In this day and age most of us have heard of the “Serenity Prayer.” I wonder if you have read or prayed the prayer in its entirety as it was originally written?
The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it be,
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will, That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen
Makes it different when you read the whole thing, doesn’t it? Thank you Reinhold for your contribution to our faith.
Should you want more information, there is a very long article on Wikipedia about his life, his beliefs and his service as a Pastor and Educator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr
“… trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.”
That expresses a truckload of trust. Can you trust that much? Has God proven Himself trustworthy in your life, even if you did not get exactly what you wanted? Have you surrendered at each turn and twist as life unfolds?
“Reasonable happy in this life and SUPREMELY happy with Him forever in the next.”
I say Amen to those sentiments. Serenity, acceptance, courage, wisdom, living, enjoying, accepting, taking, trusting, surrender. Mr. Niebuhr (or is it Pastor, Professor?) presents us with things we can actually DO. Many people accuse Christianity of too many “Thou shalt nots.” These are things you are to do.
I have no memory of the doctor or a tech taking me out of the cast. I do not remember any kind of physical therapy. I do remember the doctor talking with my mother about fears that one leg would be shorter than the other.
After the hospital I had anxiety about doctors and needles. My parents could not tell me about a doctor’s appointment the night before as I would get almost hysterical. Eventually I outgrew the fear. Though to this day I have to psych myself up a bit when there is a needle involved in medical treatment.
Years later while on a retreat I learned that the nuns serving at Good Samaritan Hospital were from the Sisters of Charity convent in Delhi. As an adult I thanked them for comforting this child.
About 1954Current day
My legs grew to the same length. Dr. McMath did a grand job caring for me. Sadly, my father died of heart disease when I was eleven years old. There were no treatments for heart disease in 1961. I never knew him as a man, just Daddy.
I never tried Double Dutch jump rope again. In fact, I have never been inclined to athletic activity. Hated gym class in elementary school. The Double Dutch jump rope incident stole all my confidence. My sister and I were most often unsupervised in our play activities. One day we were playing the garage and found my dad’s ladders for painting. I developed a fear of heights after a ladder slid down a wall while I was sitting on it. Landed hard on the concrete floor. Amazing now that I did not break my fingers where I was holding on. No one had ever had a need to teach me then that a ladder must be anchored before being used.
I find it amazing how our childhood experiences shape us as people. I married a kind man who became a medical technologist. This is the person in a hospital laboratory who can draw your blood and test any fluid that you can put out. In the beginning of our marriage, we were once sitting in a movie theater, and he was feeling the vein in my elbow. Freaked me out. He explained the need to practice. I calmed down. Now I am faced with needles daily: lancets, insulin needles, wearing a continuous glucose monitor, monthly drug injections.
After playing with the ladders, I still dislike heights. When we took our children to the CN Tower in Toronto we went to the observation deck. It is 113 floors above the ground and has a glass floor. I was holding on to the wall around the elevator as I walked around the observation deck. The children were laughing at me. As I walked, I came upon a woman crawling on the floor. Guess it could have been worse! Nope. Heights are not my thing!
From childhood trauma to needle fears then married to a Lab man, (They don’t call them blood suckers for nothing!). From Christian educated by the babysitter and dropped off at church to a Christ seeker who became the only Episcopalian in the family of origin. From fear of heights to challenging the fear for the sake of the children and a family vacation memory.
Our childhood impacts us, but not always for the good. Imprints formed during childhood are not washed away by time. Seventy years later they can still affect how I think and feel.
The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed – to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is. Parker Palmer
I might not agree with every word of the above quote, but isn’t it true of each of us? We just “want to be seen, heard and companioned?” Meeting my childhood friend for lunch was just such a blessing. We always manage to pick up right where we left off and we can share with each other and laugh and enjoy the company of the other knowing we are loved and accepted.
The Lord wants to save us and improve our life in every way that comes with salvation. Most of all our Creator is willing to see us, hear us and accompany us in all the paths of our life.
When I ask for advice the Lord is willing to send good counsel to me. Often my mistakes are not fixed but I am shown ways to gain forgiveness and make for change among those I may have injured or hurt.
To know and to be known, what a blessing!
I believe another thing we long for is for those around us to be sincere, trustworthy. Those qualities seem to be more difficult than every to find in this day and age. I am sickened and disgusted by the politicians who say this person is despicable and not trustworthy and in a matter of months change their tune to this person is the greatest ever! I do not want leaders that can change their tune rapidly especially when having power dangled before them as something they, too, might grasp. How are we to believe the claims that smack of insincerity? What ever happened to having principles and standing for them? There is a saying that if you stand for nothing you will fall for anything. So true.
I either need to stop watching television news or move to Canada. Not they don’t have their own troubles, but at least to me they would be new troubles. Lord, “Tell me Your secret, help me bear the strain of toil, the fret of care.”
Parker Palmer says when we make a deep bow to the soul of a suffering person our respect “reinforces the souls healing resources.” What are your resources? Mine reside in this verse.
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19
Trust, trust. Be still and trust. Some days more difficult than others.
Do not lie, even to yourself written by Joan Cittister
Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi could have been a Benedictine. Humility is about living an integrated life, a life in which each part is in harmony with every other dimension.
What we think, what we say, and the way we go about life cannot be well lived when they are in opposition to one another. When, in fact, they simply cancel one another out, there is no integrity left to any of them. The person who lives a lie, for instance, no matter how effective otherwise, is in tension every moment of the day. The person who pretends to be something they are not—wealthy, credentialed, in emotional control—cannot function openly anywhere.
The truth is that we are meant to be transparent. People, hearing what we say, should know what we think. Seeing what we do with our lives, people can infer what we care about and how we think about things. If we say one thing but think another, somewhere, somehow, it all begins to seep out. Worst of all, the burden of hiding exhausts a person from the soul on out.
Benedict in the chapter on humility is quite direct about the intertwined life of soul, body, and emotions as the measure of integrity, strength, serenity, and freedom. In the final step of humility, his clarity is so simple it is stunning. He writes: Our humility “is evident at the Opus Dei, in the oratory, the monastery, or the garden, on a journey or in the field, or anywhere else.”
The directions are achingly pure: Be what you say you are. Do not lie, even to yourself. Don’t live two lives—loving parent/missing parent; honest employee/cheating employee; devoted public servant/self-absorbed public servant. The truth is that egotism is the bane of community building. No one can build anything that lasts when the materials are bogus.
I give myself over to my faithful Creator, our faithful One. This is not an easy task when I am troubled and disturbed, but He makes a way where there seems to be no way. Help me, Lord, continue to do good.
Try to listen as far as 3:55. This refrain rings through my soul!
One week Lectio 360 was focusing on different ways of knowing the Lord. Below are their words.
I find this is my heart’s cry as I try to write this blog
What I know of God will only be a fraction of who the Holy Trinity is. Oh that I might make clear the little part I have understood during my life!
This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV
Father, I pray I am using my understanding to know You and the creation You have put before us for discovery of You and delight in Your creation. I pray You will continue to unfold the Scriptures for me. Holy Spirit continue to show and teach me the ways of the Almighty One.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14 NIV
When Bob lay dying 6 years ago I realized that no one could promise me he would survive the illness or that we would continue our marriage of so many years in the way we had become accustomed. When a woman hits a crossroads like that, for this woman at least, I had to realize that I must crucify my hopes and dreams and let the Lord Almighty have full control.
“I began to approach the situation with stillness but no presumption that I in any way knew the ultimate result. Though I was often unconsciously holding my breath, there was a stillness in me. The stillness came with a peace that I recognized as coming from God. Reporting the day’s events and blood work results to prayer partners via email, without forecasting the next step or event or outcome was about my only “productive” output.
“The stillness was related to Habakkuk 2:20 NRSV “But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him!” Another prayer that surfaced from the BCP “We do not presume to come to this Thy table trusting in our own righteousness but in Thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy table. But Thou are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.” (Holy Eucharist 1 P. 337)
“Part of my struggle was yielding to the facts and in stillness letting my wishes die, placing my hope in the plans of the Almighty. I could not see the outcome at all, but I trusted His goodness and His love for both myself and my family. I learned that crucified you must hold perfectly still. Ephesians 3:16 helped me to trust more. “I pray that, according to the riches of His glory, He may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” I prayed for Bob and our children to be strengthened. I prayed for myself to be strengthened by His Spirit with power penetrating to my innermost being. Yes, crucified you must hold perfectly still. I was not “going” anywhere.
I had to hold still, let go of my wishes and dreams. Let God unfold the future before me. True surrender.
I am His child.
I have only learned a small fraction about Who my God is. I barely know the Trinity. I am willing to continue to learn. In many ways, I know that the lessons from the not too distant past will carry me to the very end of my days. May Christ be glorified in and through me, I pray.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6 NIV
Have you? Do you know the gift God has given to you? Are you doing your best to fan it into flame?
God continues to give His believers a holy calling, His own purpose, the grace He gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago.
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV
That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. Amplified 2 Tim 1:6
Next week will be confirmation at St. Timothy’s by the Bishop. Bob was amazed at his confirmation that not only did the bishop lay hands on his head, but he also gently slapped him. This practice is not always continued today. I thought it was wonderful! As if to say, “Grow up ! Take this seriously! You now belong to Christ and the devil will do whatever he can to take you back.” The really great news is that NOTHING can take us out of the hand of Jesus!
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30
So for me, stir up, set afire the embers, fan the flame, keep your gift from God burning is a lifelong call. Recently I heard the call again from the Lord and am actively listening for how He would like to use my writing. I publish this blog and invite you to use it freely. A friend in Lexington was so moved by my state of aging (https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/16426) that she took it to the women’s meeting at her church. They loved it and laughed out loud with understanding. Even her husband was getting comments and he told me he had nothing to do with it!
My goal is to get the writing out there in any way the Lord sees fit. So if I come to mind, please pray for wisdom to know what to do with this stuff. I have been told by many that I have a gift. I just want to Honor the Trinity with how I use it.
You might remember this photo from our other house where a spider captured one of “our” hummingbirds?
I was SO angry I beat the spider to death with a broom. He was huge. So much for Franciscan values.
I try to follow my blogger friend Mike Powell at https://michaelqpowell.com/2024/07/09/blog-anniversary/ He is a dragonfly expert. His photography is most often amazing! Recently I was saddened to find this on the porch of our new house.
I know, even spiders need to eat. I was so sad to see what had been eaten and that the spider left me the remnants of its meal to clean up.
I know that many people, female and male are afraid of spiders. Some are even terrified. I began a story about fear in 1982 and added finishing touches in 1990. Hope this encourages you! No we cannot beat the enemy of our souls to death with a broom, but there are actions we can take.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 TIM 1:7
I saw the devil as a decrepit, weazand, impotent old man, stooped over, no strength in his backbone, but malice in his eyes. He worked his way up an open staired metal ladder to the catwalks along the lights above a stage.
I sat on the stage in finger curls and white eyelet ruffles looking much like the storybook picture of Miss Muffet. I was happy, contented and apathetic (having or showing little or no emotion).
Using seemingly his last once of strength, this old impotent being reached the spot on the catwalk above me which he had chosen as his point of power. From inside his trench coat he pulled a marionette … it was a hideous, hairy spider with spindly octopus-like legs and invisible strings. The catwalk was edged with a railing made of steel tubular pipes. He rested his weight upon the cold steel, too weak to stand on his own. He dropped the marionette half-way down and adjusted his hands in the wooden frames that controlled the stings for moving the spider’s body. Then he dropped the spider all the way down, near my face.
As I caught sight of the hideous hairy spider from the corner of my eye, apathy fled and emotions stormed over me. The spineless, weak being above me had little strength to hurt me, but he chose to use my own power against me. I flailed out in fear and anger and my actions made that spider jump and fly through the air with more energy than the old fart could ever have put into it.
And at that juncture, the loving voice of my Lord broke into the scene and said, “Molly, the spider is fear. It has very little power on its own. But you give it your energy by flailing and struggling and assuming it is more powerful than it is. Think through this same scene and SEE that had you chosen to sit still and watch that spider, it would have dangled from strings and been as impotent to harm you as the one holding its frames. HE has no power over you unless you give it to him. Fear is a choice!”
My life has never been the same. I am not always fearless, but I do know that when fear comes I can choose to have it go. Seeing things a new way … choosing another perspective or point of view … RESPONDING instead of reacting are all keys to maintaining my peace and experiencing the comfort and presence of my Lord Jesus.
“I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” PS 34:4
My prayer is that you might learn not to give the spiders of fear power over you. I understand our first instinct is usually to swat a spider away, but we have the choice to learn how to respond instead of react. I am praying for you!
Widespread pain. The pain associated with fibromyalgia often is described as a constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months. To be considered widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and above and below your waist.
Fatigue. People with fibromyalgia often awaken tired, even though they report sleeping for long periods of time. Sleep is often disrupted by pain, and many patients with fibromyalgia have other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.
Cognitive difficulties. A symptom commonly referred to as “fibro fog” impairs the ability to focus, pay attention and concentrate on mental tasks.
Yep my pillars are pain and fatigue. A pillar is a slender, freestanding, vertical support; a column. I am not thinking a pillar of cloud by day or of fire by night. I am thinking the constant in my daily life, day or night. My pillars are not decorative such as the ones below.
One morning I wrote “I wake up in pain. Two fingers numb. Shoulder so stiff. Hip has not spoken up yet. This gets so old, tiresome, ridiculous. I choose to praise You, even when the pain is present. I love you better than life, even quality of life.”
Surgery was supposed to relieve the shoulder pain and return full function to my right shoulder. Surgery has the result of almost constant pain. If I do the stretches it is supposed to be fine by September of this year. Lord, I cry to You. Please come to me and help me in my distress.
I remember the lyrics from the Vineyard O Jesus Mine
O Jesus mine, O Jesus mine You’ve filled us with a love divine Our hearts have found no resting place but Thee, O Jesus, Jesus, Jesus mine.
I always thought I heard(Our hearts have found a resting place IN TIME)
The Celtic Prayer Book stated God has made us capable of life with Him and thus we are ever lonely and insatiable.
What occurs in private with Him is rarely seen in the open. What some admire about a Christian’s life they also have no idea how it actually came about. There is longing and at times anguish in His presence, which is often only seen after its transfiguration. Only God can transfigure longing and anguish.
Lord, make me aware of Your presence with me, even in the morning pain and afternoon/evening hip pain. Help me adapt and cope I pray.
In A Sunlit Absence by Martin Laird P. 123 He writes “The pathless path of prayer knows only how to move through struggle; and the only way through is through – not around, over, under or alongside, but through.” Struggle – with chronic fatigue and pain, not knowing how to fulfill the call to create something else with the writing, how to ….
Moving through struggle with pain and fatigue is not easy to accomplish day after day, hour after hour. Yet millions of people do it daily, hourly, weekly, monthly year after year.
Perhaps my sharing is all too transparent for those of you who do not have physical struggles? For the rest of us I hope this is read as a means of helping you understand some of the ways I get through these times. I know full well that God is no respecter of persons and ways He has touched me He can touch you with also. (Acts 10:34)
In this chapter of Laird’s book he is describing how a woman learned to struggle beyond her depression. He wrote
The fourteenth-century anonymous English author of The Cloud of Unknowing suggests that instead of pushing away or clinging to thoughts and images that appear in our awareness, whether distracting or attracting, we should simply “look over their shoulder.” This ingeniously playful advice requires a serious and cultivated inner awareness. …We have to meet distractions with stillness instead of commentary. This implies not only do we allow distractions to be present but we also allow them to help us steady our gaze as we “look over their shoulders, as it were, searching for something else.”
This flowing vastness of simple awareness, what St. Hesychios calls ‘the sun rising in the heart,’ is untouched by depression just as it is untouched by time, by age, by pain, fear, anger or greed, or by anything else – though simple awareness is never separate from any of these any more than a spoke of a wheel is separated from its hub. The spoke is not the hub, yet the hub centers all the spokes.
Laird goes on to teach that although this is harder to do than to write about, there comes about a stillness that is from the simple awareness. We are to gaze into that stillness.
Yes, I have the constant pillars of pain and fatigue in my life. They do not, however, need to be the constant focus of my attention. Though I may feel ground to powder, I can look over the shoulders of those two life ingredients and find the vastness of simple awareness. Awareness that ‘there is always something to be thankful for!” When I am especially having difficulty it can be helpful to allow myself some self-pity, but only for about 5 minutes. Beyond that is NOT helpful. Sitting in silence, not trying to add words to the situation, but observe it, allow it and to look ‘over its shoulders’ that is most helpful to me. I do not always accomplish this, do not pull it off every single time. But the sooner I return to this practice the better off I am.
Just as the deer walks the forest in the same pattern regularly, yet does not wear a path like humans seem to, we are called to follow this ‘pathless path of prayer.’ The photo in the opening reminds me of this.
The stillness that come from simple awareness. Certainly a pearl of great price to seek after.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46
May your heart rest in this Jesus, a simple awareness of the goodness of life, regardless of your struggle.
There is a red-shouldered hawk who inhabits our neighborhood. Some days I hear it screaming high above the earth as it flies in the sunlit sky. Sometimes it blasts like a rocket silently between the houses and the hedgerows. This morning I was hearing it. The Merlin app identified it for certain by its call. Then most surprisingly as I was trying to formulate words around a quote, unbelievably, the same hawk was perched on a sunlit branch right outside my window, looking at me in my prayer chair, the sun at times reflecting on its black, shiny eye. I was stunned. The smaller birds were going nuts trying to send out alarm calls to their brethren. I sat shocked into stillness and blessed.
my not very good photosame photo croppedphoto from online
For Dubois, hawks symbolize the ability to rise above our earthly realm and view life from a higher vantage point: “Hawks soar far above and take in the whole landscape from above. They have great eyes and are adept at spotting movements of prey.”
In other words, hawks see the bigger picture that we often miss from our limited view on the ground. “As a symbol, a hawk is a reminder to see the world from thirty yards above; to see the big picture,” Dubois explains. Encountering a hawk invites us to similarly elevate our perspective.
What Does the Bible Say About Hawks?
Dubois also notes the hawk’s significance in biblical texts. “From a Biblical perspective, a hawk is a symbol of divine guidance and that we are being watched out for from above. It is a call to seek God’s wisdom and guidance in our lives.”
God asks Job in Job 39:26, “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?”
The quote I was working with read “The pathless path of prayer knows only how to move through struggle; and the only way through is through – not around, over, under or alongside, but through.” A Sunlit Absence by Martin Laird P. 123
Struggle – with chronic fatigue and pain, not knowing how to fulfill the call to create something else with the writing, how to ….
Later I did my morning challenging walk. As I returned down a street near us there was a red-shouldered hawk sitting atop someone’s garage. As I watched another red-shouldered hawk flew right past it into the tree line.
Lord, You are my flying bird, my guidance, my hope and my salvation. I trust in You. Show me Your path through these struggles. Grant me Your view from on high. Your are the watchful Presence guiding me and (as Dubois says) urging me to turn to Your divine wisdom. Continue to teach me how to turn to You and I will be careful to give You all of the glory. Amen.
Wow. Mom said time goes faster as you get older. I hardly believed her then. Now I know it is oh so true. Do you have things you do daily and feel at times as if you ‘meet yourself coming and going’? I certainly do!
Bob often laments that we do not live someplace such as New Mexico where they have “Big sky,” meaning vast expanses where you can seemingly see forever. Walking out the door last evening to take the dog for her after supper constitutional I looked up and experienced our version of ‘big sky.” Oh those clouds and the heavens seem vast!!
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4 NIV
We had a 24 hour break from the dreaded heat and humidity that has plagued the US. The air was so clear and felt breathable. Today will be a return to the 90s and rising humidity. The relief of that one day made everyone smile.
See these flowers gone to seed?
As I walked past there were 2, no 5, no perhaps 10 goldfinch eating the seeds. They seem to take flight in squadrons as they sensed my presence. I have been seeing fluff drift past the windows occasionally. I figured it was from a tree. I now think it is more likely from these flowers growing near the pond. I was not fast enough with my camera to catch the birds on the plants. Here is an online photo.
Unfortunately, I did see there are still muskrats living in the retention pond. Someone is supposed to be trapping them, but I have never seen that activity.
Lucky continues to improve. I realize we will not have her with us forever, but this is certainly a far cry from thinking we would need to put her down due to her failing ability to walk. She seems to be thriving. She gets about 1/3 can of green beans with each meal and only a little bit of kibble. It is hard to get her weight down. She really likes the canned green beans and it helps her not feel quite so hungry. Maybe since she can walk further now we can get some more pounds off?
During my recent retreat one leader prayed over us saying, “I bless you in all the many names of God. Amen.” Isaiah has perhaps the most familiar list of those names?
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NIV
While on the retreat I had difficulty one night falling asleep. I decided I would try to praise God by reciting as many names as I could think of.
Holy One Savior Shepherd Alpha and Omega I think I got to 14 before I fell asleep Almighty God King of kings Lord of lords Holder of the keys Resurrected King Friend Brother Comforter Light of the world Bread of Life Living Water
You might want to try this as a form of prayer for yourself. As we remind ourselves of Who we love and serve we are also reminded of the mighty power that is held there and used on our behalf.
As a child did you ever skin your knee? Remember how it burned and bled and seemed like the pain would not end? I was the princess of skinned knees. It took me years to learn to ride a bike. Often, I fell off my bike at the end of a neighbor’s drive. That area of the drive was coated with cinders from the winter weather. Yep, once I managed to pack them in my knee. The doctor (whom you may recall I was terrified of after six weeks in traction at age three) said either he could remove them or I could sit in a bathtub of water and scrub them out myself. I chose the bathtub. That was NOT an enjoyable bath time! I had scars on both knees most of my childhood. I did finally master bicycle riding and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Recently I was eating lunch at the Sisters of Charity Convent and looked up at the large crucifix on the dining room wall. Something struck me as unusual. This one depicted His knees bleeding. Regardless of what version we embrace, I think we can all agree that on the way to Golgotha, Jesus did fall down. I never before noticed His knees on any crucifix I have seen.
According to tradition and the Stations of the Cross, Jesus fell three times while carrying the Cross. The first fall symbolizes Jesus’s agony and suffering as He began His journey to Calvary. It serves as a reminder of the physical and emotional pain Jesus experienced for the salvation of humanity.
The second fall signifies Jesus’s enormous burden for the world’s sins. Despite the immense weight of the Cross, He continued to persevere, demonstrating His unwavering commitment to fulfilling the Father’s will.
The third fall represents the ultimate triumph of Jesus’ redemptive mission. Despite His exhaustion and suffering, He rose again, showcasing His resilience and conquering the powers of sin and death.
These three falls convey the physical and spiritual struggles Jesus faced, highlighting the depth of His love and sacrifice for humanity.
In the biblical context, the falls of Jesus while carrying the Cross are not explicitly mentioned. However, the Stations of the Cross have been widely accepted in Christian tradition as a means of meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus. https://christianpure.com/learn/jesus-cross-journey-distance/
We are often shown the scars on His hands and feet and side when there is a depiction of the Risen Lord. Have you considered His knees? Those knees that bent so often in prayer. Those knees that spent hours in the Garden of Olives praying.
I bend my knees in reverence to the One who bled and died for us. The One Who took our place and continues to intercede on our behalf. All glory be to You, Lord Christ.
33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Romans 8:33-34 NIV
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV1 John 2:1-13
My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-3 CSB
Thank you, precious Lord, for all You have done and will do for us!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 