Station XI
Asterix and Red Scripture denotes station in conversation with art piece.
Catholic *
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucifiedhim. 26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two rebels, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
Mark 15: 25-32
Methodist
Jesus Promises the Kingdom to the Penitent Thief.
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in[c] your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 19:39-43
Artist: William Adams
Artist Statement
While building my station of the cross… under duress, of time, obligation, yet guided by divine timing, divine intervention, and divine guidance, it was a moment of peace in an otherwise hectic week. I love creation, God’s creation and my own. I often wonder what I would do if I laid down the chisel and hammer for good. What would my creative outlet be? How would I feed this need to create? – To strive for perfection and never achieve it.
Mid-way through my carpentry career I would agonize over details, debilitatingly so. I surpassed my neophyte stage and was given, albeit small, freedoms in building without the constant guidance of a master carpenter. I was trained by artists, perfectionists, and savants.
The demand for every detail to be perfectly implemented was never remise. I didn’t think long on what my artistic representation would be for this station, a cross (very original), but it couldn’t just be “a cross.” Thankfully among my collections I had a few retired heart pine beams from the old OUMC church foundation. The beams held the church up from 1942-2019, recycled from two earlier Methodist churches on the island, and possibly from a shipwreck (my personal opinion.) This cross shouldn’t be “pretty.” It shouldn’t be adorned. It shouldn’t be perfect. Jesus’ cross most likely wasn’t. Why would a carpenter prescribed to build a heretic a cross to die on give “this” Jesus any special treatment? I don’t think he would have, and I don’t think that carpenter would’ve used the best materials. He probably used or reused what he had on hand.
This cross is worn. It is used and has been abused under decades of stress and pressure from live and dead loads from the church. It has rusty nails, and dirt, and holes in it from a time nails were called pegs and lacked iron. I agonized over every small detail of this project, every measurement, every cut of my saw. When the mistake came, as it always does, I smiled knowing the only one who is perfect is the one who died on the cross.
A cornerstone of our Christian faith, the cross, built from the foundation of our church.
“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” –Proverbs 11:25