The Shadow of the Cross
His arms are spread out. The shape and the shadow are already upon him (p74)
The shadow of the cross is through Jesus’ life. That was ultimately where it was going to end (though of course that wasn’t the end…)
The death of Jesus is a doorway through which we travel. Life, which had seemed like a journey going nowhere, one that ended in the nothingness of death, now becomes a holy pilgrimage, a journey home (p74)
Life and death are part of our journey home. Neither are meaningless. Both are taking us closer to God.
Jesus has no home on earth, but he invites us to find our home in him (p74). As his arms are outstretched as on the cross, they are outstretched also in welcome and acceptance.
22 I did not see a temple there. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were its temple. 23 And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.
These thoughts are reflecting on Stanley Spencer’s painting The Foxes Have Holes (seen here).
This year for Lent, I am reading Christ in the Wilderness by Bishop Stephen Cottrell, published by SPCK, reflecting on Stanley Spencer’s paintings of that title.
I’m not necessarily going to blog every day on it, just when something leaps out at me – and they will be thoughts rather than full blog posts
Pam's Perambulation 