Journeying to the Cross

Labyrinths have become quite popular recently. We had one at Winchburgh Church last year, and you can find some photos and words from that in last year's Posts.

Some of my trainee friends are involved in making labyrinths in their placement churches. Another friend has a portable labyrinth that can be set up in a large hall. There is a permanent labyrinth installation in George Square garden in Edinburgh.

The whole point of a labyrinth is that it creates a very long journey within a comparatively small area. The complexity of the trail often makes it difficult to predict what twists and turns will lie ahead.

Sometimes we can become impatient as we journey along the path of life and we want to sort-circuit the trail and head directly for the destination. That may be the simplest and quickest solution, but then we will miss out on all the expereince, development, and preparation, that would have taken place on the longer winding trail that we avoided.

As we enter the second half of the 40-day Lenten period, there is that temptation to rush ahead, and short-circuit the journey to Easter. We don't want to think about the entrance into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey. We don't want to consider the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, even although he had just shared the Last Supper with Jesus and the other disciples.

When Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane all the other disciples ran away and left Jesus in the hands of the soldiers. We don't want to put ourselves in their shoes and wonder what we would have done.

Pilate submitted to the political pressures and authorised his soldiers to flog and then crucify Jesus. How have we compromised our beliefs in the face of pressures from other people? Pilate said, "What is truth?"

Before he was arrested Jesus could have escaped. After he was arrested he could have given up his ministry and his claims to be sent from God, even to be God. But maybe he would have been crucified anyway. What would you have done?

Jesus remained faithful to the end. He laid down his life, and bore the pain of abandonment and torture, knowing the ultimately, God would not abandon him forever.

On Easter Sunday, he rose from the grave to eternal life. He invites all of us to join him, but there is no easy short-cut. But there is a prize worth winning, worth persevering to the end.

The early Christian martyrs were confident that their future was secure, despite bodily death. They didn't fight against the persecution. They didn't kill their opponents. They went joyfully to the arena to face the gladiators or wild animals, or to the flames of the martyrs' pyre.

Walking a labyrinth is not difficult. There is no pain involved, unless walking itself is painful for you. God calls each of us to spend time with Him, to get to know Him, to walk with Him, to Follow Him.

He loves you, and He will never forsake you nor abandon you.