Image above – Station 1 Jesus is condemned.
‘After this he went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything, and followed him.’ (Luke 5.27-28)
Where is Jesus leading you?
One of the really difficult things about the
path which Jesus follows is that it leads to
the place where he is condemned by the
world which he loves and helps. His
witness to the values of the kingdom of
God shows how far our world really is
from those values, even when we all say
that these are the values we honour. Lent
allows us to find our bearings again in this
place of tension.
What gives you strength to follow, especially when the cost is high?
‘Like a little drop of water in a quantity of wine, or red-hot iron in the burning flame, we take on the character of that in which we are immersed. But this deification, which is our ultimate destiny, can never be complete and permanent in this life. Nor indeed even in the next can our loss to ourselves be complete, until God’s total intentions for us are fulfilled in the resurrection.’ (Aelred Squire. ‘Deification’ is to ‘become like God’)
From Psalm 86
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.
