Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross
My hour of prayer begins as I approach the thirteenth Station. The focus of this station is the removal of Jesus’ body from the cross, so I find myself looking at an empty cross signifying the death of Christ. At the foot of the cross carrying his body, I see only three people. My best guess is that they are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen, and John, the apostle. I also see in the background a clear blue sky approaching dusk, and even though Christianity will emerge, our Lord is honoring and respecting the Hebrew Sabbath completing his burial before sunset. The Sabbath will be honored.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen, and John, the apostle, are handling the body of our Lord with great care in preparation for burial. A very important person has died and who is there to attend his funeral?
And where are the multitudes who greeted our Lord when he entered Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover?
when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him and, cried out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (even) the King of Israel (John 12:12-13).
Several hours later during the trial of Jesus how many of that same group were shouting “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Luke 23: 21 NAB). The Faith of the crowd was like the seed that fell on rocky soil in the parable of the Sower: “it sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.” (Matthew 13:5-6).
The seed on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away (Matthew 13:20, 21).
During the trial, crucifixion, and death of Jesus, the Faith of the Apostles was also tested and found wanting, weakened by fear and doubt. When Jesus was arrested, three times Peter denied knowing Jesus:
Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, ‘You too were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it in front of everyone, saying ‘I do not know what you are talking about!’ As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, ‘This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.’ Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, ‘Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.’ At that he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man.” …He went out and began to weep bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75).
The faith of the apostles was tested to its limits with the death of our Lord, but as a group, they never “lost” their faith because their faith was like the man who built his house on rock and when the storm came the house was able to withstand the storm (Luke 6:48). The apostles had that special privilege of staying close to our Lord during his ministry. They stood at his side when he gave sight to the blind, healing to the sick, they witnessed the expulsion of demons and the resurrection of the dead. Without a doubt, their Faith was strengthened and protected by this close and personal bond with Christ.
What happens to our faith when it is pushed to the limit when tragedy strikes when the unexpected traumatizes us? When it seems that there is no Jesus to turn to, what happens to our Faith then? If our Faith is tested too much will we lose it? If Christ is absent, or seems to be, when we need him the most, will our Faith stand firm, or will we deny Christ and allow this divine gift to die?
As I continue my meditation, my thoughts turn towards the present and issues of faith that we encounter today; they are many, varied, and dangerous. Unless we keep our faith strong every day and not only believe in Jesus but also obey him- through his Church, his teachings, and his sacraments -we may also find ourselves lost in fear and doubt, and if that happens will hope survive?
Jesus came back to the Apostles; he knew what they suffered, why and to what extent. He knew that he would “be absent” for a short time but he had prayed for them to God the Father so that they could endure their trial: And Jesus began his prayer to God the father as follows:
I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me, I pray for them (John 17:6-9).
Conclusion
When we are at our lowest, our worse hour. When Christ is absent or seems absent, when trauma strikes us unexpectedly and swiftly, we must stand firm in our Faith and never lose hope. The Apostles, though they huddled in fear and doubt for a short time, did not lose their faith and Jesus returned to them to walk with them for the rest of their lives through the holy spirit-even granting them enough strength in their faith to face martyrdom and sacrifice their lives for what they believed. Jesus also prayed for us, to God the Father he said, “I pray not only for them (the apostles), but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” (John 17:20).
We must keep our faith and in order to do that we must adhere to the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church, teachings that have been handed down to us first from Jesus to the Apostles and then from the Apostles to us, and we must partake of the sacraments- given to us by Christ-in a state of grace so that we and those we love can merit grace and be guided by the holy spirit in all we do for the rest of our lives.
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