Experiencing the Stations of the Cross

I had the opportunity to participate in the Stations of the Cross for the first time this past Wednesday at our church. For those who are unfamiliar, the Stations of the Cross provide you an opportunity to rehearse the events related to Jesus’ crucifixion. There are 14 stations, each one representing a scene from the passion drama Christ endured, beginning as Jesus is condemned to die and concluding as Jesus is laid in the tomb. At each station you are able to meditate on the particular scene represented by that station and lift your heart in penitential prayer, such prayer being motivated by the great compassion expressed by our Savior on His way to the cross. In short, you walk the road to the cross alongside the One who bore the cross.

It is a somber ceremony. As I walked the path that Christ walked and considered His pain and agony at each step, I could not help but mourn my own wretchedness that made such a journey necessary. At the close of each station’s meditation and prayer we recited the Trisagian, “Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy upon us,” humbling ourselves before Almighty God to petition Him for His pardon and provision of mercy.

A stark feature of this ceremonial journey is that it does not end with the magnificent resurrection but with the mournful internment of our precious Savior’s body in the tomb. Such an ending entices you to wait eagerly for His resurrection. We know the end of the story, that death could not contain our Lord, but pausing this passionate narrative at the tomb during this penitential season of Lent compels you to contemplate the agony of Christ’s act of redemption, and it urges you to consider the depravity of your own sinful state. The resurrection is glorious, powerful, and necessary, but the Stations of the Cross force you to recall the tragic necessity of death that preceded Christ’s glorious victory over the grave.

When the final station was over and I walked away in silence, having left Christ in the tomb, I couldn’t help but feel an eagerness of anticipation for the celebration of His resurrection. I left craving Easter Sunday and left craving my own future resurrection to a new life free from the constant pull of this sin cursed flesh.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ The Collect for the First Day of Lent

Reflections on Becoming a Father: Hear the Voice of My Cry

I am a father. A daddy. A parent. I have a child. A daughter. A baby. This experience has changed my perspective on all aspects of life, relationships, spirituality, and responsibility; and I expect it will continue to do so for many years to come. Such a change brings with it both new insights and new questions. One of these insights happened within days of being home from the hospital with our newborn daughter and continues each time I hear the voice of her cry.

In the earnest cries of my newborn daughter I hear the cries of the psalmists unto God. “Hear my prayer,” she cries. “Hear my cry,” she wails. “Do not be far from me in my time of trouble, listen to the voice of my cry,” she implores, not with words but with the only voice she can muster at her young age. Here is our daughter, a sojourner in an unknown land, surrounded by dangers and fears which are greater than any she has faced before, entering a life which forces her to wait, even if for a brief moment, to be rescued from the calamities she encounters, wholly dependent upon her parents to deliver her from her distress. These are the cries of the Psalms.

I hear the cry of Psalm 39. David is in distress and has become keenly aware of the fleeting length and exceeding turmoil of life. Knowing he is powerless in the face of such obstacles, he declares, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” (v. 7) How like my daughter’s cries! Her only hope for relief is in the arms of those who gave her life. It is precisely because she is helpless to help herself that she cries to us for relief, and it is because David knows how powerless he is before the circumstances of life and before the power of God that he pleads, “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry. Hold not Your peace at my tears!” (v. 12a)

I hear the pleading of Psalm 130. The psalmist begins, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” (v. 1-2) After proclaiming God to be the one that can forgive iniquity he looks to Him as the one for whom he must wait and in whom he must place his hope. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning . . . For with Yahweh there is steadfast love . . . “ (v. 5-7) How like my daughter’s cries! In the midnight hours, when she is startled awake by a sudden noise or a fearful dream and finds herself alone, she cries out for help. She cries out hoping that we, her parents, will intervene, and she watches in hope of our return when we will envelop her in our steadfast love.

I hear the mournful distress of Psalm 51. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!” (v. 1-2) Drowning in sin, David turns to the only One that can deliver him. He knows that such a deliverance will bring relief and such a cleansing will be pure and complete. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (v.7) In seeking such a cleansing, he pleads to be restored to the joy he once knew. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (v. 12) How like my daughter’s cries! When hunger, like David’s guilt, bores deeply and  gnaws unceasingly, she cries for the ones she knows can provide relief. When she is mired in the filth of the flesh from which she cannot escape, she begs for us to intervene, to cleanse her, and to restore her to the joy and comfort she previously knew.

Before God, we are but newborn babies in need of the strength, wisdom, love, and redemption of the One who is our Creator. Sometimes His response is swift and powerful as He plucks us from the imminent dangers that threaten to destroy us. Sometimes He delays responding to our cries to give us time to learn to wait upon Him. Sometimes He lets us confront our fears so we can persevere and become more mature. Always He is our hope for deliverance from the stain of sin, a stain of our own making, in which we too often dwell and from which only He can cleanse, redeem, and restore.

“And they were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them.”

~ Mark 10:13-16

Will Resume Soon

For those that may be randomly following my blog, I really do intend to begin writing again. Let me get you caught up on where things are in life:

Daughter Born: Ziona Katriel Reimer was born at 11:32am on February 16, 2012. She weighed 7lb 15oz and was about 19 inches long. She and my wife are both doing wonderfully.

Ecclesiastical Events: Lent has begun, Ziona went to Ash Wednesday service with us, the church did the "Thanksgiving for Women After Child-bearing" service for my wife, and my daughter will be baptized on March 18, 2012 (which means family is coming to town and much celebration will be had).

Teaching: I'm in the midst of teaching a class called "Old Testament Ethics in a Post Modern World: Re-calibrating Your Moral Compass" as part of my internship. The class is halfway over and it has been quite enjoyable.

That's the main highlights. I look forward to sharing some of the thoughts and insights I've had and shifts in perspective I have experienced through all of these.