2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church

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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
2018 Stations of the Cross
    Our Artists’ Reflections
2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known
as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of imag-
es depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and
accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations
of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the
actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of
the stations is to help the Christians faithful to make a spir-
itual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of
Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions
and the stations can be found in many Western Christian
churches,           including Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist,
and Roman Catholic ones.

Commonly, a series of 14 images will be arranged in
numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from
image to image, in order, stopping at each station to say the
selected prayers and reflections. This will be done
individually or in a procession most commonly
during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of
reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured
during his passion.

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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
A History of the Stations of the Cross at St. Patrick’s (1999-2013)
By Rob Grove

We were not visiting the church in Marietta that evening in 1989 to see their display of paintings of Stations
of the Cross. We were there because we were the featured act: a group of St. Patrick’s parishioners
presenting an original play (My Beloved). I was the drummer for the production, but also saw myself as
something of a painter. So, the Stations of the Cross caught my eye. They were locally done and recent. One
artist had done all fourteen and I thought that that would be a great project to take on. So, I filed it away as
something I might want to take on…someday.

I had not reached that someday by 1998 and was thinking it was not likely to happen. We were just coming
back to St. Patrick’s after a few years away and found that an artist’s colony had sprung up there during our
absence, and I was seeing the products of one of their Art Retreats that Sunday morning in 1998, and I
thought, “Wow. There are a lot of artists here. Maybe, instead of doing the Stations myself, we could get 14
artists to do one each and display them on Good Friday and Easter.” They would be in a variety of styles,
...but doesn’t that pretty well illustrate the diversity and variety of our faith community? I ran the idea by
Gray Temple (our rector at that time) and he encouraged me to run with it. I had to ask him, “What are the
Stations of the Cross?” He explained how when European crusaders finally walked in the Holy Lands after
so many years they returned home with great clout. Cathedrals in France and England set up the Stations to
provide a similar experience to those who couldn't travel to Jerusalem. Actually, I was asking for a list. I
guess he figured I could walk around the Sanctuary and look at the wood and brass Stations to get the list.
So, I did.

I got the phone list of people who attend these art retreats from the church secretary. I knew some of
them…Nancy Dusenberry and Anita Beatty…but many were new to me…Sue Davis, Susan McBride, Becky
Mitchell, Joe Kenimore. At that time, most people were not really using email yet, so I called them, and
many agreed to participate or at least meet and discuss it. That discussion led to the first Stations Project in
1999.

My aspirations for the project were far reaching that first year. Fourteen artists would create one 24” x 30”
work of art between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday. We would custom build all 14 frames. I sketched a
profile of mouldings that we would build into uniform frames. Andy Krakowiak, Bill Hunt and Doug
Carlson each built about a third of them. We would get a model who looked kind of like Jesus…hopefully
from our parish (Ron Hutchins) …and get a photographer from our parish (sorry, I forgot her name) and
shoot depictions of all fourteen Stations. The artists could use these as inspirations or literal models for their
paintings. You see, I am more of a literal painter and I work in oils, and I kind of assumed everybody would.
Silly me. The artists that signed up agreed that the size would be 24” x 30”, but they had other media in mind:
pastels, acrylics, watercolors, even stained glass. The photos were helpful to some and not to others. It was
my first lesson that different artists approach the task of creating a Station differently. A good thing.

The 14 artists of the Stations of the Cross for St. Patrick’s that first year (1999) were Becky Mitchel, Norman
Thomas, Debby Witt, Cathy Sanders, Rob Grove, Jean Temple, Lynne Peavey, Anita Beatty, Anne
Dusenberry, Joe Kenimore, Don Cramer, Wendy Keith-Ott, Nancy Dusenberry and Sue Davis.

We set the deadline for the creation of the art at one week before Palm Sunday. At an evening event, we
shared dinner then walked the circuit of original Stations for the first time. Then, in order, each artist
presented her or his work and spoke briefly about the inspiration for and design process of their Station.
This tradition has continued and is thought by many to be the most powerful part of the project.
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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
We spent the following week framing and, in some cases, matting the works. Then, on the Saturday before
Palm Sunday, we hung them in the same spots as our brass and wood Stations, except for Number two,
which was produced in Stained glass and was hung under the traditional spot. There happened to be a
window there. I believe that the cup hooks from which we hung it are still there. That first year, I made
name cards using hand-made paper that Dianne, my wife, had made with rose petals.

The exhibit was well received. A few weeks after Easter I was allowed to address the congregation during
the morning announcements. I just had time to tell the title of the Station and the name of the artist, who
stood at that point. This tradition also continued and was known as Station Identification. Two or three
times over these fourteen years, I've gotten to replace the homily with a longer speech that paraphrased the
information that the artists shared at the Presentation Dinner. Other years, we have printed booklets with
that information about each Station.

After that first set of Stations had hung a while, I started hearing people discussing what Station they wanted
to do the next year. Or people who hadn’t done one were saying that they would do one next year. Next
year?! I didn’t really picture that it would be an annual event. I thought we were done. But the following
January there were more artists interested in producing a Station. So, we discussed the possibility of adding
Stations, finishing the story. Why end with Christ laid in the tomb? We decided to add 7 scenes after the
Resurrection, all described in scripture: 1. The Stone is Rolled Away, 2. The Risen Lord Appears to the
Women, 3. Peter and John Find the Tomb Empty, 4. Jesus Appears to the Disciples, 5. Thomas Touches The
Lords Wounds, 6. Jesus Prepares Breakfast for the Disciples, and 7. The Ascension. We were able to secure
20 commitments that year with “Jesus Appears to the Disciples” going unclaimed. However, the way I hang
them, with the final seven across the front, it turned out that we had three on each side of the Altar and the
Christus Rex was in the position to fill in as “Jesus Appears to the Disciples”. The next year, and each year
after, we filled all 21 slots (although in these last few years we have fallen back on previously done Stations to
fill vacancies.)

For the next four or five years, Doug Carlson made our frames for us, charging just $20.00 each. After that I
found that I could get more interesting profiles by buying stock frames from Aaron Brothers or Thompson's.
We continued to have uniform frames, but didn't build them. These last four or five years, we have left it to
the artist to frame their own work. This was in response to requests by artists who felt that different
compositions or styles called for frames of different character. Some are willing to spend more on their
frames. Some feel that a museum wrapped canvas, with the sides painted, was more fitting to their style.
Many of us simply used frames from previous years.

I don't remember if Barbara Allen began providing soup for the Stations Dinner that first year. I know it was
early in the history of this tradition, and she has faithfully continued to cater our gathering for all these
years. Assuming this was a soup-line for starving artists, we are asked each year to bring our own bowl.

We eventually omitted the ritual of 'walking the circuit' at that Starving Artists dinner. It was powerful to see
them all together, but almost overwhelming. We decided to omit that and have the presentation by the artist
be the first time each Station was seen. That way each work got its own unveiling. We started the custom of
sneaking our Stations into the Parish Hall on that evening, letting no one else see them. They would be
brought to me and I would spirit them off to the Narthex there I would put them in order. During the
presentation, where each artist stands and speaks about his or her work, I would bring that Station in and it
would be seen for the time just as it is described.

Our works have shown in a few other churches beyond St. Patrick's. In 2002, a grouping of the first 14 was
shown at Central Congregationalist Church. Then, in 2009, Alpharetta Presbyterian Church showed a
circuit of our Stations to inspire a Stations Project of their own the following year. Our longest exhibition,
though, was at St. Andrew's By the Sea in Destin, Florida. Their Stations were taken when the church split.
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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Don Cramer, who had been an Associate Rector here at St. Patrick's a few years earlier when the Stations
Project began, was the rector there in Destin when they lost their Stations of the Cross. He asked if we would
loan them 14 paintings and we did gladly. They hung there for about eight years and were returned to us not
long ago.

By 2009 I had led the Project for ten years and was ready to step aside. Thankfully, Joel Becker-Sabik stepped
forward and headed it up that year. Joel is a great artist and had produced wonderful Stations the prior
couple of years and one that year as well. He also holds the distinction of the latest volunteer. In 2005, the
first 14 were already hung when, on Palm Sunday, Joel learned about the project and volunteered to fill the
one spot we still lacked, No. 15. He produced a powerful version of The Stone Is Rolled Away, and it was
framed and hung within 6 days.

Joel did not head it up in 2010. I resumed the helm. This year, Elisha Bailez is heading it up, after
successfully leading 4 groups of youth artists in our 2012 Project.

One aspect about the project that I find rather special and may or may not be apparent to the congregation,
is that often the artists for the Stations model for one another. You can see Ron Hutchins and Evan Neal
depicted very clearly in a number of Stations. Nancy Dusenberry has painted the Brantley twins more than
once, and I used six women from our church in a painting I did for Station 8, Jesus meets the Women of
Jerusalem. In smaller ways, we also sat for one another. My arm was used in two painting by Susan McBride
and one by Linda Wilson. I used Ron's back and Judi's hair in Jesus Falls for the Third Time, and pieces of
three artists at an Art Retreat in my “Jesus appears to the Disciples”. Anita Beatty has drawn many of us.

After 14 years, I have produced a complete set of the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross. I did No. 5 twice. I've
kept my style fairly consistent so they can hang together. But the circuits each year have included many
various media: oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, photography, mosaic, computer
art, collage, encaustic wax, doll model-building, stained glass...even Legos.

So, with the Project for 2013, we will have produced fresh works of art for St. Patrick's 15 times, 15 consecutive
years. Between 1999 and 2012, 91 artists produced 275 pieces of art for this project. I never know if it will
continue the next year. Hopefully, it will continue to bless the congregation and provide the artists with a
meaningful Lenten exercise and a powerful evening of sharing and soup.

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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Station 1 – Jesus is Condemned to Death
                          Jean Temple and Nancy Dusenberry

Jean: When I started this station, I was imagining how Jesus would have felt as he stood before Pilot. I knew I
wanted to try to convey that in an abstract way. I imagined Jesus feeling afraid and weary in the face of the
terrifying darkness that surrounded him I wanted to convey his humanity sustained by the Spirit. Nancy
had said she would help me and I thought she would be reminding me to notice darks, mediums and lights,
but it soon got clear that we had the opportunity to have a rich experience of collaboration. She was
generous in letting me remain the author of the idea as we worked together creating the composition. I saw
clearly how my fear of committing my brush strokes and colors to the canvas robbed it of any power. Nancy
was bold and confident that we could paint over anything we didn’t like and that the more we did that the
richer it would be. As we worked together the painting took shape much as I had envisioned but with a
different message. Now it seems to me to be about the power of a life lived in the Spirit in the face of the
darkness of dominance and power.

Nancy: In our collaboration, my only focus was on the paint: colors, texture, brush strokes. I wasn’t thinking
about the content of the station’s story. I was into the “zen of painting” – getting past self-consciousness,
trusting the strokes, knowing I can always move past this point. So, our collaboration involved my
confidence in the paint and Jean’s confidence in the idea. It was only after we finished that the painting
spoke to me personally.

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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Station 2 – Jesus Takes Up the Cross
                                             Amelia Jones

My painting is about Jesus and when he takes up the cross. In the painting, he is depicted with a cross that
still has the roots on it. The golden light depicts the hope in Jesus’ spirit rising to the heavens. The roots
symbolize the connection to earth and to humanity that Jesus will always have.

Reflections:
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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
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2018 Stations of the Cross - Our Artists' Reflections - St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
Station 3 – Jesus Falls for the First Time
                                              Earl Thirey
He is falling---temporarily releasing the heavy burden of the wooden cross he's been carrying. In response, a
soldier wields a leather whip. Jesus doesn't try to shield himself. He receives the pain without expres-
sion. This unexpected response exasperates and frustrates his captors. They try harder. But, Jesus' response
to continual physical injury remains one of quiet dignity. The truth is---as well as dying physically---he is
suffering mentally for a cause not understood by any of those around him.

What did Jesus look like? Likely, this painting of Jesus does not fit the image you have of him. In 2002, Rich-
ard Neave, a forensic expert and medical artist from the University of Manchester, along with the help of Is-
raeli archaeologists, devised a way to reconstruct the head and face of a typical, first-century male resident,
from the Galilean region around Jerusalem. Their mock-up of what a fully-fleshed face from Jesus' time pe-
riod may have looked like was the basis for this painting.

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Station 4 – Jesus Encounters His Afflicted Mother
                                             Jane Thomas
Jesus meets his afflicted mother is one that I painted 15 years ago. It has always been my favorite of the four
stations I did back in those days.

My idea was to show Mary remembering the beautiful baby she bore and her undivided love for her child.
Now, she is facing his death and the terrible torture of his crucifixion. What a conflict she feels.

Reflections:
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Station 5 – Simon of Cyrene Takes Up the Cross
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Heather and Liam Chlup
“And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander
and Rufus, to bear His cross.” Mark 15: 21

We had a wonderful experience working on this artistic project as mother and son. By doing so, we learned
so much along the way about the bible, ancient geography, history and art. We started by looking at the
historical context for the station. Who was Simon? Where was he from? Did he carry the cross through an
act of kindness, or was he truly compelled, as the above verse would indicate?

We discovered that Simon was from Cyrene, in nothern Africa (modern Libya). He is mentioned in three of
the Gospels. Cyrene was the capital of the Roman district of Cyrenaica at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The
Cyrenaic Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem where many went for annual feasts. This would explain why
Simon was coming to the city at that time. “At any moment (in Roman occupied Palestine), a Jew might feel
the touch of the flat of a Roman spear on his shoulder and know that he was compelled to serve the Romans.
That is what likely happened to Simon of Cyrene when he was compelled (aggareuein) to bear the cross of
Jesus.”1 Scholars believe that Simon converted to Christianity following this chance encounter with Jesus.
Our inspiration for our artwork medium came from the toddler in our family and his love of textured baby
books. We used a variety of textures: Paper mache, paint, fabric, cardstock and thread. Some surfaces are
smooth to touch, while others, the crown of thorns and wood of the cross, are jagged and rough.

Simon is portrayed as a young African boy, evoking his geographical origins while emphasizing the
magnitude of the burden that Jesus bore for us that day and the fact that we are all God’s children. Finally,
the bible verse attached is from Matthew 11:28 and reads, “Come to me, all you who are (weary and)
burdened, and I will give you rest.” Through this, the Savior offers us an invitation to come into discipleship
and relationship with Him, relieving us of the burden of sin, just as what Simon experienced after his
encounter with Jesus.

Reflecions:
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1   Marshall, George L. Jr “Who Was Simon of Cyrene?”
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Station 6 – Veronica Wipes the Face of the Lord
                                                Becky Beal
Using the Stations of the Cross and art as a spiritual reflection is a new experience for me. Understanding
that the Stations were designed for people who wanted to take this journey in the footsteps of Jesus, but were
not able to travel to the Holy Land, was the beginning step.

My personal spiritual reflections usually begin with Lectio Divina and putting myself into a biblical sto-
ry…maybe as a character in the story or maybe part of the crowd.

The story of Veronica called me to do just that but in a different way. Veronica is not in the Bible so my
question is, why is it a part of the Stations? It seems an opportunity to put ourselves into the story.

Veronica might have received a consequence for wiping Jesus’ face, perhaps a kick or worse. She (or he)
made a choice to help the persecuted, this time it was Jesus but perhaps it was her nature to be a part of this
horrible injustice of the justice system of the time.

Now to put my thoughts on canvas. My painting shows Veronica on the left, a person much like the privi-
leged of our world, secure of her place in society. She has a cloth in her lap, to use if she wants. The person
to the far right is of a different culture as we can see with clothing and skin color. Someone from the ‘out-
side’, perhaps dealing with food scarcity, religious persecution, deportation, or any number of possible cir-
cumstances of birth.

Behind these characters, with arms embracing both, is Jesus, God’s son, who came to give us a visual as well
as an example of the work we are meant to do. The figures stand close together, linked. The landscape is the
city, the country, the world.

‘Here I am Lord, is it I Lord? I have heard your calling in the night.’

Reflections:

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Station 7 – Jesus Falls for the Second Time
                                            Gavin Haslett

This painting is about the second falling of Jesus. Because a dove is a symbol of Christ, I decided that to use
the dove to represent Christ. When he fell, it was like the dove lost power and fell from the sky.

The dove was painted with choppy strokes. This was to resemble how the dove is kind of unhealthy. I chose
the dove falling because it was more of distinct emblem of Jesus falling.

Reflections:
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Station 8 – Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
                                            Harry Delcher
My art style is free. It is very hard for me to paint faces or figures. This painting had both. Painting the back
of Jesus made sense. Painting crying faces made sense. Both I knew would be hard for me. The background
of this painting is nearer the end of the journey than to beginning.

Jesus is on his march to death. He has had/needed help. He has fallen a few times. He sees crying faces of
women. The decision to stop would be hard. The decision and effort to walk over to them might be
extremely hard.

With that background, I start throwing paint on a canvas. The back ground just finds form and color. I find
that I change the road as I go. I work on the Jesus figure for some time. I work on the women’s faces for
some time. I like the tears especially.

The reaction in me is OK. I have the moment; I have his stopping and I have their tears done well. It is
always hard to know when one of my paintings is finished. I decided I liked this and it was finished.

Reflections:
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Station 9 – Jesus Falls for the Third Time
                                            Martha Myers
As I prepared for station 9, I wondered what it must have been like for Jesus walking to his death, a death by
means unimaginable to me. Helen Prejean, in her book, Dead Man Walking, describes how the prisoner
asked her to pray that his legs would support him as he walked to the bench where he would be strapped
down and injected with a lethal poison.

How was Jesus able to walk, carrying his own cross? Like Robert Lee Willie who was executed in 1984 here in
our country, Jesus knew he was walking to his execution. He knew it would be brutal and cruel. He also
knew that it was state-sponsored and premeditated.

In 2016, Georgia executed 9 people including one woman, Kelly Ann Gissendaner. Last year we executed J.
W. Ledford, Jr. This was done in my name, in your name. When will we ever learn?

This piece is a prayer quilt. It was constructed with various linen and cotton pieces, some that I dyed with
indigo, onion and other natural dyes. Each piece comes from a garment that I have made and so carries some
of my history. My prayer is that the Death Penalty be outlawed in my lifetime.

Reflections:
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Station 10 – Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
                                              Elisha Bailez
                                             Home is Blown Apart

The Home represents Jesus, the blast of white off to the right represents the white robe that I imagine Christ
wearing today. The large SHAME with the fading E represents the crowd of onlookers. The SHAME has a
darkened E, which makes SHAM appear as a second word to be considered. The E has a dangling heart.
The word Enough comes to mind for me in this part of the story.

Jesus has been condemned, beaten, made to drag his cross through the crowd of onlookers. None of which
were willing or able to stop the procession of this unfolding horror. Jesus followed through with all the pain
that he was given. In Station 10, the pain seems to pause and switch; from the physical brutality to mental
humiliation. This act was meant to bear his flesh to everyone, exposing his human-ness. And to expose
what those felt was his lie: Son of God, the Savior, King of Jews. In this sole act, we as onlookers, are put into
a place of immediate thrill: seeing Jesus’s skin, the flesh that supposedly is weak and full of sin. The robe
protects our vulnerability to our own crowd of onlookers. Being stripped publicly opens a flood gate of
shame. There is nowhere to hide at this point, Jesus knows this is it. He is going to be nailed to the cross
exposing all his human-ness. I believe this is when he let’s go.

My artwork is a collage of papers that represent my cross. The blasting of papers out of the home is a God
given image through a dream I had 6 years ago. These papers were nailed to the walls of my very dark home.
In one moment of letting go, the walls of the home are blown away and the papers fly off. This blast of
letting go frees the heart, dangling by the E. Turning the SHAME into a SHAM.

Reflections:
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Station 11 – Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
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Nancy Dusenberry
I searched for reference photos to inspire and to follow. Most were so gruesome that they only tapped
thoughts of the horror of a crucifixion and somehow trivialized the death. I wanted to feel. I did what I
usually do and went to, “What would I have seen had I been there...”. I think, she waited for the crowds to
thin and for access to what she could reach, his nailed feet. Lightly holding the bottom of his foot, cheek
against bruised toes, she kissed his most vulnerable foot, thanked him and said goodbye.

Reflections:
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Station 12 – Jesus Dies on the Cross
                                            Comer Duncan
In painting this Station of the Cross I have tried to give an interpretation of the moments just after Jesus’
death. The transformation of Jesus as a man to a more than physical form and beginning to be merged with
the Universe is the basic theme. I want to somehow show him undergoing the transformation but still gener-
ally resembling the person he was just prior to death. I try to illustrate the transformation by showing him
beginning to be converted to light and rising, a difficult task indeed. I stuck to a representational depiction as
I think that is easiest to express.

Reflections:
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Station 13 – His Body is Laid on the Lap of His Mother
                                            Marea Haslett

For this painting, I was inspired by Michelangelo’s sculpture, The Deposition, also known as the Florentine
Pieta. His original sculpture was carved when the artist was in his late 80s and was never finished. It’s raw,
unfinished surface emotes turmoil and anguish in this heartbreaking scene. Christ’s twisted body gives an
agonizing feel as he is placed in his mother’s lap. I wanted to portray this scene in an expressive and
somewhat unfinished style in hopes that the emotion of the moment reads through. An emphasis on
diagonals through highlights adds to this turmoil.

Mother Mary welcomes her child with the open arms in this instinctual gesture. I couldn’t help but think of
how a mother holds a child, even when his body is larger than hers. It never changes. Her son’s head rests
into the curve of her brow like a comforting puzzle piece. To support Mother Mary, she sits on a crescent
shaped support. The curved surface symbolizes her openness in receiving Christ while at the same time
resembling the chalice and sacred feminine. The shape is repeated in the halo where their head meet. She is
the rock in which he finds rest. Their final union is both painful and peaceful; anguished but receptive.

Reflections:
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Page 31 of 36
Station 14 – Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb
                                              Bob Renaud
My vision is what Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did on that Friday night. Also, their wrapping him in
the Shroud of Turin. They played an important role in the burial of Jesus Christ.

Joseph was actually a part of the Council, or Sanhedrin who called for Jesus’ crucifixion. He was opposed to
the Council’s decision and was in fact a secret follower of Jesus. (Luke 23:50) He is referred to as a wealthy
but a “good and upright man”.

After Jesus’ death on the cross, at great risk to himself and his reputation, He and Nicodemus went to the
Roman governor Pilate to request Jesus’ body. The two men were granted custody of Jesus’ body, and they
immediately began to prepare the body for burial. Following Jewish custom, they wrapped the body in strips
of linen and mixed in myrrh and aloe. However, it was the Day of Preparation—the sixth day of the week,
just before the Jewish Sabbath—and it was late in the day. So, Joseph and Nicodemus hurriedly placed Jesus
in Joseph’s own tomb, located in a garden near the place of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Unbeknownst to Joseph and Nicodemus, their choice to put Jesus in Joseph’s tomb fulfilled Isaiah’s
prophecy spoken hundreds of years before Jesus’ death: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with
the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:9,
emphasis added). This is one of the many prophecies that have confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah and
Son of God.

The day after Jesus’ burial, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to request that the stone Joseph had
placed in front of the tomb be sealed, and a guard posted, for three days. They cited Jesus’ assertion that He
would rise after three days and claimed the disciples might attempt to steal the body in order to fabricate a
resurrection (Matthew 27:63–64). Their precautions were for naught, as Jesus rose from the dead on the third
day, just as He had predicted (Matthew 28).

Many spurious stories and legends have arisen regarding Joseph. Some purport that Joseph of Arimathea
was the uncle of Jesus’ mother, Mary. In addition, Joseph supposedly made many trips to Britain for trade
and is said to have eventually brought the gospel to that country. What we do know is what we find in the
Scriptures: Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man and part of the Sanhedrin, and he procured Jesus’ body and
laid it in his own tomb—from which Jesus would rise again in power three days later.

Reflections:
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Page 33 of 36
Your Turn
Now that you have reviewed each of the 2018 Stations of the Cross, select one station that captured your
heart, your soul, and/or your mind. On the right-hand page, draw/paint/color your version of that
station. Once you have completed your station, provide your write-up below. While working on your
station, allow yourself time…….time to consider multiple aspects of your station including historical,
religious, and artistic aspects. Most importantly, pray. Pray over your station. Pray while you are
creating your station. Capture your revelations in your write-up.

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Draw/Paint Your Station Here

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4755 N. Peachtree Rd. • Atlanta, GA • 30338 • 770.455.6523

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