Poem for Good Friday and Stations of the Cross

A Poem to Accompany Gordon Kreplin’s Composition for Stations of the Cross

Prologue: In the Garden

After Jesus’ last supper with his disciples,

there entering the dark garden to pray,

a friend meets and with a kiss to betray,

as once lovers do, when life is spiteful.

Station I: Jesus is condemned

His trial was efficient, swift and foregone,

as a fix is when a country’s ruled by fear,

Pilate washing hands, shows hint of tear,

to show he’s not a bad guy, only a pawn.

Station II Jesus takes his cross

This carpenter picks up wood once again,

pressing against his cheek, he feels rough,

untreated lumber; he deems good enough,

being holy symbol of our salvation’s gain.

Station III Jesus falls for the first time

When God graciously emptied Godself out,

into human form, Jesus now feels all of our

weakness and struggles, arriving at this hour,

honoring all those daily walking a hard route.

Station IV Jesus sees Mary

He looks up, sees woman who gave him birth,

with all the pain she went through, and now

realizing all her fears when she took that vow,

to bring hope into a world and peace on earth.

Station V Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus

When injustice reigns, there are no bystanders,

for we will all be drafted to support the crimes

done to one another in the name of order times,

yet Simon takes a cross out of love’s standards.

Station VI Veronica wipes Jesus’ face

She comes forth without her being forced,

to offer one small kind gesture to the face

she doesn’t know, she touches with grace,

and fulfills a kindness he, himself endorsed.

Station VII Jesus falls the second time

Even without a cross, bodies let down us,

reaching the limits of being all too human,

yet rising up again, as do man or woman:

its what we do, without making a big fuss.

Station VIII Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem

While he is getting up, his heart goes out,

to all the mothers, lovers and wives to be,

who’ll suffer tyranny’s misrule they’ll see

again in futures, when fearful rulers pout.

Station IX Jesus falls for the third time

Now Jesus is reaching the end of the path

his feet will trod on this earth, end in sight,

yet with one more effort, he shows a light

that he is not alone facing a human wrath.

Station X Jesus is stripped

He, like we, all enter this world in our birth

without protection, or even hint, of modesty,

aren’t shamed. We are meant to live honestly,

with our souls naked before God on this earth.

Station XI Jesus is nailed to the cross

A Cross is that moment in a time and space

when symbols comes to life as a horizontal

finds how much it is in common with vertical;

intersecting, dynamic tension for human race.

Station XII Jesus dies

It’s accomplished, forgiving those who hurt him,

giving his love to his mother and to his friends,

giving his soul away to the love that never ends,

his work is done, his legacy is on that tree limb.

Station XIII Jesus taken off the cross

His mother takes her son into her arms at last,

weeping, wiping away his blood sweat with care

as she had, so many years before; her baby fair.

It is the last thing she can do when his life is past.

Station XIV Jesus is laid to rest

In a borrowed tomb, they lay his body down,

rolling a stone to give him some final peace,

then walk away, as if their ministries cease;

wonder what to do with the thorny crown.