vinum of vita

The poet says:

Jesus, lead me out of this desert

to you Garden of Abundance.

I hear you calling me,

as You take Your cross.

“Walk with me,” is all I hear.

Jesus takes His Cross

and I must walk with Him.

He walks under the weight

of all the world.

And I am part of His burden.

When Jesus falls under this weight,

I must be with Him.

I must walk with Jesus

through the ridicule and jeers.

Through the hatred of the crowd,

through the violence and the spit.

When He falls again,

I must be with Him.

Jesus, lead me out of this desert

To you Garden of Abundance

I hear you calling me.

“Walk with me,” is all I hear.

Dear Jesus,

I want out of this desert

But must I walk with You…carrying your Cross?

I will walk out of the desert by walking with Jesus carrying His cross.

Continued…

Me: I will stand with Jesus who is wearing a crown of thorns, where I belong. If they want to crucify me, then let’s go.

Friend: Standing next to Jesus, you are able to see the crowd as He sees them.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” JN 19: 4-7

Me: Look at their faces! I just don’t understand. Look at their eyes – where does this hatred come from? Less than a week ago they hailed Jesus as a King, now they are calling for Him to be crucified.

But I do see the eyes of the ones who are distressed – I know they love Him. They are overwhelmed by this vicious and hysterical crowd.

Friend: There are times when the righteous must submit to the Father’s will in complete trust, even when what they see tells them not to.

He now stands before Pilate.

“When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” JN 19:8-11

Me: Why does Jesus humble himself like this -

Friend: Jesus has given the good profession of faith. He has humbled himself to an earthly ruler in order to please the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. JN 9:12-16

Me: This crowd has chosen an earthly king and rejected the King of the Universe. I can’t bear to see it.

Friend: He now takes up His cross. Do you want to know the way out of this desert?

Me: Of course! I want out of this desert – will you show me the way?

Friend: I cannot. The only thing that I can do for you is to point to the heart of Jesus.

Me: What do you mean?

Friend: He will show you the way out of this desert.

Me: He is now carrying His cross…look at this crowd…

Friend: Follow Him! Your way out of the desert is to walk the path with Jesus carrying His cross.

Me: The path out of the desert is to follow Jesus in His agony? I don’t understand.

Friend: Nevertheless, you must follow Him!

Me: Will you come with me? I don’t want to be alone.

Friend: You will walk with Christ – you will never be alone. But I will stay with you until you leave this desert..

Me: Thank you…I see Him. He is slipping – He has fallen to the ground!

Look how weighed down He is…our sins and our burdens – it’s too much to bear as He carries his cross.

He carries His cross because of me! He is on the ground because of me!

I have fallen many times.

Friend: He is back up…the scourging, the beating, the crown of thorns, all the while with no sleep…it is His heart, His loving heart for us that carries Him onward.

Look who is coming to be with Him during His agony.

Me: Who is she?

Friend: His mother…

Me ; Mary! Look at her face…her eyes, you can actually feel her heart breaking…what is she to do?

Friend: His mother has been prepared for this very moment. She has stored up all the words and prophecies concerning her Son in her heart. Her heart will be pierced…

She will now walk with Him.

Me: Jesus is unable to carry His cross. He is unable to walk anymore – what will He do? The soldiers are driving Him: why don’t they see He is unable to do this?

Friend: There is one who will help Him.

As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. LK 23:26

Friend: Will you be like Simon?

Me: What do you mean?

Friend: Walking with Jesus and carrying His cross for Him. You must carry your cross as you enjoy His abundance.

Me: But His abundance is blessing and joy, how can I carry a cross?

Friend: Only then will you have true joy. Will you give yourself to Jesus, your very heart and mind – your all – will you die to yourself daily and live to Him?

We let go of so much in the desert.

You let your days go…how can you take back all those wasted days, weeks, months and years?

You let your days go…you filled your days with sadness and decided that you weren’t going to be happy until you were out of the desert.

You let your days go…you spent so much time in worry, you miss all the good the Father provided for you.

You let your days go…you let fear and dread enslave your thoughts and actions so that you spent your time hiding from Him.

You let your days go…in bitterness, anger and resentment so that your time was spent in the prison of your own doing.

But let your days go…and realize each day is a gift from the Father, even while you are in the desert.

But let your days go…let the Father redeem all your lost time and give you a blessed future.

But let your days go…and let Him work in you to experience His joy even now.

But let your days go…as you obey Jesus in all the things you do, every step will get you closer and closer to His abundance.

But let your days go…love Him always, even in the desert – let His love envelope you and carry you to His heart.

Me: I have wasted so much in this desert. So much time and too much emotion – I could have given Him so much more.

I see before me, what He is doing for me – I will do it – I will carry my cross as I enjoy His abundance.

Friend: Veronica is wiping His face from His blood and sweat, she cares for Him in the midst of the soldiers and the crowd.

Me; She is staring at the cloth, why? What is she looking at?

Friend: She sees the face of Jesus. Her very action imprinted His image on her gift of love to Him.

When we minister to the least of these in their time of dire need, we see the image of Jesus in everything we do.

Me: He is falling again – why are they pushing Him so hard? Why are they treating Him like this?

I can’t bear to see Him on the ground, I am ashamed that I have fallen so many times.

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ’Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’

Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”

For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:27-31

Friend: The desert is to prepare you for His blessing. What you learn in the desert will help you to be a good steward of His blessings in His Garden of Abundance.

To be faithful in His abundance may be more difficult than this desert.

Me: I don’t know what you mean. This desert is horrible – are you telling me that I could have a harder time in His abundance? Wouldn’t it be easier?

Friend: You may forget.

Me : Forget what?

Friend: He has fallen again! This is His third time. He has fallen climbing up the hill…the hill to Golgotha.

It’s time.

Look up at the hill, this is the place that will change the world.

Me: I see the hill. I see the soldiers, the thieves, the people and even the priest who come top mock Him…I see Mary, John and Mary Magdalene…I don’t know if I can do this…

To be continued…