“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14,27)
Remembering Jesus passion and His resurrection is awaiting us in the coming days. We will step out of our usual rhythm and come to a halt when reflecting upon death and resurrection of Christ and its meaning to each of us.
In some Christian traditions, Stations of the Cross depict the different stations of Christ’s passion, being a devotional experience for Christians. The fourteen Stations of the Cross can ground you in the story of Christ’s passion and as you watch the different stations, you can pray and reflect. Usually, you walk the Stations of the Cross and as you move from station to station, you move physically and mentally from the beginning of the passion to its end.
Mary Button, minister of visual arts at First Congregational Church in Memphis (TN), has created a contemporary Stations of the Cross, depicting both the passion of Jesus Christ, and the journey of the Syrian uprising that began in January 2012. It shows in a very powerful way, how the situation of the Syrian people has been in the past year and how they have suffered from violence and terror. When seeing both journeys next to each other it becomes clear that violence and terror should not exist any more within God’s creation after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. Yet, they continue to exist, because human beings do not abstain from striving for power and oppressing other human beings. In the midst of this world, it is often difficult for us to recognise God’s transforming grace and liberating power at work in the different parts of the world. Nonetheless, we as Christians are called to work for peace and justice in our contexts with the abilities we have. Considering that in God’s oikonomia no part of the inhabited earth is left out of the call to care and work for peace, Christians must work together across denominations and borders to advocate for peace – in Syria and other parts of the world. While we know that it is not us, who bring peace, but that it is God’s peace that will transform the world, we need to work for this peace in every possible way.
Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14,27)
We wish you a peaceful and blessed Easter and ask you to pray for peace in Syria during these days!