Stations of the cross: 3 Jesus Falls for the first time
Today on the Way of the Cross we come to the 3rd “station”:
Jesus Falls for the first time
Jesus said: Come unto me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put upon you you is light. Matthew 11:26-30
Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and with his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah. 53:4-6
Jesus, the cross you have been carrying is very heavy. You are becoming weak and almost ready to faint, and you fall down. Nobody seems to want to help you. The soldiers are interested in getting home, so they yell at you and try to get you up and moving again.
As a child, sometimes we start to do something, but then get tired of it. We hurry to get finished and sometimes don’t do our work well. Sometimes we don’t pay attention to what we should be doing. When things get hard for us, we sometimes just give up.
As an adult, we sometimes put things off. We give up too easily, and sometimes don’t do our work as well as we know we can.
Lord, we often fail to see the heavy burdens others carry and sometimes add to them ourselves. In these difficult times we are going through, help us to see the needs of others and to offer the help that is needed. Make us sensitive to our neighbour’s needs and willing to help shoulder their burdens. We pray for those courageous people we know who struggle on, when life is hard and who rarely complain.
Lord, in your mercy: Hear our prayer