Looking Beyond the Cross

How do you depict the Resurrection in a single image? That was the task I set myself last night. Could I produce a series of digital doodles that could be used with different age groups during Holy Week and Easter? Where could I begin?

On Easter Sunday we heard one of my favourite Gospel readings, from St. John, Chapter 20, verses 1 to 18 (see below). It is the dramatic account of Mary Magdalene’s early morning visit to the tomb, to attend to the body of Christ. But, the stone has been rolled away, and Jesus isn’t there. Mary tries to find out where his body is, and even asks the gardener…she is desperate, in her grief, she weeps.

And then everything changes as she realises that the gardener isn’t a gardener after all but her “Rabbouni” – her teacher. Mary is actually talking face to face with Jesus, the risen Christ!

This was totally new territory. The man she saw crucified only two days before, the man she saw give out his last breath, was now talking to her. Mary had arrived at the tomb carrying her jar of spices, and left with tidings of a brand new world.

She was entrusted with the Good News for his disciples. All she could say at the moment was “I have seen the Lord!”

Everything had changed. Through the power of God, Jesus had conquered death, and would encounter hundreds of his disciples over the next 40 days.

So, how would you capture a moment like this?

Seeking inspiration I checked Bishop John Pritchard’s excellent “Living Easter Through the Year” (SPCK) and found that he too had noticed there are far fewer paintings depicting the resurrection compared to those of the crucifixion.

So, how could I hint at this wonderful hope in a simple way? I attempted to draw Mary as she was leaving the tomb, worry wiped away from her face, glowing in the sunrise, the empty tomb behind her. It was okay-ish, so I saved it. My App at this point had a bit of a glitch and would not open another page, so I began to ‘paint’ over the resurrection image with something else, and would try again later.

And then, accidentally, I clicked the wrong tool and wiped away part of the new image, revealing the resurrection scene below. What emerged was a sliver of the tomb from beneath, a hint of the resurrection. It looked quite strange. One more swipe, and  I had a cross shaped view.

Suddenly, I found something compelling about about having both images – the cross and the empty tomb – occupying the same space.

The cross appears much softer now – a symbol of hope. There is the hint of pink glow of sunrise, the light emerging from the tomb, and Mary, relieved, looking towards her teacher. Her eyes fixed on the Lord, not Christ crucified but the risen Lord.

Is there a reminder here about looking beyond the cross with hope?

Does it say something about life’s constant ebb and flow?

So, does this provoke a reaction for you? If it does then do let me know.

Many Thanks.

Lesley

***

The Gospel reading from St. John, Chapter 20 (Verses 1 to 18)

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Resurrection of Jesus

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.  So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb.  The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,  and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;  for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.  They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’  When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Here is the link to the reading on Biblegateway –It is a great site and has lots of different translations:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020&version=NRSVA

Find John Pritchard’s “Living Easter Through the Year” at http://spck.org.uk

 

Reflections from Tunstall Hill – Good Friday 2013

In Holy week we remember how Jesus, the Son of God, an innocent man, was betrayed, arrested, beaten, humiliated, and forced to carry the cross he would later die upon. His journey would take him out of the City of Jerusalem to a nearby hill – Golgotha – ‘The Skull’.

For the past 46 years Christians in Sunderland have gathered together on Tunstall Hill for a Good Friday service and to place a huge cross high above the City, as a symbol of hope.

When we meet on solemn occasions such as this, our imaginations are tuned-in to the events of 2,000 years ago and our hearts and minds are fixed upon Jesus.

Our service begins at the foot of the hill where a group of willing volunteers take up and carry the two wooden beams.

I think of Jesus and his willingness to do his Father’s will, no matter what, and take up his cross.

This year I join a team of students from Sunderland University to carry the cross for part of the way. At one point there were 8 of us carrying the larger rough hewn beam that would become the stem of the cross. I don’t know what others were thinking or feeling at the time but I can share some of the things that crossed my mind.

The first thing I notice is that many of us are wearing gloves – protecting the skin of our hands against any splinters or grazes as we jostle with the weight. Not so Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth. He took up his heavy burden in his bare hands and began the slow journey to his lonely hill.

I begin to reflect on the harsh reality of Jesus’ final steps.

Our pace is determined, Our aim is to reach the hill top, however my arms strain under the heaviness of the beam . A few steps more and it hits me that while we bear the weight of this tree as a group, Jesus did so alone, for most of the time, helped only by Simon of Cyrene.

I am in awe of the physical stamina and spiritual strength of Jesus in his darkest hours.

Just past the half way mark on Tunstall Hill and the terrain is suddenly much steeper. With arms beginning to tire the wood rests on my shoulder – and my knees begin to feel the extra weight. Despite several layers of clothing I quickly roll up a knitted hat to provide an extra buffer between me and the cross, however there was little or nothing between the Lord and his cross.

I look at the cruel, abrasive surface of our beam and think of Jesus.

The footpath beneath our feet becomes more uneven as we manoeuvre a small fence and prepare for the final ascent on soft green grass. Our well-heeled teamwork is a far cry from the painful ascent of the Lord. I have so many questions.

Did he struggle barefoot? Did the heavy weight of the cross crush his feet into the dust and stones? Was each step more painful than the last? By the day of his death was his entire body wracked with pain? Were his wounds infected and sore? Did his head pound from the painful crown of thorns? Did his whole body ache? Were his bones disjointed from violent blows?

Here we are, choosing to take part in a symbolic procession in all our twenty first century comfort. Our backs are not breaking, and we only carry a piece of wood, while Jesus carried the sin of the world.

I think of Jesus in extreme pain and poor physical condition, and all that he endured.

As we walk together in silence, I wonder what it must of been like for Jesus to hear so many insults hurled towards him? How things change. Only days before, he arrived in Jerusalem to cheers – but the people were turned against him – now it was jeers. On trial with Pontius Pilate the crowd screamed “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Jesus had gone from ‘Hero to Zero’ in less than a week. No palms waved now, only fists, while his disciples looked on and wept.

I examine myself, have I said anything that may have hurt others? I ask for forgiveness.

Our crowd is silent. We reach the top. Greeted by breathtaking panoramic views of Sunderland. Everyone is still. Hundreds of people and not a sound except for the clang of a hammer as two beams are fixed together to make a cross. We all have our private thoughts as we look on. I listen to the hammer, reminded of nails that pierced Jesus’ flesh – hands and feet fixed mercilessly in to place.

The rhythm of our hammer is beating time…for Jesus’ suffering was almost at an end.

On Tunstall Hill the cross is slowly raised. Our service begins again. Revd. John McManners from St. Gabriel’s Church leads us through. Our collective gratitude that Christ died for us is reflected in our prayers. We pray for our City as we look on, hands raised, asking God to bless this place and all who live or work here.

In the harshness of Good Friday we offer the harshness of life and pray for many who struggle with their own cross each day.

Even though Good Friday is a place of pain it is also a reminder of hope as we look forward to Easter Sunday, and the resurrection.

I remember that Jesus conquers death, and the power of God is displayed for all to see, for all time.

One of our hymns was written around three hundred of years ago by Isaac Watts and I realise we are connected with the generations that have gone before us, in our sadness, our wonder and our gratitude to Jesus.

“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride…”

***

Every year Christians around the world commemorate Holy Week. Every year it is a time of reflection that offers us an opportunity to discover and re-discover our relationship with God. His love for us is so deep, so wide, so never-ending that his only Son, the King of Kings, was born among the poor, lived that we may learn how to live and died a cruel and gruesome death to rescue us from sin.

Easter is a time of new beginnings, new life, an opportunity to set aside the things that hold us back and move forward with hope.

In death Jesus paid a ransom to set us free.

What we choose to do now with all of that freedom is the next step in our journey of faith.

For more photographs see:

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/all-news/hill-top-cross-event-marks-good-friday-in-sunderland-1-5540315

Good Friday at Messy Church (for Marie):

Brown paper packages tied up with string

As we approach Christmas  I was reminded of a  planning session with  Rev. David Chadwick a few years ago. The big idea of the week was to compare two parcels – one beautifully wrapped in colourful paper with an enormous bow and another, very plain, very ordinary parcel, wrapped up with brown paper and string.

The packages became part of David’s sermon that Sunday as he explored how Israel waited for the Messiah to appear in a blaze of glory, or as a warrior King, and yet arrived as a helpless baby.

The infant Jesus was not born in a palace, but in a stable. The King of kings was not dressed in purple but wrapped in swaddling clothes like any other baby of that time. Jesus was in many ways like anyone else even though he was the Son of God .

Jesus was born and raised among the everyday, ordinary people.

The plain parcel took on a different significance…a way to describe Jesus Christ, God’s gift to the world, in very ordinary human ‘packaging’.

While the congregation were listening to the sermon, we had a similar  conversation in Children’s Church. As we talked we made a special Christmas decoration to take home:

1. We each wrapped up a tiny box in brown paper.
2. For string we used a little embroidery thread as this worked with the scale of the box.
3. A label was added with a quote from John’s Gospel –

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”John 3:16

      4.  Finally we added a loop, so that the children could hang it on their tree at home.

The box itself was nothing extraordinary but what happened next was.

As the children and young people said goodbye that day, they also said they would let people know why there was a brown paper package tied up with string among the tinsel, baubles and Christmas tree lights.

In the new year  we heard of conversations that took place among friends and family over the holidays. The children and their parents were keen to explain why there was a very different decoration on their  tree and how it was a reminder of a very special gift  from God,  for everyone.