Stations of the Cross
Go to the first video: The Prologue
or go directly to another station by clicking a link below
Station I | Station II | Station III |
Station IV | Station V | Station VI | Station VII | Station VIIIStation IX | Station X | Station XI | Station XII | Station XIII | Station XIV | The Epilogue
Human suffering is ubiquitous. What makes Jesus' death on the cross unique is not what humans did to Jesus, but that God responded with love to hate and with life to death. These video Stations of the Cross use film of more recent examples of needless suffering alongside images of Christ's passion to challenge viewers to see how Jesus' death and resurrection can redeem all of the many times and ways the innocent have endured pain even to death.
About the Sources
These Stations of the Cross were created by Frank Logue using public domain videos found at
www.archive.org. These source videos include footage taken during Stalin's purges in the Soviet Union, in various wars, as well as during the Civil Rights Movement in America, and the Arab Spring Uprising and in many other tragedies large and small. Some commercial films were used—including three films of Jesus' life, The Birth of a Nation and The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Unfortunately, the most disturbing footage in these video stations is all too real and so supports the thesis of the project, that man's inhumanity to man is all too common. This makes the love of God as found in Jesus all the more astounding and reveals how utterly amazing is the grace of God that "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
Theological Resources
These Stations of the Cross are inspired primarily by René
Girard's work on the "Anthropology of the Cross" and James Cone's "The Cross
and the Lynching Tree." An introduction to Girard's work on scapegoating is
found here:
girardianlectionary.net. Gil Bailie's book Violence Unveiled
was also influential in its explanation of Girard's understanding of
sacred violence. A brief overview of Cone's
work is online here:
James Cone's The Cross and the Lynching Tree
But rather than presenting either Girard or Cone's work in the form of videos, their writings influenced the approach to this project, with the goal of inspiring reflection on Jesus' passion, death and resurrection.
Text of the meditations Text of the hymns All Glory Laud and Honor,
About the Service
Eight of these stations are based
directly on the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, while stations 3,4,6,7,9
and 13—including those of Jesus falling three times, meeting his mother, and
having a woman wipe his face—are inferred from the Gospels or taken from
pious legends of the crucifixion.
A Word of Thanks
Go to the first video: The Prologue
|
Station I-Jesus is condemned to death
Station II-Jesus take up the cross |
Station III-Jesus falls
the first time
Station IV-Jesus meets his afflicted mother |
Station V-Simon
takes up the cross
Station VI-A woman wipes the face of Jesus |
Station VII-Jesus
fall the second time
Station VIII-Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem |
Station
IX-Jesus fall a third time
Station X-Jesus is stripped of his clothing |
Station XI-Jesus
is nailed to the cross
Station XII-Jesus dies on the cross |
Station XIII-Jesus is
placed in the arms of his mother
The text of the meditations is adapted from a service written by Frank and
Victoria Logue for use at King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland,
Georgia. A booklet of that Stations of the Cross service is online here:
http://www.kingofpeace.org/resources/loguestationsbooklet.pdf
The spare soundtrack was created by Joshua Varner for this project using familiar Holy Week and Easter hymns played on a hammered dulcimer. Sometimes the text of the hymns is very fitting, such as Were You There When They Crucified My Lord playing as Jesus is nailed to the cross. At other times, there is an intentional tension between the words of the hymn and the words and images of the station, such as Mary's Magnificat playing in the hymn Tell Out My Soul during Stations IV and XIII when Jesus meets his mother and his body is placed in her arms. The hymns are:
Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle,
Tell Out, My Soul, the Greatness of the Lord,
Go to Dark Gethsemane,
O Sacred Head Sore Wounded,
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord, and
Now the Green Blade Rises.
The Stations of the Cross developed in Jerusalem around the fifth century
for pilgrims to the Holy Land. It is a devotion to be undertaken by those wishing to
walk in the footsteps of Jesus. In time this service developed into 14
stations, marked along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.
I benefited in creating these Stations of the Cross from Joshua Varner's collaboration on the soundtrack and the insights of visual artist Louise Shipps who provided a second, objective 'eye' to help me evaluate this work as it has progressed. This collaboration was one of the joys of a difficult process. I am also grateful for the support and early strong encouragement of my wife, Victoria, without which this dark project would never have seen the light of day.