Holy Week, leading to Easter. Such a momentous time; I can hardly believe it's here!
I'm so lucky to be surrounded not only by family and friends IRL, but also by the lovely people at His Kingdom Come who are such an inspiration and a help on my journey of faith. I'm very thankful for them, especially at this time, when I'm reminded of how much I need Him..and how much I need to let go and trust that He will nurture and save, and also trust that He will work out every situation according to His will.
So to business!
April Week 1 - He Is Alive
I looked up definitions of the words given and was quite surprised! Just shows how you hear and say these words without knowing the full impact of them sometimes!
I found the following commentaries on a couple of them that drew me in...
Hosanna: "So as Jesus rode the donkey to Jerusalem, the crowds were correctly shouting 'Hosanna!' and acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. A cry for salvation and a recognition that Jesus is able to save. The people cried out for salvation and that was exactly why Jesus had come. Within a week Jesus would be hanging on a cross."
Hallelujah: The words 'praise the Lord' are used over 50 times in the Bible but not as a translation of the word Hallelujah. Hallelujah is only used in Revelation 19. The scene opens in Heaven where a great multitude has gathered before the throne in the immediate presence of God himself, after the final overthrow of the enemies of the Church and the triumph of the Gospel. A song of thanksgiving is uttered in which all beings could unite. Hallelujah is the only word grand enough to express their rejoicing.
An image then came to mind of the path that has been in my March pieces, leading towards Easter, finally reaching its destination of the Cross. There would be light and the light rays as in previous weeks, as well as the path with flowers. I wanted the Cross not to seem sad and horrid, although of course it was. I wanted to pick up what was said in the devotional - that without Good Friday we could not celebrate Easter. Plus the feeling of Jesus being recognised as Messiah and being able to save. So I wanted it to be more positive, strong and not something looking like defeat.
I went on to read Revelation and in Rev. 22 found Jesus described as 'bright morning star.' So I added that to the piece as even more of a positive sign!
The colours are bright, not morbid, although I left some dark in the sky to acknowledge the evil and sadness. I drew out the size of the shadow of the cross to add impact and bring it right up to the viewer - drawing us in.
I'm hoping the light around the cross conveys a feeling of power and hope - all these feelings mixed up in one image for me! Yet having prayed before starting, this piece just flowed!
created with CU brushes and a CU cross and layer style.
TFL!
Bernie x
