President Thornburg's Reflection 4.13.25

April 13, 2025 (Palm Sunday)

 

A 600-meter-long processional is held each Friday, traveling through several streets in Old Jerusalem.  It is a historic path consisting of 14 stations commemorating the way that Jesus was forced to walk on his way to his crucifixion.  The Latin term for this route is Via Dolorosa or the "Sorrowful Way." These 600 meters allow those on the pilgrimage to experience, reflect, and draw closer to our Lord's final steps.

 

This short distance is chronicled in the New Testament and consists of the places where Jesus was condemned to death, made to carry his cross, fell three separate times, came face to face with his mother, was stripped of his garments, crucified, and laid in a tomb. This sorrowful way truly communicates the path Jesus followed in obedience to his Heavenly Father to become the sacrifice for our sins.

 

The distance of 600 meters is a lap and a half around a track.  It is two times around the school building. The average time to walk this distance is around eight minutes. Each day, we cover the same amount of ground many times over walking to our car, cleaning the house, or going to class.

 

We will probably never be called upon to experience Via Dolorosa. Jesus followed the call to walk these 600 meters, so we will never be required to do so. The Book of Matthew says, "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus, because he will save people from their sins" (1:21). The end of Jesus' earthly life was marked out for him even on the day of his birth.

 

I heard a pastor once ask, "How many people would have to be for Jesus to choose the cross?" It is an interesting question. It is easy to depersonalize Christ's sacrifice when we think of him dying for everyone. Yet, how many people would need to be for Jesus to die?

 

Just one person. The pastor shared that Jesus would have traveled the Via Dolorosa even if only one person existed. In other words, he died for me, and he died for you. He allowed himself to be crucified for my sins and to offer me eternal life. Those steps along the Way of Suffering were taken for me, and they were taken for you, as individuals.

 

Biblical scholars have estimated it would have taken one to three hours for Jesus to complete the Via Dolorosa. It is hard to imagine enduring a public suffering for that amount of time.  What would take us eight minutes in normal circumstances became something entirely different for our Lord.  And he did it for us.

 

As we prepare to celebrate Jesus's triumphal resurrection, it would serve us well to remember his Via Dolorosa, even for the eight minutes it takes us to travel the same distance. We have a God who loves us so much that he was willing to travel through the Way of Suffering.