In June 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land on a Fuller Seminary “Just Peacemaking” class trip. Early one Sunday morning during that trip, a friend and I decided to walk the Via Dolorosa (“Way of Suffering”) in Jerusalem. It is the path traditionally understood to be the one Jesus took from the place where he was sentenced by Pontius Pilate to the place where he was crucified. Along the Via Dolorosa are fourteen Stations of the Cross, which (traditionally understood) mark points on this journey of Jesus.
We immediately got lost as we tried to find our way through the narrow winding roads of the old city, and through the crowds of residents, vendors, worshippers, and tourists, like my friend and me. Then we stumbled upon a large Scandinavian tour group, and realized, even though we couldn’t understand what the tour guide was saying, we could trail along behind them as they walked the Stations of the Cross. So we did.
It was a deeply moving experience. I recall in particular the seventh Station of the Cross. This is where (traditionally understood) Jesus fell a second time as he carried the cross on which he would die. I was so struck by that – a second time. I stood there, picturing Jesus, beaten and bloodied and so physically weak that he fell again. I was overwhelmed with what a painful and beautiful act of love this was – that the God of all creation, in the person of Jesus Christ, would suffer this to heal me, to heal us, to heal the whole world.
And to embody the gospel truth that suffering and death are not the end of the story. The Via Dolorosa leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – or, as one of our guides said it should be called – Church of the Resurrection. It is traditionally understood to be the place where Jesus was crucified, died and was buried, and on the third day rose from death to life. Inside this ancient church is a small rotunda (the Aedicule), and inside the rotunda is a small room with an altar, considered to be the very spot where Jesus was buried and rose again.
The church was not crowded when our group visited. I waited in a short line that circled the rotunda, and then it was my turn to enter the room. I knelt at the stone altar, surrounded by the gifts people had left over the years as signs of their devotion. I felt the presence of the Lord, the love of Christ, the sacredness of that space in which countless saints had come to worship over centuries. And I was thinking/hoping/praying that I could have this feeling all the time. And the voice of Christ inside my heart said, “you can, I am with you always.”
Christ is with us, and for us, forever. Christ arose, and so will we. Christ lives, and so do we. This is the good news at the heart of the Christian faith. The good news Christians all over the world will celebrate next month on Easter Sunday, and every day of the year. The good news that is my joy and privilege to share.
Jennifer Shaw
Pastor, St. John’s Lutheran Church
