The Broken Path: The Stations of the Cross

by Greg Milinovich

The stations of the cross is an ancient way of remembering the way of love that led Jesus to the cross, and aims to help us take a spiritual pilgrimage as well. In this art installation, Rev. Greg Milinovich, Senior Pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in State College, Pennsylvania, has attempted to highlight the brokenness, not only of Jesus’ journey, but also of our own. Each station is made of broken glass, pottery, stones, and mirrors on a worn and broken window. These are meant to be windows into the soul, where we can see our own brokenness in light of the love of Jesus, who became broken for us.

We invite you to linger at each station, to offer the prayer, and to reflect on the questions.

Station 1
Jesus is Condemned to Death (Mark 14:53-65)

station 1 represented with blue, green, and red shards of glass

Prayer:

God of the accused
And the accusing,
Who made the mouths, the ears, and the hearts
Of all in conflict.
May we turn ourselves towards that
which must be heard,
because there we will hear your voice.
Amen.

Question for reflective meditation: As you think about Jesus’ unjust condemnation, where do you see the brokenness of injustice in your life, our community, or the world today?

Station 2
Jesus Takes Up the Cross (John 19:16-22)

station 2 represented with orange, yellow, and red shards of glass

Prayer:

Burdened God,
who bore the weight of wood
on torn shoulders,
We pray for the torn and the burdened,
that they may be held together by
guts and goodness.
Because you were held together
by guts and goodness.
Amen.

Questions for reflective meditation: Jesus chose to bear the burden of the cross, but we often are weighed down by unnecessary burdens. What burdens are you carrying today, and how do you experience the invitation to lay those burdens down?

Station 3
Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry the Cross (Mark 15:21-23)

station 3 represented with multi-colored shards of glass in the shape of a cross

Prayer:

Simon of Cyrene,
stranger than afar,
You were a help
to an unknown man.
We pray for all who help:
that their help may be helpful;
that their kindness may be kind.
Because yours was,
even though you knew
you couldn’t do
enough.
Amen.

Question for reflective meditation: How are you being called to be a helper in this season, even when you know you can’t solve, save, or fix?

Station 4
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31)

station 4 represented with a broken mirror surrounded by multi-colored shards of glass in the shape of a cross

Prayer:

Women of Jerusalem,
while you mourned,
Jesus saw you
and spoke to you —
he in his sorrow seeing you in yours.
May we see each other,
even when we feel unseen.
Because when we see each other,
we are seen ourselves.
Amen.

Questions for reflective meditation: How have you felt seen or unseen in these days? Who are you not seeing?

Station 5
Jesus is Stripped (Matthew 27:27-31)

station 5 represented with red and orange shards of glass

Prayer:

Jesus of the flesh,
Naked you came from the womb
and naked you were made for the cross.
What was designed
For indignity and exposure
you held
with dignity and defiance.
May we do the same
Because you needed it
Because we need it.
Amen.

Question for reflective meditation: While we may feel some shame in our brokenness, how does Jesus’ shameless love invite us into dignity, humanity, and defiance?

Station 6
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross (Luke 23:32-35)

station 6 represented with multi-colored shards of glass outlining the shape of a cross

Prayer:

Jesus of Nazareth,
This cross was a torture.
It only gives life
because you made it hollow.
Bring life to us, Jesus,
especially when we
are in the places
of the dead.
Because you brought life
even to the instruments of death.
Amen.

Questions for reflective meditation: The love of Jesus can hollow out the powers of death and darkness; how have you experienced this radical reversal of expectation? Do you see ways in which Christ is bringing power to the powerless, or wholeness to the broken?

Station 7
Jesus Dies on the Cross (Matthew 27:45-50)

station 7 represented with white shards of glass forming a cross with red shards of glass in the center

Prayer:

Jesus of the imagination,
You never grew old, always a young man,
and most of us grow older
than you did.
When lives are cut short
the living question the meaning of living.
May we live with meaning,
even when meaning fades,
making meaning
so that we
have something to live for.
Amen.

Question for reflective meditation: Even as you reflect on the brokenness of our world and lives, what does it mean to you, today, to be fully and abundantly alive?

Station 8
Jesus is Placed in the Tomb (Matthew 27:57-61)

station 8 represented with a horizontal band of multi-colored glass shards intersected by yellow glass shards forming rays of the sun

Prayer:

Jesus of the unexpected,
for at least some of your life
this was not how you imagined its end.
Yet even at the end,
you kept steady in your conviction.
Jesus, keep us steady.
Jesus, keep us steady.
Because, Jesus, keep us steady.
Amen.

Questions for reflective meditation: On this Holy Week, as you consider the brokenness of life and the world around us, how can you look for the unexpected moments of wholeness, beauty, resurrection, life, and love? Where do you see hope, even in the midst of brokenness?

Thank you to:

  • Mary Bahnfleth, music for video
  • Melissa Gartner, reader
  • Jane Harris, web design
  • Kevin Harwell, construction
  • Greg Milinovich, artist

All prayers by:

Padraig O Tuama
From “Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community”
Copyright 2017
Canterbury Press Norwich, London