STATION 6: THE VEIL OF VERONICA

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
— Isaiah 53:2-3 (New Living Translation)

Station 6

This is another station which does not have a corresponding scripture passage, but is a part of the Christian tradition of Jesus’ walk to the cross.

Tradition says that a woman named Veronica sees this sad procession moving by her home, and she rushes outside to the suffering Jesus with a moistened towel to wipe his sweat- and blood-stained face. This compassionate, impulsive act was a bold one. She would have had to step in front of the soldiers guarding Jesus, walking straight up to a condemned man to offer him comfort and care.

Where did this courage come from? Did she know Jesus? Had she heard the stories about this man? Had she met him, had she heard his teachings? Or was she simply of such a nature that she could not bear to let someone in pain pass her home without offering some sort of kindness?

Let us pray.

Gracious God,

We pray for those who see the world more clearly than we sometimes do, people who are able to look past what the world sees as offensive or ugly to the truth that lies beneath. We pray that our eyes, too, would be opened to the beauty in each person, and that our spirits would be moved to compassion and care. We pray that our minds would be open to the opportunities you put in our path each day to reach out in care to the lost, the lonely, the hurting, the outcast.

We pray for all those who believe that their circumstances, their situation, their appearance, or their suffering makes them less worthy to others. We pray that they would know their eternal worth in your eyes. We pray that they would know how beautiful you know them to be. We pray that they would know, deep in their spirits, that no matter how the world defines them, that your definition for them is very simple: a beloved child of God.

We pray for all those who rush into danger to offer care, to be kind. We thank you for their witness in the midst of the cruelty of the world. We pray that you would protect them from harm, and let their light shine brightly into the darkness.

We finish this station by praying in silence, that you would open our spirits to you this day.