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Last week, Jenise Cook, a friend from Scribophile (an online writing community) and the Bible app YouVersion, posted a picture she had taken of a bronze statue of Jesus. Following, is that picture as well as Jenise's description of the statue and its context:
Backstory:
Northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, and up in the mountains is the quiet community of Yarnell. The Shrine of St. Joseph of the Mountains rests here, off the two-lane highway. The Shrine is a non-denominational retreat and contemplative center. This bronze of the risen Christ is the last statue we see, at the end of the meditation trail. It's in front of the empty tomb. (And, it's quite the sight to see that empty tomb with the cloths set aside.) We don't immediately see this bronze until we leave the trail and walk in a flat area. Then, there He is!, life size, with nail-pierced hands. It's quite the experience. June 30, 2013, the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots (of the Prescott Fire Department) lost their lives while fighting the wildland fire in Yarnell. The fire almost burned the Shrine to the ground, but it survived with some damage to the statues on the meditation trail. The retreat center burnt down.
Hope you enjoy the free photo download for Holy Week / Easter! If you're interested, search the WWW for: The Shrine of St. Joseph of the Mountains Yarnell Arizona.
(Delia) I loved the image when I saw it. There was something moving in the fact it’s a tight shot of his pierced, extended hand. I looked at it a while, thinking about the feelings it stirred within me and tried to think of a verse or a story or something to accompany it when I posted it. It might have been the next day, while I was doing a devotional in the YouVersion app that I came across:
Acts 2:24-27:
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay."
For me, this picture represents security and victory in Christ, grace, peace, comfort, hope…so many things. The verse just emphasizes them all.
What are your thoughts? What feelings or verses come to mind? Do you have similar pictures of Jesus that trigger deep responses that you’d like to share? Also, a big thank you to Jenise for sharing her picture with us. I invite you to leave her a message below.
About Jenise Cook: I am a storyteller through words and images. I enjoy: Fiction writing (mostly flash fiction and short stories until I move into serials and novels); Photography (assistant to my husband’s commercial photography business); and dabbling as a Creative Maker of things. All of these creative ventures come along with me as we travel in our motor-home, wherever work assignments or whimsey guide us, or when we’re moored in our home harbor in north-central Arizona.
You can contact me at www.jenisecook.com