Station 4— Jesus Sees His Mother

This tile surface is more broken in this tile due to some unavoidable firing variations.  This station cuts deeply for me and the surface brokenness is appropriate.

Station 4  — Jesus Sees His Mother

In Her Image….

He looked down and for a moment

the agony that shook his body split open–

it was her face that broke the darkness

and spoke to him the beauty of his life.

How he cradled in her womb

as the donkey bounced to Bethlehem,

then the cradle of her arms

as they took the road to Egypt– to safety–

of the many ways she’d loved him

and let him go in God.

Now she stood with her friends and his

refusing the safety of not seeing, and he loved her–

so many memories of goodness

lit the space between them–

“John”, he said before the agony closed in again,

“be to her, her son.”

Station 4— Jesus Sees His Mother

This tile surface is more broken in this tile due to some unavoidable firing variations.  It is for me the most emotional of the stations and the surface brokenness is appropriate.

Station 4  — Jesus Sees His Mother

In Her Image….

He looked down and for a moment

the agony that shook his body split open–

it was her face that broke the darkness

and spoke to him the beauty of his life.

How he cradled in her womb

as the donkey bounced to Bethlehem,

then the cradle of her arms

as they took the road to Egypt– to safety–

of the many ways she’d loved him

and let him go in God.

Now she stood with her friends and his

refusing the safety of not seeing, and he loved her–

so many memories of goodness

lit the space between them–

“John”, he said before the agony closed in again,

“be to her, her son.”

Station 3 : Jesus Falls the First Time

The title of this set of 14 Stations is The Weight of Dust.  The set contains the traditional stations rooted in church history.  The photos are of clay tiles framed in pine and completed in 2008.  After completing the clay work I responded to the process by writing poems beginning with Station 4: Jesus and His Mother, a tile completed during Advent of  2007 and personally meaningful.  Station 4 will be posted on Wednesday, March 3rd of this year, 2010. The tiles and images and poems are the property of the artist.  Contact her for permission to use.

Station 3  — Jesus Falls the First Time

Jesus, I leave now.

The cross upon your back

was hard enough to witness–

Now you fall.

I don’t want a stumbling God.

I don’t want a God who ends up in the dirt.

Yet there is something compelling here.

I’ll walk a little farther.

Stations of the Cross: The Weight of Dust

Station 2

When they laid the cross on your back, Jesus

what did your heart do and your blood pressure.

When they laid the cross on your back

it was a physical experience not a spiritual triumph.

When they laid the cross on your back

it was heavy with the weight of

wood and nails and fear–

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The tiles, photos, poems are the property of the author.  Feel free to contact her.  Next posting of a station will be on  Sunday, Feb.28th.

The Cross Is Laid Upon Him

During these days before Easter I will be posting images of the 14 clay tiles I completed in the Spring of 2008.  Stations of the Cross is a devotional tool used by the church since very early.  In Jerusalem each Friday pilgrims walk the route Jesus took on his last day of life stopping at each of the stations.  After completeing all the tiles I wrote poems which came out of my work with the clay.  My hands led me in what to say.  This set of stations which follow the traditional names and number is titled “The Weight of Dust”.  The introduction reads

Dust. Stardust. Soil of Eden. House dust. Rust. Dust of dry clay. The psalmist says: “Remember that you are dust; from dust you came and to dust you will return.” Dust has weight: the weight of being human and living a human life. It is the weight of choices and dead ends, of consequences both hopeful and harmful. Dust carries the high cost and great adventure of our humanity. Jesus came to share our dust, the possibilities and the pain. Jesus came to carry in community with us all, the weight of being human.

All images and poems are the property of the artist and may be used with her permission.  2/22/2010

Station 1 : Jesus Is Condemned to Death

Hard to believe

that Jesus is condemned to death.

He spoke of loving

others as you love yourself.

His enemies consume others

grasping at what they call life. 　

I think they fear God’s human heart,

a heart that cares about the least,

the un-noteworthy, the last in line,

the ones who can do nothing

to satisfy their needs.

They choose in this to stone their hearts

against the outcries of their dying souls.　

God’s Heart of Flesh now

crucified by stony hearts.