The Via Dolorosa, Station 3

Many years ago as a student at Fort Lewis College, I was invited to go elk hunting with an old deacon from the church I attended. I had grown up in the Midwest hunting rabbits, pheasant, dove and such. Going elk hunting felt like the big leagues. After a two hour hike to the ridge where we were to set up, the elk began to bugle. The deacon bagged his quarry within fifteen minutes of our arrival. I was still puffing from the hike. What I didn’t realize was that hunting is fun until you actually shoot something. First up is the whole solemn affair of field dressing the animal. It was an early season hunt and it quickly turned hot on us. Soon the flies became curious and got the word out. We had no horses. It was just two guys – a plump deacon and a skinny college kid. A bull elk weighs around 500 pounds. Field dressed gets it down to roughly half of that. We split it in two. I weighed about 135 pounds at the time. I thought I would die when the good deacon hefted my share onto my back. I was actually quivering just standing there. Walking seemed way out of the question. But somehow we managed. Everything hurt and that for several days. What kept me going was the thought of all that delicious elk steak I had earned as his human pack-mule. Turns out this was a stingy deacon. He dropped a small grocery bag off at our married student housing hovel a few days later. In it was a sum total of three pounds of elk burger. Needless to say I never hunted with him again. If I had, he might have been in danger!
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A heavy load. A staggering load. Have you ever felt that? We mentioned yesterday that Jesus was ordered to carry his own cross to his crucifixion – a 165 pound assignment. With shoulders and back already cut to ribbons by the various floggings, it was a vile thing to ask. Most likely bets were placed upon how many steps he could actually take. The 3rd Station gives us an image of Christ collapsing under the load. The actual stumble is not recorded in any of the gospels, but it is one that makes perfect sense. Matthew mentions that along with the flogging, Jesus had been sucker punched to the head a number of times. The verse actually says, “…again and again.” He was also, by now, wearing a crown of thorns. I believe church tradition has it right. Carrying a heavy object for one mile up a hill would have bested a strong man. For the battered and tattered Savior, he would need another back to complete the journey.