those who are suffering - maybe from the loss of a loved one, those who are persecuted, and those who are feeling broken at this time. Help me to remember that you suffered greatly, until death, for me.

Stations of The Cross - Day three

Today’s image is by Libby Davies

Prayer & reflection by Jo Hossain

Jesus dies on the cross (NIV Luke 23:32-38)

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Reflection

Take some time today to reflect on Jesus’ words as He was dying on the cross and as others were sneering at Him; “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” His cry here has relevance for situations in our lives where we may need to forgive. I believe it also for us in our own sin. Thank God for the grace He has shown you and I by sending His own son to die. 

Prayer

Lord, thank you for sending your only son to die in my place. Thank you that He alone has paid the price for my sin and brokenness. Help me to understand how much you love me by looking at the cross. Amen

Stations of The Cross - Day two

Today’s image is by Richard Lawrence

Prayer & reflection by Jo Hossain

Jesus carries His cross (NIV John 19:16-17)

16 Finally Pilate handed him [Jesus] over to them [the chief priests] to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

Reflection

This scripture offers us a powerful image. The cross was physically heavy, but Jesus was also carrying the incredible weight of our pain and brokenness. This weight wasn’t rightfully His to carry. Are you in pain today? Have you wronged someone? Can you see pain in the world around you? Take a minute to imagine these things placed on the cross that Jesus is carrying in this part of Jesus’ journey.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying our burdens. Help us to share our pain with you, help us to help others in times of pain. Amen.

Stations of The Cross - Day one

Welcome to the first of our online Stations of the Cross. Each day this week we will be revealing on this blog an image with accompanying scripture, reflection and prayer to help us meditate on Christ’s journey to the cross and glorious resurrection. Even though we are separated by walls, may we take encouragement from journeying through this Holy Week together. May you know the Lord’s presence with you as you contemplate each day’s offering.

Today’s image is by Kim Neville

Prayer & reflection by Jo Hossain

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified (John 19:1-16 NIV)

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” 7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Reflection

Can you identify with any of the positions people are in in this story? Maybe you’re feeling powerless in the current Coronavirus pandemic. Maybe you’re feeling attacked or lonely in a situation in which you have no control. Maybe you’re passionate about justice. Why not take 5 minutes today and reflect on what this scene must have been like for Jesus. Reflect on his response about power. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to empower you to practice love, kindness and self control in the midst of any storm.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that when you were wrongly accused, you responded with justice and forgiveness, and you courageously continued in the Father’s call on your life, with courage, despite immense opposition. Thank you for going on this difficult journey to die for me. Amen.