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The Broken Path: stations of the cross - Station 5

 


"The Broken Path: Station 5 - Jesus is Stripped"

gregory a. milinovich

broken glass, tiles on old farm window

march, 2021

this year during lent, i was inspired to design a set of eight pieces of art for a "stations of the cross" installation, which is currently on display outside on the front lawn at St. Paul's UMC and Wesley Foundation at 230 E. College Ave. in State College, PA.  it will be there on display until april 3rd, 2021.  if you aren't able to see it in person, you can see the whole collection here.  i've also decided to write a bit about each one, so that you can find out a little "behind the scenes" information for each one, and hear a little about my inspiration.  here are the posts for station 1, station 2, station 3, and station 4. 

in this post we are turning to station 5, in which we remember that Jesus was stripped of his clothes, and of his dignity.  in this piece, i wanted to create a sense of nakedness without being too literal, so i chose alot of browns and blacks, signifying the darker tones that were likely to be the palette of Jesus' skin.  i wanted to go with a kind of roundness, a kind of clean beauty that is the human form, not the shame-filled image of body many of us live with, or the objectified views of body that often contributes to this.  instead, i wanted the body to be rather unbroken here. the brokenness in this image is at the bottom, where we might imagine the clothes of Jesus were lying in a pile.  thinking about Jesus' own dignity and shame, the prayer for this station really brings this home for me.  here is the prayer for this station written by Padraig O'Tuama from "Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community" (copyright 2017, canterbury press, norwich, london): 

Jesus of the flesh,

Naked you came from the womb

and naked you were made for the cross.

What was designed

For indignity and exposure

you held

with dignity and defiance.

May we do the same

Because you needed it

Because we need it.

Amen.

what a beautiful prayer.  i love how the subversive character of Jesus is brought to light here.  that while those mocking and executing him mean for him to know humiliation, shame, and indignity, he "held with dignity and defiance."  they tried to rob him of his humanity, and, instead, he became the most human of all humans.  i love that idea of defiance.  it makes me see the solidarity of Jesus with the oppressed, with the many others across the centuries (and in our world today) who would be robbed of their dignity, their rights, and even their humanity.  i tried to show that sense of holy defiance by the small yellow arc, reminiscent of a halo on the vertical part of the cross.  even when stripping him, they could not rob him of his light.  he held to all that was good with dignity and defiance because he needed it.  because we need it.  

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