Contemporary Way of the Cross

Contemporary Way of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa

Every day thousands of pilgrims remember Christ's final days on earth at the stations of the cross in the Old City of Jerusalem. This week I participated in a moving alternative rite, called the "Contemporary Way of the Cross," organized by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, which is working for justice, peace, and reconciliation in Palestine-Israel (www.sabeel.org). (Sabeel means "the way" in Arabic and also a "channel" or "spring" of life-giving water.)

The liturgy was said and sung in Arabic; an English guide was given to English speaking participants, suitable for use with individuals or groups at home. The liturgy compared the suffering of the Palestinian people with Christ's suffering, just as one that a mission trip from my church used on the Mexico-U.S. border focused on the suffering of Mexican immigrants.

Here are brief excerpts of Sabeel's reflections for the 14 stations of the cross:

1. Just as Jesus was condemned to die, so the actions of 1948 passed a death sentence on more than 400 historic Palestinian villages that were completely destroyed.

2. Jesus carried the weight of his cross. The weight of the cross borne by the Palestinians falls heaviest on the refugees--for whom the dispossession of 1948 and 1967 are a daily reality.

3. As we remember Jesus falling for the first time, we remember that for Palestinians life under the occupation was and is another cross to bear.

4. Jesus' death is not just. The establishment of settlements by the occupier on occupied land violates international law.

5. Simon carries the weight of Jesus' cross for a few steps along the way. Many come from around the world to help carry the burden of the Palestinians.

6. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) and the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) stand alongside the Palestinians as they face violence and abuse from settlers.

7. Jesus fell for the second time. Likewise the continuing policy of home demolition by the Israelis is a cruel and inhumane action that heavily contributes to the suffering of the already weakened Palestinian people.

8. In Palestine and Israel, women in spite of their own deep pain have often been the ones to stand quietly and firmly against injustice and alongside those who are suffering.

9. Checkpoints separate Palestinians from one another. They are obstacles that make even the shortest journey long, frustrating, and uncomfortable.

10. Just as Jesus was mocked and humiliated by the Roman soldiers, today ordinary Palestinians are humiliated by permit and ID systems and by officials that revel in exercising power over them.

11. Jesus was nailed to the cross. Palestinians also know physical and violent devastation perhaps nowhere more than in Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israeli violence and intimidation.

12. Jesus died on the cross, surrendering to the overwhelming power of his captors, seemingly abandoned by God. The building of the wall overpowers the Palestinians in the West Bank, who feel abandoned and forgotten by the international community.

13. Just as Mary and the disciples grieved over the death of Jesus, so people today grieve at the deep sickness of East Jerusalem, suffering from the separation barrier, house demolitions, and discrimination in infrastructure and services.

14. Without hope in resurrection, our struggle would be about revenge, vindication, and simply wiping out the "Other." Our fight is instead about regaining the human, civil, democratic, legal rights in an authentically human fashion.

All I can add is "Amen. So be it, Lord"