December 22 - Via Dolorosa, The Way of Sorrow

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Via Dolorosa… The Way of Sorrow

Simeon said to Mary in the Gospel of Luke, “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel… and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

After nine months of anticipation, a birth is met with joyful celebrations. As elaborate as some may be, nothing can match the heavenly spectacle which heralded Jesus’ birth- a host of angels as far as the eye could see filling the night air with proclamations of God’s favor. A week after Jesus’ birth, another celebration ensued when Mary and Joseph brought their first-born to the temple. A man of advanced years and wisdom, Simeon, burst into praise and conferred a blessing upon them. And yet, immediately following the blessing, an unnerving prophecy- ‘a sword will pierce your own soul.’

The Via Dolorosa is the route on which the Roman Soldiers marched Jesus- from the Judgment Hall of Pilate to the place of Crucifixion. It is the Way of Sorrow. It is a ‘Way in a Manger’. It was foreseen by the Prophet Isaiah, who saw, with the eyes of the Spirit, ‘a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief’. It was foreseen by Simeon. It was the plan from ages past for the Son to experience all the pathos, grief, and longing of our human existence.

If you’ve ever walked the Way of Sorrow - tragedy, illness, despair; the One who lay swaddled in a manger; the One serenaded by angels; the One greeted with joy; the One who walked the Way of Sorrow…is the One who walks beside us. Thanks be to God for the gift of Jesus, our companion, our comforter, whenever we find ourselves walking the path of sorrow. Amen.

Pastor Dawn Volpe
Ephraim Moravian Church



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