Though He was in the form of God, He chose not to cling to equality with God; But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death— a merciless death on the cross! So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him the name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess “Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,” to the glory of God our Father!

Philippians 2:6-11 (The Voice)

STATION 3 VIDEO | Broken is the Beginning

REFLECTION

Chosen crosses are hardly ever crosses…true crosses are uninvited, tragic, unjust, and undesired. —Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr points out that we don’t get to choose what type of suffering we will endure. This is what makes the crosses we bear so hard to get over. We wonder why, and we can’t make sense of it.

Hurt hurts. Experiencing hurt teaches us how to empathize with others in their suffering. Empathy is “the capacity to actually feel what another person is feeling.” Having accepted his cross, now Jesus has to walk out his suffering. But once again, hurt hurts. Crosses are hard to bear, and Jesus was human; one of us, experiencing life like us. God came through humanity as Jesus to resonate as one of us.

RESPONSE
So let’s resonate. Take a few deep breaths and get present. Let one of your current or past life’s crosses surface for reflection. Allow what you feel. Remember. Pull your sight back and look at the situation with a wide-view lens. Sometimes we call this a “God’s-eye view.” Find Jesus in your suffering using a God’s eye view. Connect with him there. Lean in for wisdom and healing. When you’re finished, reflect: What did you encounter here?

PRAYER
Jesus Christ crucified, so much weighs on you. Anguish brings a body down. You fall because human bodies are fragile, you fall because it’s so much to bear, you fall because falling is what humans do. We fall. Lord, have mercy. Bless the cross we carry, Lord, and the ground, bless the fallen that follow, picking themselves up, taking up their crosses to walk again.