Oddly enough, all of these hopes that we direct to Jesus on the cross are ones he seeks to address and embrace.Ĭrucifix, Castile-Leon, 12th. Some look to him for backbone, some for guidance, some for consolation, some for hope that suffering will subside. We each look to Jesus for reasons that are unique to ourselves. There are so many varied crosses because we each carry quite individual crosses - as does each individual artist who tries to depict this awesome experience. He is now beyond pain, and the inner beauty has returned after the agony of the cross. Whatever he may have suffered, the face of this Jesus is tranquil and peaceful. The 15th-century Flemish crucifix that hangs in the Abbey church at Saint John’s is just such a figure. But to those who have undergone intense pain and suffering in their final journey of life, the figure of Christ at peace offers a measure of consolation. To people scared to death of death, the prospect of transformation provides a glimmer of hope. Rather, Jesus has broken any chains of death, and instead a scene of intense drama has played out on the page. Rather, death has unleashed something truly awesome and powerful. This is a Jesus who is undergoing radical transformation. And while the corpus is abstract, the gold leaf conveys a sense of energy - an energy that almost explodes on the page. The figure of Jesus and the cross itself were pitched forward, almost as a kite ready to go aloft. Artist Donald Jackson had portrayed the figure of Christ in a way I’d not conceived before. I was particularly struck by the artist’s ability to teach when I first saw the illumination of the Crucifixion in The Saint John’s Bible. In each case the artist has the potential to speak eloquently, or miss the potential of the scene entirely. In each case the artist has picked up on an aspect of the suffering Christ and run to the logical conclusion. In one figure Jesus may gaze out with stately bearing in another he may suffer gruesome torment and in still another he has accepted death with serenity. We don’t often take the time to consider the artistic differences that distinguish one crucifix from another. Good Friday: Jesus Embraces us from the Cross View the online version | FORWARD TO A FRIEND » The Scribe newsletter from The Saint John's Bible
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