I show Christ in a profound face forward fall. Falling, always falling, the exhausted Christ finds himself united with mud. He feels the shadow of death in the glaring sunlight. It is so near. It is so peaceful. He does not yield to its siren song. There is work yet to be done. Onward. The Via Dolorosa is not done with you yet!

He falls from shock, heatstroke, blood loss, and our sin. We fall because we give in to the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are unworthy to follow in his footsteps. Time and again we confess. We reconcile with Him and each other. Up we stand. Onward we move.

Priests and bishops follow in taking this fall of Christ. At their ordination and on Good Friday they lie face down on the ground in front of the altar. They take on a sign of deep reverence, anguish, and humility for the suffering of Christ.

We proclaim Christ Crucified. A stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to those who are called Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. I Corinthians 1:23-25

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