Station 1: Jesus is Condemned

So there Jesus stood, crown of throns on his head. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Away with Him! Crucify him if you want, for I find no guilt in him."

The Gospel According to John

How often I have dismissed the precious lamb of God from my life. I, like pilate have whisked him off the throne at the slightest moment of inconvenience- seeking to please the masses by releasing the Lamb who knew no sin.

Away with him I've said, when life seemed unsure
Away with Him, I have said in my exhaustion,
Away with Him I have said in times of pride and vainglory.

And we his bride and the world he so loved have said away with him,
from our culture,
our schools,
our homes,
our values,
our bank accounts,
our futures.

We like pilate have called out, faultless though he is, "Away with Him."

Lord, Jesus Son of God have mercy on us. We have condemned you with our actions in exchange for the false security of our personal idols and jewels. Lord, have mercy on our country for we too have condemned innocent blood.

There was no one standing beside you that day. You stood alone without a defender. And in this moment I draw strength that through You I, too, may stand alone in my desperate hour of need. When I am treated unfairly help me to reflect on that moment in History when under the greatest anguish known to man you suffered rejection as a tonic of hope on my behalf. You stood under a cascade of shame and rejection so that I may draw strength and help in my darkest hours.

Lord Jesus, Son of God, thank you for the power to stand alone, defenseless.