Christ on the Cold Stone, Waiting Crucifixion
Christ on the Cold Stone
“We become what we gaze upon. ”
We cultivate mature spiritual endurance by what or who absorbs our attention. We become what we look upon.
The field of neurotheology confirms what Paul wrote: the transforming by the renewing of our minds happens by what we focus our attention on.
The story we tell ourselves is the brain we produce.
We can change our brain and heal from fear, shame, and unresolved hurt by focusing our attention on our hope and identity in Christ for as little as 10-12 seconds every day. This begins the process of neurosculpting new pathways in our brains.
Around the 15th-16th centuries, beginning in Brussels and spreading to the north-east of France, a certain type of spiritual art developed, usually carved in oak wood, called Christ on the Cold Stone - or - Christ with Bonds.
After having climbed up to Calvary while carrying his cross, after having been whipped, Jesus waits for the preparations for His last torture, the Crucifixion.
Through sacred imagination, we sit with him in his suffering so that he is not alone, and as we look upon him, we learn what it felt like for him. Consider his humble embrace of powerlessness, his silent suffering.
This is our Christ, the God of Hosts.
When we look on and meditate on a suffering Christ, we are attaching ourselves to him. What we behold on a daily basis is what we become, so spend time looking upon his love in action.
A Christian saint once wrote, “Jesus wants me to tell you how much is the love He has for you beyond all what you can imagine. Not only He loves you, He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you, you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you or who He wants you to be for Him in this world.”
