This is one of my favorite hangings in my church. I love the simplicity of it on first inspection, including the nails hanging as the “fringe” at the bottom and the piece of tree branch it hangs from. In the foreground the purple path is wider, and then it thins out as it gets closer to the cross in the distance.
But is that the intended message… Does the wider path at the beginning symbolize Jesus’s followers when it was easy to stand by him, but the path thins as the crowds dwindled?
Or maybe just the opposite -- if the path symbolizes standing on the side of the river waiting to cross, the “river” is wide and it’s hard to take it all in, but as it moves closer to the cross and the resurrection it is easier to see things more clearly and take the leap to get to the other side.
Or maybe it is a symbol of our own resolve during Lent to take on a new challenge or sacrifice something – at first we are very intentional, but as the 40 days wear on, we find excuses and often give up.
As you look at the banner again you see the path begins to get wider as it moves past the cross – maybe to reflect the new believers.
As we travel through this Lenten season, where are you on the purple path?
The Readings
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