The Thin Place of the Via Dolorosa
The Thin Place of the Via Dolorosa.
“ The thin place is where the veil between this world and the next is so sheer that it is easy to step through.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, Home By Another Way).
This term from an ancient Celtic tradition has stood the test of time. The idea of a thin place between heaven and earth has captured our imaginations, and yet is not just a metaphor. Thin places are literal as well.
The traditional thin place as the Irish understood it has been described in many ways: where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin as to be porous, permeable, practically transparent; where the space between the divine and the human has narrowed; where eternity and time intersect; where the boundary between heaven and earth has collapsed; where the wall between heaven and earth have made them indistinguishable; where the doors between heaven and earth have cracked open enough to walk through, if only temporarily; the place where eternity and time seem to join together.
Those descriptions of thin places have recently been expanded to include… wherever God has chosen to reveal Himself and make Himself known with unusual intimacy; wherever the sacred interaction with God’s presence is more pronounced and accessible; wherever the Holy Spirit is released in a particularly powerful way; a physical space where one can more directly and intensely experience God’s presence. A thin place is when the Spirit of God opens the skylight of the earth’s roof and provides easy access to and from heaven. A thin place allows traffic between heaven and earth.
“Then the Roman soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Jesus and mocked Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They then spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him gain, they took off His robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.” (Matthew 27:27-31).
O Sacred Head Now Wounded (with lyrics) Reflective Easter Hymn (youtube.com)
There have been countless “death marches” down through human history. The powerless have been forced to walk long distances through horrific conditions, whether it was the Holocaust Death March in 1942 in which Nazis forced 56,000 prisoners on a march during which 15,000 died; the Bataan Death March, also in 1942, when Japanese soldiers forced 75,000 prisoners of war to walk 65 miles and resulted in 11,000 deaths; the Trail of Tears during 1838-1839, when President Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee nation east of the Mississippi River to relocate in Oklahoma, a journey of 1,200 miles, during which 4,000 Native Americans died. Death marches have long been considered an extremely cruel crime against humanity, and have come to represent the plight of the helpless against the powerful, and the journey on foot that will eventually end in death.
The Via Dolorosa was Christ’s 2,000-feet death march in Jerusalem, only it was solitary. His lonely, agonizing trek from Pilate’s Praetorium to Golgotha was torturous and inhumane. Via Dolorosa has been translated as “Way of Suffering,” “Painful Path,” and “Sorrowful Road.” We don’t know how long this death march took Him, but we assume every step was way past intolerable, since He had just endured a sleepless night, scornful interrogation, and the torture of the floggings and beatings. Added to that… His suffering along the way was in full public view, with its share of jeering, yelling, ridiculing, hostile judgment. Via Dolorosa was the epicenter of Christ’s Passion, and there is no doubt that Jesus spilled a lot of blood and tears on this deathly road.
One can follow this Route of Suffering even now in Jerusalem, even though the exact road may be debatable. The modern route was officially established in 1342 by a devout monk in the nearby Franciscan monastery. And by the 18th century this route was recognized as the probable path through the city that Jesus took on His way to be crucified. Via Dolorosa is one extended thin place, where the journey of Christ’s sacrifice can be brought to life. There is spiritual significance on this road, and simply walking down the Via Dolorosa has proven to be a moving experience through the centuries. Focusing on the Passion, the suffering of Jesus for our salvation and forgiveness, brings us to a newer, deeper level of appreciation and acceptance of Jesus as a real human Person who sacrificed Himself for us.
Glory Be To Jesus (youtube.com)
A time-tested tradition in the Christian Faith that enables us to start to grasp the meaning of the Via Dolorosa is known as the 14 Stations of the Cross. In this case, “station” means “a place to stand,” and the stations follow the path of Jesus on that ancient Road of Sorrow, from the beginning at PiIate’s Residence to the completion of the road at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Each station along the way signifies an event during Christ’s death march through Old Jerusalem, with each station including a marker or building to point out that painful event in Jesus’ last moments of His life. The Christian pilgrim walking down this road feels compelled to stop at each station, read Scripture, pray, and meditate on its meaning. Then after a few moments of living into that momentous event, the pilgrim moves on to the next station. Most of the 14 Stations are easily found in scripture, while a handful of the events have been in the Christian tradition for centuries. Every one of the 14 Stations have the potential to be a life-changing thin place to those who are open to the experience. The Stations of the Cross continue to be a powerful aid to prayer and meditation even now, celebrated during Holy Week. In fact, to this day, every Friday, there is a large contingent of Franciscan Catholics who lead pilgrims as they meditate their way through the Via Dolorosa.
The 14 Stations of the Cross include moments we may find difficult to think about. According to Christian tradition, there are three places on the Via Dolorosa (Stations #3, #7, and #9), where Jesus stumbled in anguish and fell to the ground, carrying His Cross or perhaps the crossbeam of the Cross.
There are four Stations of the Cross which highlight personal encounters Jesus had during His walk. Station #3 commemorates the traditional place along the way where Jesus meets up with His mother Mary. At that site, there is a chapel called the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. The next personal encounter on the Via Dolorosa was when Simon the Cyrene entered the picture. He was probably from Libya, a pilgrim attending Passover in Jerusalem, who was simply an observer in the street crowd. Luke 23:26 mentions this incident, and it appears the Roman soldiers didn’t give him much choice in carrying the Cross for the weakened Christ. At this Station #5 is the Chapel of Simon the Cyrene. The third Station, #6, may be more traditional than factual, but it has been accepted down through Christian history. At this place in the Via, a woman offers her veil, or handkerchief, or perhaps even a portion of her apron, to gently wipe the blood, sweat and grime from Jesus’ tortured face. As this story continues, that veil then retained the outline of Jesus’ face and was used as a tool of healing. This woman eventually assumed the name of Veronica, because the veil’s “True Image” of Jesus is taken from Latin, “vera-icon.” This station is marked by the presence of the Church of the Holy Face. Finally, the fourth personal encounter that Jesus had on His death march was Station #8, where a group of pious women were following Jesus along the way, known as the Daughters of Jerusalem, who were mourning for Jesus as he stumbled down the road. This is recorded in Luke 23:29-31, which reveals how the dying Christ somehow drew strength from within Himself to comfort these women in their grief and offer a prophecy about the coming persecution. At this Station stands a Greek Orthodox Monastery in remembrance of these holy women.
The Via Dolorosa reaches its ending point at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Stations 10- 14 are commemorated: #10, Jesus is stripped of His garments; #11, Jesus is nailed to the Cross; #12, Jesus dies on the Cross; #13, Jesus is removed from the Cross; and #14, Jesus is laid in the tomb. This Church is traditionally the place where Jesus exits Old Jerusalem and practically crawls to His execution on Golgotha nearby.
Via dolorosa ft Passion of Christ – YouTube
From the beginning of the Via Dolorosa to the end 2,000 feet down the road, the boundary between God and mankind, between heaven and earth, becomes so thin as to be non-existent. The Road of Sorrow led to the Cross, which resulted in the empty tomb . May all Christians be given the grace to experience what Jesus our brother did on our behalf.