Hope Community Church

A Cruce Salus 2008 Virtual Tour

A Cruce Salus - "From the Cross Comes Salvation."

The 2008 gallery was curated by Marc Marsocci.

A CRUCE SALUS POSTER 2008.pdf

Station I

I. Jesus Prays in the Garden of Olives
Jennifer Brewer
oil on paper

Do you see the lamb that would be slain? Mighty thunder in Gethsemane, the lion of Judah was there.

Station II

II. Jesus is Betrayed by Judas
Brandon Stoy, Marc Marsocci
mixed media

Station III

III. Jesus is Condemned to Death by the Sanhedrin
Julia West
pencil and paper

Station IV

IV. Jesus is Denied by Peter
Beth Streater
watercolor, marker, glitter, glue, porcelain plates, epoxy glue, cardboard

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying." And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth." But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!" And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you." Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly.
— Matthew 26: 69-74

The background I created with watercolor depicts a very somber, melancholy mood. I made the strokes very streaky and blotchy to give it a rainy, upset effect. The stylized raindrops made in glitter and glue are to enhance the end of the passage where Peter wept bitterly when he realized what he had done. The glitter tears stand out and are bold to show the severity of pain Peter experienced when he remembered what Jesus had told him. I used porcelain plates to represent the fragility of our relationship with the Lord and how it's extremely special and should be taken great care of. I broke the plates to signify that each time Peter denied Jesus, he broke relationship with Him. The epoxy glue that was used to glue the plates back together represents Jesus' forgiveness and restoration of our relationship with Him when we ask for forgiveness. I wrote out the words of the last line in the scripture because it became very pronounced in Peter's mind when he remembered what Jesus hadsaid to him and those words are what triggered him to weep bitterly.

Station V

V. Jesus is Judged by Pilate
Elise Feldt
acrylic on canvas

Station V

V. Jesus is Judged by Pilate
Elizabeth Saalbach
acrylic on paper

On the occasion of the Passover feast Pilate used to release one prisoner whom they requested. Pilate said, "Do you want me to release Jesus to you?" For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate again said to them in reply, "Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?" They shouted again, "Crucify him." Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
— Mark 15:1, 6-15

From then on Pilot sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying , "If you let this man go, you are not Cesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.
— John 19:12

The bulldog's purpose was to pin the cattle so that the butcher could kill the cattle. But the bulldog obediently is pinning the sheep while the bull is getting away. The dog has his head turned toward his master looking for approval.

Station VI

VI. Jesus is Flogged and Crowned with Thorns
Nicolette Stephens
wood and glass

Station VI

VI. Jesus is Flogged and Crowned with Thorns
Brent Sprott
acrylic on paper

The station of the cross that I have interpreted is where Jesus was flogged and crowned with thorns. This was one of the most torturous experiences he went through, and a major testament to his love for humanity and his obedience to God.

In my life, I have learned that sometimes pain and sacrifice is a part of God's bigger plan for us. Oftentimes in the past, I've felt so cold and far from God, I wondered what the point of it could be. Faith. As I grow, I realize that Jesus truly is always there with me, and that hardships in our lives cause us to turn to the world for solace, or to turn to Jesus.

In this piece, the eye in the center symbolizes the eye of God looking down on his Son, Jesus, as he bore his passion. God is always there. The flames that adorn the eye are symbolic of the intensified love and concern that God has for his children, as he sent Jesus to die for humanity. The rays of light bursting from the eye represent the life and the light that this deed would ultimately bring us in this dark and fallen world. I chose the wooden frame to represent the cross that was soon to come. The thorns adorning the perimeter of the frame represent the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus's head. The blood that is spattered on the thorns is symbolic of Jesus's sacrifice, trust in God, and our saving grace.

Station VII

VII. Jesus Carries His Cross
Mike Hale
wood

When Jesus carried His cross on the way to Golgotha, He had been without sleep and beaten close to death, and yet He still carried the tree He would be hung from. Whether or not He carried just the cross piece or the entire cross, He carried the cross. He could have laid down in exhaustion and weakness and had others drag him to Golgotha, but He didn't. When I look at carrying the cross, I see the significance of the act rather than the significance of what He carried. Christ, when he was in the garden, had the opportunity to choose His will or the Father's. He even asked that the cup would pass from Him. But the will of the Father was for Him to carry out His own death. He submitted. Here we see Jesus' tremendous resolve to drink fully from the cup of suffering. We see that Christ's submission is without grumbling or complaining as he faces ridicule, humiliation, torture and His own death. "Like a lamb unto slaughter." His submission is not half hearted and He is not lazy. This is the significance I am referring to.

Do we truly share in the cup with Christ? Do we live our lives with the resolve to submit to the Father's will in the spiritually insignificant tasks of our spiritually significant lives? Do we hear, obey, and go forth without complaint? Do we have the spiritual fervor to withstand the physical demands? Do we drink from this cup, the cup that Christ drank, sharing fully in His suffering and His glory?

Station VIII

VIII. Jesus is Helped by Simon of Cyrene
Maggie Bain
pastel on paper

My drawing may seem elementary, but I have a good reason for that. I decided to do Station 8 because I already had ideas on what I would do for the exhibit. As time went by and each time I would sit down to create some sort of masterpiece I kept hearing over and over "blurred vision" and I could not figure out what it meant. Without listening to what I now know to have been God, I created a wonderful piece of art that I was truly proud of.

But that one wasn't good enough for God. A week before the pieces were due, I had a dream about this particular piece. In this dream it was as though I wasn't wearing my glasses... I could not make out specifics, just these moving black blurs. I saw two men walking alone in a field, both holding onto what looked like two pieces of wood-old decrepit wood. It was not fully pieced together and one of the men would drop his piece of wood and the other would pick it up. This happened over and over again. The man who had to keep helping the other never got angry, but just helped the other dutifully.

After the men had arrived on the top of this beautiful mountaintop, they held the pieces of wood together and it formed a cross. When they did this, I saw a yellowish glow coming off of one of the men's head (now introducing: Jesus!) and red-stained clothes. The other man would never reveal himself to me, but I now know him as Simon of Cyrene.

I believe God placed this in my head while I was sleeping because I wasn't listening to him when I was awake! As mediocre as this drawing appears, it speaks volumes to me and I have continued to remember my blurred vision of these two men, walking to Jesus' fate.

We need to carry our cross. We need to help others to carry theirs. We need to be aware that every time we help someone in need, we are really helping Jesus. When we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick we are serving God. May we always remember that any kindness we extend to others, we are actually giving to Him.

"And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
— Luke 9:23 DAV

"And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple."
— Luke 14:27 DAV

Station IX

IX. Jesus Encounters the Women of Jerusalem
Kathleen Ruckel
pencil

Station X

X. Jesus is Crucified
Adam and Mary-Dawn Carrier
mixed medium

Covered

"...the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
— Isaiah 53:6b

Too often our witness of Christ comes down to an external object. The shirts in this piece represent the external witness making everybody look like the "perfect" Christian with a "perfect" relationship with Christ. When you look under the shirts, you see some of the things in our lives that He really died for: alcoholism, drugs, porn, our brokenness. When our Savior was crucified, His blood covered all of what we keep hidden. This is what our real witness should be: showing what Christ has helped us to overcome.

We used the lyrics from the song "Covered" by Telecast as an inspiration for this piece.