16. Jesus is Buried (from The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision) by Douglas Blanchard
“They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom.” -- John 19:40 (RSV)
After Jesus died, the authorities allowed one of his friends to take his body for burial. Almost all of his many supporters were gone. Jesus’ body was laid to rest in a fresh tomb at sundown, just before the sabbath began. When they buried him, they also buried a beautiful part of themselves. Sometimes the humiliations continue even after death… when homophobes picket the funerals of the LGBT people and other outcasts, when mortuaries refuse to handle the bodies of AIDS patients, when families exclude same-sex partners from memorial services, on and on. Jesus understood grief and didn’t try to suppress it. He said, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Jesus, I wait in silence at your grave.
___
Next: 17. Jesus Among the Dead
This is part of a series based on “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a set of 24 paintings by Douglas Blanchard, with text by Kittredge Cherry.
Click to go to the beginning
or view the whole series.
Scripture quotation is from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
3 comments:
What an incredible series this is...
A keynote of Cynthia Bourgeault's new book, "The Meaning of Mary Magdalene", is a hidden verse (Matthew 27:61): "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb."
The implication here, which impacted Bourgeault strongly, is that two women kept vigil at the tomb, again after all the male followers of Jesus had left. This powerful image from Blanchard's series brings this message clearly to light.
The presence of the women at Jesus’ tomb is one aspect of the Passion story that speaks to me most powerfully as a woman. I hadn’t thought that the women might have kept vigil all night. Thanks, Trudie, for alerting me to that possibility. The story of the Risen Christ appearing first to Mary Magdalene is one of my favorites, so I’m looking forward to seeing Blanchard’s version of it here tomorrow on Easter morning.
Sage, thank you for your affirmation! And I like your new profile photo.
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