Jeremiah 18:18-20 / Matthew 20:17-28
One of the devotions that is highlighted during the season of Lent is the Way of the Cross.
The Way of the Cross booklets are taken out during this season (and maybe dusted off and cleaned up) and used on the Fridays of Lent.
That gives the idea that it is only during the season of Lent that we do the Way of the Cross. Yet, the reality is that the Stations of the Cross are always a feature in church. And so it also means that the Way of Cross can and should be a devotional practice even outside of the Lenten season.
And rightly so, because the Way of the Cross is the way of life and the way to live for us who are disciples of Jesus.
If anything the season of Lent is to remind us to have a renewed devotion to the Way of the Cross so that in following Jesus, we will understand that we are following Him in His Way of the Cross.
And that is the reality of our lives as disciples of Jesus. We have to face our cross and take up our cross and follow Jesus.
And certainly it can be painful and fearful, as it was so in Jeremiah's experience in the 1st reading. Even he had to ask why evil is being returned for good, and that he had even prayed for his enemies.
Certainly, to be disciples of Jesus does not mean sitting comfortably at His left and right. It means that like Jesus, we do not ask to be served but to serve and give our lives to Jesus for the ransom of many.
May the Way of the Cross help us to understand what that means.