'In heaven there is no religion, thank God.'

- Mahatma Ghandi

I have completed a number of sculptures and drawings around aspects of the life of Christ (or Jeshua Ben Joseph which was his real name), all of which raise questions. Have a read and see whether it brightens your day or challenges your safe space.

The Second Temptation

This sculpture, entitled the ‘Second Temptation’ alludes to the biblical story of Christ being tempted by ‘the devil’ – but looked at in a more contemporary way. It is a very powerful piece of sculpture which has always drawn a great deal of attention when exhibited. The figure is life-size (at left is a smaller maquette) and as a result one engages directly with it as one walks around the piece. The metalwork depicts the top of the temple from where the devil tempted Christ.

Do we really believe there is a ‘devil’? Or is it just an idea propagated by leaders of old as a means of controlling the populace by infusing fear into our lives What does exist however is the constant chatter in our heads. Could that be an aspect of ourselves (or several aspects), picking up on our weaknesses and playing games, challenging us to trust ourselves and find our own sovereignty?

Here is my original explanation.

Why was Christ looking down from such a high point?  Is ‘the devil’ represented by the voices in his own head? Is it possible that Christ was contemplating suicide, unable to cope with the mission before him? Yet he did not jump…….. indeed he did the opposite: he took control of his life moved ahead with a quiet confidence. How many times have we found ourselves in challenging circumstances? Do we cope with those circumstances in a similar way or do we hold onto the role of victim as if it is really who we are?

The bible suggests that ‘the devil’ challenged Christ to throw himself down, knowing that, as enlightened as he was, he would be unaffected by the fall. Its a bit like Herod asking him to walk across his swimming pool. ‘Prove yourself - I don’t trust you - I will only trust you if I see you do it’. Is this just the church’s way of alluding to the level of Enlightenment that Jeshua had reached, to show that not only did he have these extraordinary gifts, but also that he was a remarkable man?

Clearly when one reaches a level of embodied Enlightenment, which Christ had reached, the need to prove oneself becomes meaningless. Those of us who have not yet reached that point constantly struggle with a need to prove ourselves (to ourselves primarily and then to others). We feel ‘bound’ by the limitations of mass consciousness and our heavy earthly existence, unaware that actually, this is all just a massive playground for the soul on its journey into wisdom and Enlightenment. Could it be possible that all of us could one day be Enlightened beings? is this not what Christ was trying to tell us?

The Fall from the Cross 

When Christ is crucified he appears to be a victim, yet again another example of a good person being brought down by the powers that be. I am not so sure this is right. After all, it is his inquisitors who feel awkward, unable to deal with the situation at hand. He remains calm, from the moment he is arrested right through to the crucifixion itself.

Yet there is one moment when he is on the cross when he appears to lose faith in himself and in God. He cries out, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ In this moment of lost faith, he metaphorically falls from the cross, the cross itself collapsing behind him as it no longer serves its purpose. The cross that by then had become his support and even today, still ‘holds’ him up in millions of churches, homes and graveyards across the world. It is a telling moment – and one perhaps that many of us can relate to as we struggle to keep faith in ourselves in our daily lives. 

Recently, I have realised that this sculpture is not about Christ at all - it is about me, finally releasing myself from the limitations of the church and beginning to find my own way; the continuation of my journey into sovereignty. The symbol of the church, the cross, slowly collapsing as it is no longer serving a purpose for me. If it serves for you, that’s great. stick with it - there was a time in my life when it gave me extraordinary comfort, but know that there is more to this than meets the eye.

The Messenger

The myth in the Crucifixion

Our view of the crucifixion has always been one of the physical – the brutality, the pain and finally the death of Christ, a victim at the hands of the authorities.  The church has used this image of Christ’s victimisation as a ‘logo’, a rallying point, since the fourth century.

I have a very different vision of Christ. Rather than a victim, he was an enabler – rather than dying for our sins, he was saying ‘take responsibility for your own lives’, and rather than saying ‘you need me to help you find your way’, he was saying ‘here are some guidelines to help you on your way – now off you go!’

In this sculpture I have de-constructed the crucifixion. Instead of him hanging on the Cross, he stands at the highest point of a tree (symbolising the cross). His position remains roughly the same as if he were nailed to the cross, but instead of hanging, he is gesturing, dancing and embracing the universe and all-that-is and encouraging us to recognise the sheer vastness of it all and the potential therein. The tree becomes a channel for his extraordinary energy and consciousness which flows through and from him into the world and anchors itself in the earth below.

More than that, he is falling backwards, joyfully, symbolising the trust we need in ourselves to let go of the stories we have created about who we are and the structures and rules we have embraced to support these stories, and allow our true natures to emerge freely allowing our intuition, rather than dogma, to guide us on our way.

The Masters’ Shoes

Has Christ come again? Will he come again? With 2.18 billion Christians across the world, his appearance would cause the biggest ‘impact’ in history. The amount of power people would invest in him would be unbelievable.

And yet he was not a man of power. This would be an anathema to him and go against all the principles that he taught during his short stay on earth.“Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

Thus if he came, would he not prefer to be ‘unknown’? A ‘regular’ guy? And why should he come as a man? Why not a woman? More than that, why only as one person? Could it be that there are thousands of people out there who are a ‘portion’ of Christ?

And why only Christ? There have been many masters from across the world in times past. Over 9,900 people have ascended throughout history and are now Ascended Masters. Might they also be among us? Might there also be new Masters, people who have recently reached their Enlightenment? How many are there and what sort of shoes would they wear? Indeed, are they wearing them already?