Stations of the Cross - A Night to Remember

by Shirley Shim

What did Stations of the Cross mean to me? As a child I remember attending Stations of the Cross in church year after year. It was something I associated with Good Friday and Easter as we only had it during Lent. To me it felt more like a ritual, something I had to do for Lent, something I sat through, sometimes with a passion of Christ on the side, sometimes in candlelight, sometimes long, sometimes boring. When I came to Melbourne more than 4 years ago, I started joining the Good Friday Ecumenical walk through the city and I enjoyed it tremendously as it was something fun to do with friends and the walks from church to church was always enjoyable. All these years I've participated in the Stations of the Cross, but did I grasp its true meaning? Did I truly understand the reason for the cross? 

It was only after last night's Station of the Cross at St Augustine's that I finally understood how empty my stations of the cross had been in the past. If I had not been involved in the Liturgical Dance I might not have even come to church - it being a Wednesday night, I had to get to work early the next day, the weather was bad, and the traffic was worse. Thank you to Stay for organising this Stations and for getting me involved!

Getting to church early, I was only concerned about the dance and not concentrating on preparing myself for the Stations. The last time I was on a stage performing was probably in high school and I was nervous having to dance in front of a crowd - what if I froze? what if I missed a step? what if I collided with Chrissy? A pep talk from Bella certainly helped, reminding us that we're doing this for God, that it was not a performance but it was a prayer for God. So I just had to remind myself that this is for God, it is not for myself, it is not for the group, it is not for the congregation, but it is for Jesus - and that calmed me.

With all the prep and anticipation of the dance, I was not prepared for the stations itself. It started off with a beautiful song and dance by Rory, Kim, Aaron and Bella. The singing was amazing, and the dance just so graceful. I was still so mesmerised by the song and dance that it still didn't occur to me that this was the beginning of Jesus' journey to the cross. So when Dane started narrating and leading the 1st station, I was caught so unawares by his powerful words and reflection questions. It brought me back 2000 years ago to that scene when Jesus was condemned to death and the reason He was condemned to death - it was for me. 

Going from station to station, with the powerful words and soul searching questions, I just felt myself getting more and more emotional and overwhelmed. My eyes started tearing up and I felt this immense sadness and at the same time this overwhelming love from Jesus. God sacrificed His Son for me - Jesus went through all that suffering, condemnation, being beaten and tortured, spat upon, treated like an animal, being alone, rejected, being the sacrificial lamb, all this for me. Was I worth it? I didn't think so, but by the grace of God, He thinks so, and Jesus suffered all that for me, that I may be saved. For the first time in my life, it became clear what the Stations of the Cross meant to me. The Stations of the Cross was my saving grace.

By the end of the stations, I was so immersed in the passion of Christ that when we started to dance, we were truly dancing for God. It was a prayer to God, we were truly yearning for God, we were proclaiming Jesus as our saviour, and we were thanking Jesus for loving us, for dying on that cross for us, and for saving us. It was my most memorable Stations of the Cross, a turning point in my life... 

(picture courtesy of Laura - Thanks Laura!)