The Sixth Hour

“And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
— Luke 23:44, 46

The sixth hour was noon. Not evening, not night — the brightest part of the day, and the sun went out of it.

Roman crucifixion was not designed to kill quickly. It was designed to be watched. They did it beside roads and at the gates of cities, where anyone walking past would see it and understand. The word excruciating comes from it — out of the cross.

He was there six hours. Three in the light and three in the dark.

Poured solid in a single piece, the cross face worked rough — pitted and struck rather than polished. The figure stands out from it small enough that you find it rather than being handed it. Oxidation settles into every low place and pulls it forward.

Three hours in the dark. Then it was finished.

Specifications

• Solid .999 fine silver, hand poured
• 41mm tall × 23mm wide
• Hand-oxidized recesses, polished high points
• 4mm black braided leather cord, 22", gunmetal magnetic barrel clasp
• Signed Certificate of Authenticity
• Poured and finished in Northfield, Vermont

Worn for a lifetime. Passed to the next.