O Christ, your kingdom overturns the nations
and shakes them 'til the dead spill from their tombs.
You set us free to follow where you take us,
a house where you have built us endless rooms.
O carpenter, you know the boards have splinters,
and yet you build with them the Father's hall.
If there is room for me, the worst of sinners,
oh, then your house must have a place for all.
O lord of all, who walked here weak and homeless,
when you come near the mountains start to quake.
Then come and shake us, make our graves crack open,
that all who sleep in silence might awake.
O shepherd, lead us through our dying's valley
into the many mansions of your house,
and let not one be left behind in shadows,
but gather every sinner in your arms. Amen.
This elaborate image, Representation of a Pageant Vehicle at the time of Performance, was commissioned as the frontispiece to A Dissertation on the Pageants or Dramatic Mysteries Anciently Performed at Coventry by the Trading Companies of that City, (1825) by Thomas Sharp, (1770-1841). The image was designed and executed in copper engraving by David Gee (1793-1872). It recreates a 15th-century Passion play (The Trial and Crucifixion of Christ) by the Smiths’ Company of Coventry. Many of the details are based on written accounts, including pageant wagon design itself and the people in the street. The audience includes men, women, and children, along with armed guards for the wagon, men who drew the wagon from station to station, minstrels, clerics and a carpenter. The scene on stage depicts Christ, with hands bound, before an enthroned Pilate. Annas and Caiaphas are shown in mitred hats, and a boy carries a bowl of water for Pilate to wash his hands. Although somewhat speculative, the image has been influential and is often reproduced. By David Gee – Beinecke Library: http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3447379, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33359094
Kate Bluett 