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Luke 23: 27-31 nrsv
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified
Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what
they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
Look
Observe the visual qualities of the image: line, shape, movement, and
texture. How do the visual elements connect to the scripture text?
What emotions emerge for you as you observe the art?
Reflect
“Jesus’ act of nonviolence in the face of such grotesque brutality—an
act of protest against injustice—is astounding. I imagine him balling up
his fists in unspeakable pain as the nails are driven into his wrists. His
clenched fist symbolizes his resistance in the face of terror and state-sanctioned
violence. His clenched fist signals solidarity with liberation
movements that continue today and unity with those who follow in his
footsteps to speak truth to power and nonviolently resist oppression.”
—Artist Lauren Wright Pittman
Pray
May I follow in Jesus’ path and join my brothers and sisters in
protesting the injustices of this world. Amen

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Read
Luke 23: 27-31 nrsv
A great number of the people followed him, and among them were
women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus
turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me,
but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely
coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that
never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to
say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they
do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Look
Observe the visual qualities of the image: line, shape, movement, and
texture. How do the visual elements connect to the scripture text?
What emotions emerge for you as you observe the art?
Reflect
“When I consider the women beating their breasts and wailing for
Jesus, I imagine the reasons I could be doing the same. Jesus doesn’t
ask them to stop wailing; he asks them to redirect their grief, ‘Do not
weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children.’ I can imagine
grief upon grief spilling out of these faithful women. Sometimes I
grieve for what is close to me—things that I can see with my own eyes,
tragedy that I can reach out and touch. But Jesus asks the women to
do more than that. He asks them to look beyond the immediate and
tangible sorrow to the greater struggle that is to come: ‘If they do this
when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’
Sometimes we get stuck in our religious grief for Jesus. We narrow our
focus onto his death; we tuck it neatly into our calendar each Holy Week
and place it on the far end of a faded timeline. But Jesus’ death has
lasting, continual, real world consequences in the here and now. His
death is a state-sanctioned, attempted murder of love and hope. Jesus is
telling the women that their grief will be a journey, and they need to be
prepared. We need to be prepared.”
—Artist Lauren Wright Pittman
Pray
May I grieve, but may I also be prepared to move. Amen.

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John 19: 6, 15-17 nrsv
When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify
him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and
crucify him; I find no case against him.” They cried out, “Away with
him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify
your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the
emperor.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
Look
Observe the visual qualities of the image: line, shape, movement, and
texture. How do the visual elements connect to the scripture text?
What emotions emerge for you as you observe the art?
Reflect
“Jesus not only bears the physical weight of the cross, he bears the
weight of creation. I imagine his arms contorted behind him, grasping
the edges of the cross, trying to balance the weight of it all on his
back. Contemplating this great burden, I imagine his body twisted
and tied to the cross by the vines of the Garden of Eden, but also held
up and supported by the vines of the new creation.”
—Artist Lauren Wright Pittman
Pray
May I help carry the burden of the injustice in this world and work to
usher in the new creation. Amen.

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John 19: 1-3 nrsv
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove
a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a
purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the
Jews!” and striking him on the face.
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Observe the visual qualities of the image: line, shape, movement, and
texture. How do the visual elements connect to the scripture text?
What emotions emerge for you as you observe the art?
Reflect
“I’m floored by the boldness of violence in this passage. To strike
someone across the face requires looking someone in the eyes
and marring the most recognizable and identifiable part of the
body. It requires facing the recipient of your rage and witnessing
the consequences and destruction of your actions first-hand. It is a
brazen and intimate act of violence.
Continuing to misunderstand and mock Jesus’ power, the soldiers
craft him a crown made out of pain—a crown made out of that which
protects the beauty of the bloom. In this case, however, the thorns
cannot protect the beauty they surround.”
—Artist Lauren Wright Pittman
Pray
May I recognize the ways I am complicit in the violence of this world
and take a stand against it. Amen.

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Read
Mark 15: 1-5, 15 nrsv
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with
the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led
him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you
the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” Then the chief
priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have
you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But
Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
Look
Observe the visual qualities of the image: line, shape, movement, and
texture. How do the visual elements connect to the scripture text?
What emotions emerge for you as you observe the art?
Reflect
“The crown represents the misunderstanding of Jesus’ power.
Many thought the Messiah was to be a strong, powerful, militaristic
rebellion commander. Kings and governors feared he would be a
threat to the crown; a menacing, dethroning force. But Jesus was a
servant leader. He spent his days with and serving the downtrodden,
the poor, and the meek. Jesus was condemned to death for a crown
he did not wear. Pilate’s hand points Jesus to his death, attempting to
silence the truth he spoke to power.” —Artist Lauren Wright Pittman
Pray
May I defy the attraction of earthly power, elevate the voices of the
marginalized, and speak truth to the powers that oppress. Amen.