On Good Friday I went to Via Crucis (the Way of the Cross) in San Luis Mexico, a live enactment of Jesus’ journey to His death on the cross with local community members playing the roles. Several hundred people gathered to walk with “Jesus” as he carried a wooden cross throughout the streets of town. The day started in front of Parroquia de Cristo Rey where we watched the beginning of Jesus’ journey of suffering as he was betrayed by Judas with a kiss and sentenced to death on a cross. Then the walk began and stops were made along the way to go through the stations of the cross— key moments along Jesus’ journey such as his three falls and meeting his mother. After we finished the fifth station where Simon helps Jesus carry the cross, a line of people formed to take turns helping to carry the cross.
This walk was the perfect way to spend Good Friday and brought several insights I wanted to reflect on here.
Betrayal with a kiss: I don’t think I’ve spent enough time thinking about the significance of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss but watching it made me think more about it. In Jesus’ time and culture, a kiss was an act of greeting towards someone you knew dearly, in this case a friend. The fact that the act of betrayal was done through what was supposed to be an act of love and friendship points to the dark and twisted ways of human nature. And that because we are in a broken world, even the beautiful things that are meant to signify love, light, and goodness are sometimes used for evil and to bring about pain. The kiss can also remind us that Jesus experienced the hurt of betrayal and understands the pain we feel when it happens to us.
“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.”
John 1:10-11
Persecution of Christ: As we stopped for the first station of the walk, a nearby house started blasting music (specifically Best Friend by Saweetie feat. Doja Cat with all the expletives) to overpower the woman leading the prayer on the microphone. Although it was annoying in the moment, by the end of the walk I was glad that it happened. I think it served as a small reminder of the persecution of Jesus and the hatred people had for him, and also a reminder that that hatred has persisted to this day. There is hatred for God and his believers and that hatred tries to overpower goodness and light. Sometimes it’s as blatant as blasting music to silence words of faith, but in our society it’s often more subtle. It’s all the more reason to grow in our boldness and persistence in faith, and choose to share it instead of hide it.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
John 15:18-19
Walking with each other: A powerful part of the day was seeing the hundreds of people that came of all ages. Mothers pushed strollers with their babies inside. Older wives and husbands held on to each other’s arms for support as they walked. Groups of teenage girls stuck together as they walked with the crowd. A police escort led the group and cars waited for the long procession of people to cross the streets. It was beautiful to witness the faith of believers that came, and to know that some level of faith brought each of them there. While we walked, the sense of community and togetherness was tangible. And I thought about how powerful it is to be together in faith. It was a beautiful reminder that the people are the church and the church is the body of Christ.
“The body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ…This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”
1 Corinthians 12:12,25-26
Walking with Jesus: There were a few times throughout the walk that brought tears to my eyes. One of them was when I happened to be walking beside Jesus. It struck my heart in a stronger way than the times I was walking behind him and seeing him up ahead. When I walked beside him I was more attuned to his suffering. I noticed his toes curled upward in reaction to the hot pavement he was walking on. I saw how his back curved under the weight of the cross and could hear the sound the wood made as it dragged against the gravel. As I walked beside him I thought about how most of the time we talk about Jesus walking with us, about how he is always with us in everything we are going through and that he doesn’t leave our side as we walk though the pains of this life. But we rarely talk about walking with Jesus in his pain. Lent and Holy Week present an invitation to do just that. It’s important to reflect on how we can also walk with Jesus through his pain, meaning that we remember what he suffered through out of love for us. We remember the life he gave for us and choose to hold that in our hearts and let it change how we live.
“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourself with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”
1 Peter 4:1-2