Encounter With Christ’s Power

I stood silently at the edge of the square of San Lorenzo waiting, occasionally sitting on the concrete curb to give my aching legs a deserved rest. The night was warm but not enough to make me sweat. I was restless, yet I anticipated the wait was certainly worth enduring. With my legs stretched out into the street, I fixed my tired and hazy eyes on the closed wooden doors of the small church on the opposite side of the square. I did not wait alone. Thousands had gathered to catch a glimpse of El Señor del Gran Poder, the patron of Seville.

After a magnificent Holy Thursday liturgy at the cathedral, I had journeyed through Seville’s winding streets to patiently wait for the madrugada procession to begin. I had never seen a rendition of Seville’s beloved patron saint and his name intrigued me. I imagined him either sitting triumphantly on a throne with rays of sunlight gloriously emerging from behind an imposing throne or sitting with one right hand elevated in blessing and the other holding Scripture reminiscent of the traditional Greek pantocrator. What an appropriate name for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the creator and sustainer of all that exists, the Lord of Great Power.

Suddenly the wait came to an end. A few minutes past midnight, in the first minutes of Good Friday, a loud clash signaled the doors of the church were being unlocked and they were soon opened. The assembled crowd fell silent immediately, every eye fixed on the dark doorway. Penitents began emerging from inside, walking solemnly in silence. Dark hoods concealed their identity, only two small holes revealed their eyes. Every penitent reverently carried a tall, dark orange candle. I soon became bored with the endless stream of penitents, when will the Señor del Gran Poder emerge?

Looking across the square I caught a glimpse of gold and silver softly glimmering, reflecting the light of the lamps on the paso and the few lights inside the church. Christ emerged triumphantly and powerfully from the church that bears his name, Señor del Gran Poder. I was stunned. I had been terribly wrong. The power of Christ does not rest on lofty thrones or in a mighty pantocrator depiction. The power of Jesus Christ is the cross. The 17th century rendition of Christ in all his power had our Lord carrying the cross, the source of his power.

The Lord of Great Power carried the cross triumphantly out of the Church into San Lorenzo Square while scores of men below the paso steadily carried him on the way to the cathedral. As the image reached the opposite end of the square closer to where I stood, the captain of the men ordered the image to be lowered by hammering onto the wood of the paso. A woman emerged from a balcony over me and the silence was broken by the most haunting tune, a saeta to El Señor del Gran Poder. The richness of the sound filled my ears. It became almost unbearable for me to hear the saeta as tears streamed down my eyes while my startled senses did not know how to take in such solemn and beautiful moment.

Unfortunately for me the saeta ended, the paso was raised and it continued on its way to the cathedral to venerate Jesus Christ truly present at the altar of repose. Seven hours later, as the sun rose over Seville, the image would return to the same square and back into the church. The encounter at San Lorenzo allowed me to experience the Paschal Mystery by contemplating the cross of Christ and at the same time, drawing from it strength and new life that the resurrection brings.

Written for The Southern Cross

Encounter with Christ’s Power