Wednesday Word . . . The Eighth Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Teach your Church, O Lord, to mourn the sins of which it is guilty, and to repent and forsake them; that, by your pardoning grace, the results of our iniquities may not be visited upon our children and our children’s children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus, an innocent man, was put to death by the union of religious and political desires – something Isaiah called a perversion of justice. When church and state are not kept separate, it becomes so much easier to vilify people for “wrong” beliefs and punish them through state-sanctioned violence. Things like the Spanish Inquisition, Roman/Protestant conflicts from the Middle Ages down through the battles in Ireland, the Salem witch trials, atrocities committed against Native Americans, and attacks against lgbtq people are just a few examples.
When the Church manages to convince governments to be an instrument of God’s wrath rather than of God’s mercy, it has effectively fallen into idolatry and heresy. Idolatry for accepting the devil’s offer and worshiping power. Heresy for thinking we alone know the mind of God and are therefore given permission to act as we choose. These two sins, idolatry and heresy, are the opposite of loving God and neighbor, and from those two sins all others fall.
In this season of Lent, may we mourn the sins of which we are guilty, repent, and amend our lives. May we repent of the evil we have done individually, and the evil done corporately on our behalf. And may we make full amendment of life in order to live in a holy relationship with God and our neighbor.
Blessings,
**Stations of the Cross devotions are held every Wednesday in Lent at Noon at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church. These services are also livestreamed for those who are unable to attend in person. https://www.stlukesbuffalo.church/services