Lamb Of Lord: The Crucifixion And The Resurrection.

By Floria Simon Fernandes

My good shepherd, your voice I did hear,

Hung on the cross, once who had hold me so dear.

On the way to Calvary, followed by thy Lamb,

Watching every step, eyes fixed like a lamp.

You knew me by my name and called out to me,

Aware that every whip, every fall is seen.

My cry fell the deaf ears, echoes went unheard,

Mystery remains unsolved, story still untold.

Long to be carried on thy shoulder once again,

Your lost lamb, tears rolling down like the rain.

As it is penned down, what 'Nous' has to say,

Remembering the road, the 'Mournful way',

As you lead me, your words light my feet,

Hoping once again , a chance to meet.

Things have changed to now, from then,

But still loved, cared and followed by thy Lamb.

Ist Station – Jesus is condemned to death.

You accepted an unjust judgement,

Sentence for death by crucifixion.

Your death warrant was signed,

Yet You chose to complete Your mission.

“Crucify Him, crucify Him!!” ,(Luke 23:21)

The judge of the world stands defenceless.

An innocent paid price for humanity,

Lamb of living God and ever sinless.

In sinking to depth, You rose to heights,

Made peace with God through faith. (Romans 5:1)

Let us rejoice in our tiny sufferings,

With everlasting Holy Spirit, He had us bathed. (Romans 5:3, 5)

We have been baptized in You ,Lord,

And so, baptized into Your death.

We will be united with You in resurrection, (Romans 6:5)

And a newness of life, will be blessed. (Romans 6:4)

IInd Station- Jesus takes up His cross.

The Father chose cross for His son,

And His beloved Son shouldered it.

As a key to the heavenly door,

And salvation for mankind to seek.

‘Cross’, an instrument of shameful death,

Reserved for lowest class only.

Strong, heavy cross on Your wounded shoulder,

You received it gently and meekly.

Each one carry your own cross,

And be worthy of life in Christ. (Matthew 10:38)

Lose your life to find it in Him, (Matthew 10:39, John 12:25)

Take part in His sacrifice.

Through Your cross You set us free,

Do not submit again to yoke of slavery. (Galantians 5:1)

Bow low for His birth, in likeness of men,

Obedient to death, for us helping hand to lend. (Philippians 2:6-11).

First born from the dead,

Made peace by blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:18-20)

Cancelling the record of our debts, (Colossians 2:14)

Carried the cross to save us from loss.

IIIrd Station – Jesus falls the first time.

You fall beneath the weight of the cross,

To lift us from depth of our pride.

It was not the fall that was significant,

But the fact that You got back-up was wide.

We stray away from path of God,

And with much less weight we daily fall. (Psalm 37:23-24)

He alone bore the world on His shoulder,

Stood up to continue His journey, with our sin so tall.

Like the grain of wheat that loses to the soil, (John 12:24)

We need to fall and bear fruit to be useful.

Mirror the Lord, who bends low before men,

Recover from your sins and be at your full.

IVth Station – Jesus Meets His Mother.

On the way to Calvary,

You met Your mother’s eyes.

Cross restricted embrace, no words to speak,

Just a deep sorrow for a final bye.

Even before she conceived You bodily,

Through Her obedience, conceived You in Her heart.

As You carried Your cross, to the place of skull,

Stood by Your side, sharing Your suffering, on Her part.

To see a loved one suffer,

It is an unbearable pain.

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

Mother pleads, “Let it not go in vain!!”

The disciples fled, yet She stayed,

On the world’s darkest night.

So, She became the mother of all believers,

With Her emotions strongest to fight.

Vth Station – Simon (of Cyrene) helps Jesus to carry the cross.

Soldiers impatient with the journey,

As it took longer than they wanted it to.

Afraid that You won’t make it to the hill,

They were worried about what to do??

They grabbed a man (Simon) out of the crowd, (Luke 23:26)

To help You out, for cross to carry.

Your discomfort , silent and suffering,

Touched his heart and he felt sorry.

Sometimes we see people, who need help,

We pretend not to hear.

Try to do as small as you can,

Our time may change, keep little fear.

VIth Station – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

On the way of the cross,

An act of womanly kindness.

She (Veronica) held out a face cloth to You,

Did not fear soldiers for her goodness.

An image bloodied and bruised,

A buffeted and pain filled face.

Only with heart we can see You,

Your blood purifies us and gives us grace.

Impress your face on our hearts,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek”. (Psalm 27:8)

May I encounter You along the way,

Teach me to be kind and meek.

VIIth Station- Jesus Falls the Second time.

Your fall evokes the fall of Adam,

Your own sharing in our fall.

Thus, You interpret the fall of humanity,

Bearing the burden of us all.

No form, no beauty left on Your face,

Despised and rejected by every soul.

Give us, O Lord, a heart of repentance,

Not to fall for evil, not to get sold.

Lord, make us aware of your presence,

Free us from the bond of lust.

Convert our hearts of stone into flesh,

Lift us up from the dust.

Help us bring your hope to the world,

Make us sensitive to needs of others.

Give us capacity to resist the wrong,

Reach out to our sisters and brothers.

VIIIth Station – Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem.

“Do not weep for me, but weep for yourself”, (Luke 23:28)

Behold, the days are coming.

Don’t cry when the wood is green,

But weep when the land is drying.

Lord warns us of upcoming danger,

Seriousness of sins and His final judgement.

Evil can no longer be trivialized.

And it can only bring punishment.

Never separate yourself from Lord again,

Flee to Him, and you shall be comforted.

Rather than shedding tears for His crucifixion,

Ask pardon for having Him offended.

Let us not simply walk by His side,

With only compassionate words to give.

But let’s remain as a living branch in Him,

As a true vine, learning how to live.

IXth Station – Jesus Falls The Third Time.

Your third fall expresses obedience and self-emptying,

The strength utterly failed.

An outward sign of death,

But still valiant to bear the nails.

The street was rough and steep,

Between the walls of town.

The last fall was devastating,

Drained and collapsed to the ground.

Heavy cross-beam gave immense pain,

As it fell against thorn- crowned head.

Though tired unto death, You never gave up,

Walking under the sun, with no cover for shade.

You wait for us at Holy Sacrament,

Ready to raise us up at our every fall.

Though betrayed by us from time to time,

Ever-ready to be there at our call.

Xth Station – Jesus is stripped off His garments.

You were stripped off Your garments,

Public stripping means ‘no longer anything’.

God’s splendour had fallen away from men,

As clothes make men a social being.

The Holy of Holies stood exposed to the gaze,

Lots were drawn to divide Your garments. (Psalm 22:18)

You took upon Yourself the shame of mankind,

The cost of which is out of our payment.

Cover us with Your goodness, O Lord,

Clothe us in the light of Your grace.

Strip us off ourselves here and now,

Wrap us in your tender love lace.

XIth Station- Jesus is nailed to the cross.

Nailed to the beam of cross, like a mere thing,

You accepted the terrible cruelty.

You did not try to escape from Your suffering,

Allowed destruction of Your body and Your dignity.

The Holy cross was laid on the ground,

And You were stretched upon it.

With a heavy hammer, sharp huge nails,

Tore holes in Your hands and feet.

The whole body in utmost tension,

Stretched and strained to the breaking point.

The blows were struck, the blood gushed forth,

All bones on display, that You can count .(Psalm 22:17)

You allowed humanity to find refuge in your arms,

Lord, help us to remain faithful to You.

Your dear worthy death, your worshipful wounds,

Help us never flee from what we are called to do.

XIIth Station – Jesus Dies On The Cross.

“Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani??”,

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me??”. (Psalm 22:1-2)

Revealing depth of union with Your Father,

High on a cross, You looked up to see.

‘Jesu Nazerenus Reis Judaeorum’,

‘Jesus of Nazareth, The King Of Jews’.

Radically fulfilling the commandment of love,

From cross You triumph- ever anew.

How much gratitude we owe to you,

Willingly dying in publicly humiliating way.

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!”,(Luke 23:34).

You forgave Your enemies, even on the last day.

Crucified as common criminals, You hugged the cross,

“I thirst”- You thirsted for souls you wanted to save. (John 19:28).

“My God, My God, why have you abandoned me??”, (Matthew 27:46).

To unite us with God, Your soul you gave.

“Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit”, (Luke 23:46).

You surrendered Yourself into total trust.

At the height of Your passion, You did not forget men.,

We need to do the same, even at our worst.

Hung on the cross for three hours,

Pinned to it in terrible position.

“It is finished”, what was taken on flesh, (John 19:30).

Accomplishing the task of salvation.

XIIIth Station- Jesus is taken down from the cross.

You descended into the darkness of death,

Faith still alive, sun not completely set.

O Mother, to thy arms and on thy lap,

A lifeless body of Your son laid to rest.

Once again thy warm shelter,

Not as before, a strength and beauty.

But back to thee, dislocated and torn,

While performing his assigned duty.

The multitude has gone home,

Calvary left solitary and still.

At last thou hast possession of thy son,

With no more enemies for his soul to kill.

“Let it be according to Your word”, (Luke 1:38)

O mother of inexpressible grief.

A price paid by Your ‘Holy Womb’,

Saviour of the world, a precious gift.

We open our arms to Christ, the Lamb,

In communion with you, O Mother.

Filled with hope we call upon the Lord,

Like Your child, we will not have another.

XIVth Station – Jesus Is Placed In A Tomb.

Wrapped in white shroud, buried in empty tomb,

A son lies very God and very man.

A promise that now has been fulfilled,

A perfect execution of a Father’s plan.

A great stone rolled to the door,

Closes the tomb hewn in the rock.

A saviour lies down in peace,

In a calm grave, sealed like a lock.

‘Tomb’, the last stage of Christ’s dying,

Through the whole course of strive.

Now rest like a lifeless grain of wheat,

As the world waits for a final rise.

Resurrection : "He is not here, for He has risen" (Matthew 28:6)

After the Sabbath, the stone rolled back,

The tomb’s inner chamber found empty.

He conquered death by His death,

A sign of definite victory!!

Dark afternoon of crucifixion,

Followed joyous morning of resurrection.

“Why seek ye the living among the dead??” (Luke 24:5)

“He is risen”, He is out of the tomb bed. (Mark 16:6, Luke 24:6-7)

He walks back in flesh, not as disembodied soul.

He ate broiled fish, treating His disciple’s doubts. (Luke 24:42-43)

His scars of hands and feet maintained,(Luke 24:39-40)

His body fully sustained.

Late that Sunday evening,

Frightened disciples He visits.

Breathes on them and says,

"Receive the Holy Spirit".

“For spirit has no flesh and bones,

As ye see me have,

Behold my hands and my feet,

That it is I myself”. (Luke 24:39)

Vindicated by the Holy Spirit,

Proclaimed among the nations. (Luke 24:47)

Seen by angels and men, (Luke 24:5, Mark 16:5)

Father’s clear sign of preservation.

Jesus says to His fishing disciples,

“Children, have you caught any fish??”

If there is still no sign,

With my guidance, some you shall find.

Cast the net on the right hand,

Bring the great fish on the land.

Totals up to one ,five, three,

Second miraculous catch at the sea. (John 21)

Stretched on the charcoal fire,

Lay already a fish from higher.

Like the 'Last Supper' on the table spread,

Here breakfast for His disciples with fish and bread.

By the sea of Tiberias,

Jesus speaks to Simon, the ‘Rock’.

“Do you love me??”, “follow me”,

And ‘My Lamb’, you shall feed. (John 21)

‘Death’, once an enemy of mankind, (1 Corinthians 15:26)

But now Satan disarmed and defeated.,

Power, it no longer holds,

As the glorified Lord, has full control.

Easter is why Christ became a man,

As human are “object of wrath”. (Ephesians 2:3, Isaiah 57:4)

He defeated the death, taken up in glory, (Mark 16:19)

So that we believe in Trinity wholly.

Resurrection declares Jesus as ‘Son of God’,

Giving Christians a living hope. (1 Peter 1:3)

That they too will be raised like Christ,

When the day of judgment rise (1 John4:17, Act 17:31)

His restoration to life, confirms truth of scriptures,

Proves the gospel to be right. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

Destroys the evil with a sharp sword,

Of God’s own strong and living word.

“Whoever believes and baptized will be saved,

But whoever does not, will be condemned.

In Christ’s name they will drive out demons,

And pick up serpents in their hands”.(Mark 16:16-18)

The first fruit of all those,

Who with faith have fallen asleep.

For as in Adam all die,

Even so in Christ, all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

“Hosanna!!” Blessed be most high God. (Matthew 21:9, Psalm 68:19)

Who gave us eternal life through Christ.

His existence independent and everlasting,

His devoted heart righteous and ever forgiving.

I am the clay ,good Lord, thou are my potter,

Thy hands at work, fine art of a Father.

I feel blessed ,for the existence you gave me,

On 'one, five, three'., like thy fish at the sea.

By Floria Simon Fernandes