Stations of the Resurrection
Some of you may remember that last year, inspired by Scott Erickson’s Stations of the Resurrection I searched the internet for others who have interpreted the season of Easter with images of hope and promise. So often our faith seems to end at the Cross. We spend more time preparing to walk with Jesus to Golgotha than we do to walk with him into resurrection life. We spend more time contemplating what we need to give up in order to come the cross than we do considering what we need to embrace in order to enter the kingdom. So I challenge you to take this Easter season - from now until Pentecost as a time to enter into Jesus’ resurrection life. What does it mean for you to be a follower of this Jesus?
The Easter story calls us into the freedom of resurrection life and this is, for many of us, far more demanding than our walk to the Cross. As Parker Palmer commented in his post The Threat of Resurrection “resurrection, the hope of new life, can feel threatening.” He goes on to explain that “the threat of resurrection shows up in our private lives when we cling to unhealthy relationships, personal resentments, compulsive overactivity and substance abuse.” and then the challenge: We are called to risk standing against all uses of power that are not informed by love, truth and justice, but that lead directly to cruelty and oppression.” and that really can be threatening for many of us. It is more comfortable to remain in death at the foot of the cross than to move forward into this kind of life.
Evidently The Stations of the Resurrection follows a spiritual journey with Christ that takes one through fourteen of the events of His post-Resurrection life on earth. In the early Church this practice was known as the Via Lucis, or Way of the Resurrection. It invites participants to walk along a path of transforming joy by following in the footsteps of the Risen Christ and his friends towards Pentecost.
Jesus Rises From the Dead (Matthew 28:1-10)
The Finding of the Empty Tomb (John 20:1-10)
The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)
Jesus Appears on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27)
Jesus is Known at the Breaking of Bread (Luke 24:28-35)
Jesus Appears to His Disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 24:36-43)
Jesus Gives the Disciples the Power to Forgive Sins (John 20:19-23)
Jesus Strengthens the Faith of Thomas (John 20:24-29)
Jesus Appears by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-14)
Jesus Tell Peter to Feed His Sheep (Primacy of Peter) (John 21:15-17, 19b)
Jesus Commissions the Disciples on the Mountain (Matthew 28:16-20)
Jesus Ascends into Heaven (Acts 1:6-12a)
Mary and the Disciples Wait in Prayer (Acts 1:12-14)
The Holy Spirit Descends at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)
An Easter Week Retreat
If possible set aside at least an hour this week to contemplate the Stations of the Resurrection. Alternatively use these as a basis for Bible study throughout the Easter season. I love to start with Isaiah 65:17-25 which gives us one of the most beautiful images of God’s eternal world in the Bible. Then spend time reflecting on one of the sets of images below. You might like to use one set of images for each of the seven weeks from now until Pentecost on June 8th.
Stations of the Cross and Resurrection by Mary Button. This was one of my best finds which I spent lots of time reflecting on last year. It pairs moments in the Passion story with Jesus’s post-resurrection ministry as lived out during the COVID pandemic. .I revisited it yesterday and was just as profoundly impacted by it.
Stations of the Resurrection from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary Canada is great place to visit with several links to stations of the Resurrection both for adults and kids. Unfortunately some of the links no longer work but it is still an excellent resource.
This is a beautiful reflective video of the Stations of the resurrection. from the Church of St Francis of Assisi in New York City. You can also download the presentation as a St Lucis booklet here.
Reflections on the Stations of the Resurrection from the Dean of Southwark Cathedral in the UK
Ian McKillop’s 20 paintings of the Stations of the Resurrection which will be hung in Leicester Cathedral are very compelling.
This downloadable Stations of the Resurrection from Church Union in the UK is also a great find.
Stations of the Resurrection from the Catholic Archdiocese in Adelaide Australia, available both as downloadable images and a pdf. The Via Lucia Illustrations are icons of the Resurrection, which adorn the walls of the sanctuary of the chapel at Piana Romana, outside of Padra Pio of Pietrelcina’s hometown in Italy. https://www.visitpietrelcina.com/tag/piana-romana/
May we all begin this Easter season with the desire to enter into God’s resurrection world and grow into the people God wants us to be.
Thank you Mary. Putting this post together was a very enriching experience for me over the Easter weekend.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing this. Easter blessings to you.