Category Archives: art

Entwined with God

256px-005-a-Ruby-kindles-in-the-vine-810x1146

A Ruby kindles in the vine, 1905, 1912
Adelaide Hanscom, 1875-1931
via Wikimedia Commons

[Jesus said to his disciples:] “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” John 14:20

Jesus, the vine that gives us life, is in us and we are in him. We are forever entwined with God, with God’s love and grace and goodness and compassion. We breathe with God, live with God, move with God, love with God.

We are the visible fruit of God’s healing and peace in the world. We are the trusted servants of God, trusted to forgive, show mercy, and practice non-violence. We are trusted to build up those who are broken, fragile, discouraged, poor, homeless, and suffering. We are trusted to bring the hope of the Resurrection and God’s eternal love to all those we encounter.

Followers of Christ

Good Shepherd

Early christian image of Christ as the Good Shepherd
Fourth Century A.D.
Museo Epigrafico, Rome

[The shepherd] walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. John 10:4

We follow Jesus into quiet, secluded places to pray. We follow Jesus to dine with the poor and the outcasts of society. We follow Jesus to touch those with untouchable illnesses. We follow Jesus to wash the feet of others. We follow Jesus to forgive those who betray us. We follow Jesus to love our enemies. We follow Jesus to do the will of God, however counter-cultural it may seem. We follow Jesus to die to ourselves and rise to new life.

Speaking from the heart

Rembrandt_Christ_with_two_disciples

Christ with two disciples on the road to Emmaus
Workshop of Rembrandt (1606–1669):Corrected by Rembrandt
Pen and brush in brown ink, washed, heightened with white, on paper, circa 1655
Warsaw University Library
via Wikimedia Commons

Then [the two disciples] said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

What language do I speak when I open my heart to others? The language of humility? sincerity? hope? faith?

When others speak to me from their hearts, in what language do I listen? The language of compassion? acceptance? non-judgment? peace?

Today I will practice speaking and listening with love. It’s the language we all share in common.

Hope in the moment

Two_Disciples_at_the_Tomb_c1906_Henry_Ossawa_Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
Two Disciples at the Tomb, ca.1906
oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago
via Wikimedia Commons

When Simon Peter arrived after [the other disciple], he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. John 20:6-7

I imagine Jesus chuckling as he neatly rolls the cloth that had covered his head and leaves it conspicuously separate from the other burial cloths. He knows his disciples are in for a big surprise. And he knows they will be puzzled, dismayed—and hopeful.

The resurrection of Jesus always points me to hope. Hope in change. Hope in the unknown. Hope in God’s gentle guidance and infinite love.

With compassion

The Three Crosses

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Three Crosses, 1653
drypoint and burin on paper (III/IV)
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
via Wikimedia Commons

After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. Matthew 27:35-38

If I ever doubt that Jesus understands the suffering I experience, let me contemplate the cross with its reverberations of torturous pain, shaming ridicule, forlorn abandonment, and crushing despair.

The untying

The Raising of Lazarus

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Raising of Lazarus, circa 1630-1632
oil on oak panel
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

[Jesus] cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” John 11:43-44

Sometimes I feel emotionally and spiritually dead, but Jesus calls me to come out of the tomb of depression and sends people to untie the bands of sadness, self-hatred, and self-preoccupation so that I may again relish the gifts of life, love, and companionship.

Jesus asks

sironi_samaritan_woman

Mario Sironi, 1885 – 1961
Christ and the Samaritan Woman, 1947 – 48
Oil on Panel, 56 x 70 cm
Collezione d`Arte Religiosa Moderna, Vatican Museums, Vatican City

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” John 4:7

Jesus wants a drink of
My attention.
My thoughts.
My heart.
My strengths.
My weaknesses.
My talents.
My willingness.
My gratitude.

Jesus is not ashamed or afraid to ask. He trusts me.

In Proportion

Proportion_and_Design_of_Part_of_Raphael's_Tranfiguration

Lecture Diagram 10: Proportion and Design of Part of Raphael’s ‘Transfiguration’. Part of the Turner Bequest to the Tate (1856).
By Joseph Mallord William Turner [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light. Matthew 17:1-2

The spiritual mountain treks Jesus leads me on are always in proportion to my trust in God’s movement, my faith in the Spirit’s guidance, and my willingness to be transformed into a more exact icon of God’s love and goodness.

The mountain is usually high; I am almost always breathless, sometimes whiney, often overwhelmed. And God’s silent voice revealing the glory of Jesus is my reward.

The Law of Love

512px-Rembrandt_The_Hundred_Guilder_Print

Christ Preaching (The Hundred Guilder Print)
circa 1646-1650
etching, drypoint and burin on eastern paper
Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17

The law is love.

Love of God.
Love of neighbor.
Love of self.

We are called to partner with Jesus to fulfill the law of love in the world. We are called to give birth to and embody love for all to see, hear, and touch.

Let your light shine

Via_Vitae_de_Joseph_Chaumet_-_Le_Sermon_sur_la_montagne

Via Vitae (« Chemin de Vie »), chef d’œuvre de l’orfèvre et joailler parisien Joseph Chaumet (1852-1928) représentant les principales scènes de la vie de Jésus, musée eucharistique du Hiéron, Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire, France
Détail : Le Sermon sur la montagne
By Croquant (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

[Jesus said,] “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:16

God’s Spirit shines through my brokenness to shed the light of compassion and comfort on others who grieve, who suffer, who feel lonely, lost, under-appreciated, and abandoned.

We are in this life together. May I follow your light to learn kindness, trust, and companionship. May my light show you a pathway of forgiveness, reconciliation, and love.