T W E L V E Stations of the Cross created by Maggie Hilditch
I want to drink from your cup of sorrow I want to bathe in your holy blood I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow Although tomorrow may never come I want to sit at your table of wisdom So that not one crumb shall go to waste For if we keep down this pathway to destruction You know our children will suffer for our haste Amos Lee
sorrow He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Luke 22: 41-42
Jesus in the garden watching waiting praying preparing to receive a cup of sorrow. Too much to bear. By design.
worship? But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22: 47-48 Proskuneo meaning worship translates to kiss towards God. Judas leans in and kisses Jesus. Worship as an act of betrayal.
shadows The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. 56 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!” But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!” Luke 22: 55-57 Peter is recognised in the flickering shadows of the firelight. Diassociated in denial.
crowned They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Matthew 27: 28-29 O what a mockery Meekness and majesty The Man who is God.
seized As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23: 26
An African man just passing by. Seized and put upon. Have not Africans been following behind Jesus bearing His burden ever since?
theses So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull. There they nailed him to the cross. John 19: 16-18 Word become flesh nailed to wood. Re formation
stricken A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." Luke 23: 27-28 After the men have gone the women remain. Weeping.
justice One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “ Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “ Don’t you fear God,” he said, “ since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “ Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “ Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23: 29-43 Rejection or... acceptance? Judgment and... mercy. Paradise or...
finished Jesus said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19: 30
it is finished
tomb Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. Matthew 27: 59-60 ...and left... That feeling. Leaving a graveyard after a funeral. The last one to walk away.
sunday After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her. Mark 16: 9-11 ...they didn't believe her. Was that because she Mary was the least qualified? To be the first witness and messenger. Apostoli.
passion “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." John 3: 16 Soul of Christ, sanctify me Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me Water from the side of Christ, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds hide me Suffer me not to be separated from Thee From the malignant enemy defend me In the hour of my death call me And bid me come unto Thee That with Thy Saints I may praise Thee Forever and ever. Amen. Anima Christi
maggie hilditch Maggie Hilditch is a painter, craftmaker & art trainer, based in Liverpool.
All bible references from the New Living Translation (NLT)
maggie hilditch 2022