Category Archives: art

Glad tidings

James Tissot (1836-1902) Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894 Brooklyn Museum

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

We, too, have been anointed by God’s Spirit to bring glad tidings to the poor. We bring food to those who are hungry. We bring compassion to those who are grieving. We bring encouragement to those who have low self-esteem. We bring comfort to those who are ill.

Wherever we go, we bring the gift of ourselves, the glad tidings of our loving presence, our hope in the Lord, our willingness to be guided by the Lord as trusted servants.

[Jesus] stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor. Luke 4:16b-18a

Gifted

Jan Cossiers, 1600-1671 The wedding at Cana: Jesus blesses the water oil on canvase, 1641-1660 Herentals, Saint Waltrude's Church

Jan Cossiers, 1600-1671
The wedding at Cana: Jesus blesses the water
oil on canvas, 1641-1660
Herentals, Saint Waltrude’s Church

You have gifts to offer. Gifts in abundance. Humor. Hospitality. Kindness. Comfort.

A listening ear. A homemade meal. A well-tended garden. A prayer.

Forgiveness. Acceptance. Compassion. Love.

You have so many gifts that bless our world.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Honor

John Flaxman (1755-1826) The Adoration of the Magi Graphite with gray wash and watercolor on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper Yale Center for British Art

John Flaxman (1755-1826)
The Adoration of the Magi
Graphite with gray wash and watercolor on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Yale Center for British Art

Today I will pay homage to the Lord by honoring his call to love my neighbor and forgive my enemies, by searching for his Holy Spirit in each person I encounter, and by making good use of my gifts and talents in his service.

[The magi] prostrated themselves and did [Jesus] homage. Matthew 2:11

Give it away

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569) The Sermon of St John the Baptist oil on oak, 1566 Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)
The Sermon of St John the Baptist
oil on oak, 1566
Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts

How many coats do I have? Jackets? Sweaters? What if I were to give one away to someone who has none.

How many cans, bottles, boxes, packages of food are in my cupboards? What if I were to give some away to the hungry.

God’s prophets point us to the Way of generous awareness of the needs of others.

[John the Baptist said to them,] “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.  And whoever has food should do likewise.” Luke 3:11

At any moment

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858) Head of St. John the Baptist oil on paper mounted on canvas, 1837-1857 Tretyakov Gallery

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858)
Head of St. John the Baptist
oil on paper mounted on canvas, 1837-1857
Tretyakov Gallery

At any point in our temporal history, the Word of God may come to us and lead us to become prophetic witnesses to the presence of God in our midst.

The Word of God may call us to speak out against prejudice, greed, and violence, and point the way to acceptance, generosity, and peace.

The Word of God may show us how to let go of resentment, self-centeredness, and arrogance, and teach us the way of forgiveness, service to those in need, and humble awareness of our dependence on God.

The Word of God may clarify our purpose in life: to love God, ourselves, and our neighbors, to bring comfort to the afflicted, to use our gifts and talents in the service of God’s whole human family.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar… during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. Luke 3:1, 2

Nothing to add

Jeanne Kun The Root of Jesse

Jeanne Kun
The Root of Jesse

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

 

Listen to the truth

Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) Jesus Washing Peter's Feet oil on canvas, 1852-1856 Tate

Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)
Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet
oil on canvas, 1852-1856
Tate

In every moment, the voice of our king reminds us to love, forgive, reconcile, and help the poor, sick, and elderly, the widows, children, and foreigners.

The voice of our king calls us to remember who we are: members of one human family, each unique, each with gifts to share, each beloved of God.

The voice of our king tells us how to serve as he served: with humility, compassion, nonviolence, and love without end.

[Jesus answered,] “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37

Calling All Saints – and Prophets

Synaxis_of_all_saints_(icon)Gary might not have been a saint, but he was most assuredly a prophet. He vigorously and decisively pointed the way to more dignified and respectful treatment of those under a doctor’s care, those living in nursing homes, those with terminal illnesses.

I mourn the passing of his forthright energy from our world so in need of advocates for the vulnerable, but not the passing of his Spirit from a body that could no longer contain it.

[Jesus began to teach them, saying,] “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

Refusing anonymity

Jesus cures the man born blind

JESUS MAFA. Jesus cures the man born blind, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved October 25, 2015]

 Jesus has a personal relationship with me. I know his name. He knows mine. I am not an anonymous being.  I am a daughter of God, created in love by God, beloved of God, uniquely, mysteriously me.

I have been given the grace to know Jesus by name. Let me pass on the gift by knowing you by name, by refusing anonymity to you, my brother or sister in God.

Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Mark 10:46-47

Prayer

Francois-Barthelemy-Marius Abel (1832-1870) Figure kneeling in prayer, 1856 Watercolor and brown ink on mediumweight off-white wove paper By Shepherd Gallery (Flickr: ABEL - Figure Kneeling in Prayer) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Francois-Barthelemy-Marius Abel (1832-1870)
Figure kneeling in prayer, 1856
Watercolor and brown ink on medium weight off-white wove paper
By Shepherd Gallery (Flickr: ABEL – Figure Kneeling in Prayer) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

So often my prayers are imperious.

I forget prayer is a time of self-emptying, of surrendering myself to God.

Today I will pray to be blessed with the knowledge of God’s will for me and the grace to carry it out.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Mark 10:35