The Cross Remains Image License (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
The Cross Remains Image License (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
Interested in licensing a single image for worship or ministry use? This one-time license grants you permission to use this image for ministry purposes. Print the image as bulletin cover art or project the art and engage with it during worship, Sunday School, or Youth Group. We hope you might use our images as tools for spiritual formation.
If you are interested in an art print of this piece, please visit our print shop.
The Cross Remains
by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Digital drawing
From our “Again & Again” Lent & Easter 2021 collection.
Order includes:
high-res image file formatted for print
high-res image file formatted for web/projection
A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual
A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."
Credit info:
When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
From the artist:
Confession: I have a problem with the image of the cross. Early Christians expressed their identity subversively with a fish or an anchor, but once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the cross emerged as the predominant Christian symbol. My struggle with the cross is connected to my rejection of state-sanctioned violence. It is after all, an empirical torture device. In my desire to reject the empire’s visual identification of the movement of Jesus, a symbol that has also been co-opted for questionable purposes in American culture, I have denied the cross as a marker of my identity with Christ.
As I have spent more time in reflection, however, I think this rejection could be an indication of my privilege. It is convenient for me to identify with more comfortable, rosy images of Christianity while turning away from the anguish Christ suffered at the hands of earthly power. It’s easier for me to protest the cross than it is to try and more fully understand the ugliness of the oppression he endured. For those who know injustice intimately, the cross can be an image of profound identification with Jesus, the one who endured unspeakable agony and rose again.
On the wall next to my front door hangs a resurrection cross created by a Mexican artisan. I love it so much because you almost can’t see the cross for the flowers. It serves as a reminder to me that death does not have the final word. I drew this image as I attempted to obscure the cross with blooming irises, a flower that represents wisdom and strength. Ultimately, in the negative space, the cross remains.
—Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
