About: I painted this several years ago for Easter and it has hung in my house ever since. This year, it has seemed to take on extra meaning.
Originally, it was about how the crowd that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem was the same crowd that shouted, "Crucify him" a few days later. If you look closely, you will see a cross in the middle made up of a certain kind of face. Those are the crowd's faces. Around the outside you will see a different kind of face. Those are the twelve disciples. But one of the disciples wears a mask that is the same colour as the disciples, but the shape of his mask is like the crowd. That's Judas. He was counted among the disciples, but he betrayed Jesus.
This Easter, we are walking around town in literal masks. We are hiding in our houses and afraid. But in our real lives, don't we also wear masks? We pretend we have it all together. We pretend we are wealthy, or educated, or in control of our lives. But in reality, we are just like the crowd.
It's time to lay down our masks of pretending to be perfect. May we lay them down, at the cross of Jesus.
