THE SEVENTH STATION: Jesus Falls a Second Time

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

—John 8:7

There is a great temptation to ignore those who live in poverty by assuming that their plight is of their own creation. Some may reason that poverty comes from laziness, ignorance or a failure to seize opportunities. But this is an easy way out. We assign blame to someone else to escape culpability. We distance ourselves from a situation we think is remote from our own. We block ourselves off from the real struggles, personal histories and present-day challenges of the individuals and communities that we encounter.

We see that someone has fallen, and we forget that we, too, can just as easily trip and find ourselves face-down in the dirt.

In Ethiopia, we encounter Dita and her family amidst one of the country’s worst droughts. For so long, such droughts meant that Dita and her family did not eat—their crops shriveled and died. But due to her entrepreneurial persistence, Dita now feeds her family three meals a day. She fell, but she got back up.

As we reflect on this story, we would do well to reflect on all families who so easily fall into poverty, hardship, impossible situations. What is our responsibility to these families? How do we uphold our commitment by ensuring that those who fall are helped back up and empowered to continue along?