#8 Symbols That Give Us a Portrait of Jesus

[dan6085]

Ranking the top 20 artworks of all time is a challenging and subjective task, as opinions on art vary greatly among critics, historians, and the general public. However, some works have undeniably had a profound impact on the art world and continue to be celebrated for their innovation, beauty, and influence. Here's a list that attempts to encapsulate a broad spectrum of what many consider being the greatest artworks of all time, spanning various periods and styles:

1. **Mona Lisa** by Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1503-1506)

- A portrait of Lisa Gherardini, housed in the Louvre, Paris. Famous for its enigmatic smile and detailed background, it's a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance.

2. **The Starry Night** by Vincent van Gogh (1889)

- This iconic post-impressionist painting, held in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, depicts the view from van Gogh's asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, with swirling stars and a vibrant night sky.

3. **The Sistine Chapel Ceiling** by Michelangelo (1508-1512)

- A cornerstone of High Renaissance art, Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Vatican City include the iconic "Creation of Adam" and combine incredible artistic skill with profound religious expression.

4. **The Last Supper** by Leonardo da Vinci (1495-1498)

- This mural, located in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, depicts Jesus and his disciples' last meal before his crucifixion, renowned for its emotional depth and use of perspective.

5. **Guernica** by Pablo Picasso (1937)

- A powerful anti-war painting created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. It's exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid.

6. **The Birth of Venus** by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1484-1486)

- An emblematic work of the Italian Renaissance, it depicts the goddess Venus emerging from the sea, housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

7. **Girl with a Pearl Earring** by Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665)

- Known as the "Mona Lisa of the North," this captivating portrait is displayed in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands.

8. **The Creation of Adam** by Michelangelo (c. 1511)

- Part of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling frescoes, this scene of God giving life to Adam is one of the most replicated religious paintings of all time.

9. **The Night Watch** by Rembrandt van Rijn (1642)

- A monumental work showcasing the Dutch Golden Age, located in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It's famous for its use of light and shadow to animate the civic militia.

10. **The Persistence of Memory** by Salvador Dalí (1931)

- A surreal masterpiece housed in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, known for its melting clocks and dream-like atmosphere.

11. **The School of Athens** by Raphael (1509-1511)

- A fresco in the Vatican representing philosophy, featuring idealized images of Aristotle, Plato, and other ancient thinkers.

12. **Les Demoiselles d'Avignon** by Pablo Picasso (1907)

- A groundbreaking work that ushered in the development of Cubism and modern art, displayed in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

13. **The Kiss** by Gustav Klimt (1907-1908)

- An iconic piece of Symbolist art, showcasing Klimt's decorative style and use of gold leaf, located in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna.

14. **American Gothic** by Grant Wood (1930)

- A depiction of a farmer and his daughter, symbolizing the American heartland. It's one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.

15. **Water Lilies series** by Claude Monet (c. 1914-1926)

- A series of approximately 250 oil paintings of Monet's flower garden at Giverny, which became the main focus of his artistic production during the last thirty years of his life.

16. **Liberty Leading the People** by Eugène Delacroix (1830)

- A romantic portrayal of the July Revolution of 1830 in France, symbolized by the allegorical figure of Liberty, housed in the Louvre, Paris.

17. **The Garden of Earthly Delights** by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1490-1510)

- A triptych painting, filled with imaginative imagery of heaven and hell, located in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

18. **Starry Night Over the Rhone** by Vincent van Gogh (1888)

- A precursor to "The Starry Night," this painting captures the night sky over the Rhone River, showcasing van Gogh's fascination with the nocturnal landscape.

19. **The Arnolfini Portrait** by Jan van Eyck (1434)

- A detailed depiction of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, notable for its use of perspective and mirror reflection, located in the National Gallery, London.

20. **The Third of May 1808** by Francisco Goya (1814)

- A dramatic portrayal of the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's armies during the Peninsular War, emphasizing the brutality of war, housed in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

These artworks represent significant achievements in the history of art, each contributing to the development of artistic movements and styles. They continue to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

by Campbell Markham | “I wish I could have seen Jesus, just like the disciples did.” You might crave this, especially in hard times. To be next to Jesus, to listen to him and see him face-to-face. To be comforted by that living presence...

#Beautiful Christian Life #8 Symbols That Give Us a Portrait of Jesus #Campbell Markham #Revelation 1:9-17 #beautifulchristianlife.com

[eli-kittim]

Are the Four Living Creatures of Revelation Alien, Human, or Angelic?

By Author Eli Kittim

——-

Ezekiel’s Account

In the Old Testament (OT), Ezekiel’s book describes the prophet’s “visions of God” (1.1), especially those of four living creatures. Ezekiel recounts it as follows (1.4-5 NRSV):

As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the

north: a great cloud with brightness around

it and fire flashing forth continually, and in

the middle of the fire, something like

gleaming amber. In the middle of it was

something like four living creatures. This

was their appearance: they were of human

form.

What Ezekiel saw were not actual creatures or beasts but rather figures that resembled them. He describes seeing the “likeness” or “similitude” (דְּמ֖וּת də·mūṯ) that resembled four (Heb. חַיּוֹת ḥayyōṯ) living creatures or beasts. Then, the prophet begins to describe their appearance (מַרְאֵֽיהֶ֔ן mar·’ê·hen). Ezekiel 1.5 says that they had the likeness of ’ā·ḏām (i.e. of a man or a human being). Ezekiel 1.6-7 further describes them as follows:

Each had four faces, and each of them had

four wings. Their legs were straight, and the

soles of their feet were like the sole of a

calf's foot; and they sparkled like burnished

bronze.

Ezekiel’s narrative doesn't appear to describe human beings but rather some kind of extraterrestrial (or transhuman) creatures or beasts (1.5). Furthermore, no human being has straight legs or “the sole of a calf’s foot” (v. 7). However, with regard to these physical descriptions, including their feet that “sparkled like burnished bronze,” I have tried to show elsewhere that this imagery may be associated with Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 1.13-15). See my article, “Christ The Terminator: Half Man Half Machine”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/653464965934661632/christ-the-terminator-half-man-half-machine

Ezekiel also mentions that “they had human hands” (v. 8). Then, in vv. 10-11 he says:

As for the appearance of their faces: the

four had the face of a human being, the

face of a lion on the right side, the face of

an ox on the left side, and the face of an

eagle; such were their faces.

This symbolism is reiterated in Revelation 4.6-7. As we will see, Ezekiel’s “creatures” of the tetramorph, which are depicted in animal forms, appear to be different portraits of the Messiah, even though in the Book of Revelation they seem to be completely separate from him.

The 4 living creatures are depicted as winged figures, which are archaic symbols of divinity. The lion seemingly represents Christ (Rev. 5.5), alluding to his royal stature as conqueror! The ox appears to illustrate Christ’s sacrifice. In Mt 11.28-30, Christ wants us to heed his warning so as to be equally yoked:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are

carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you

rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from

me; for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls. For my

yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The wooden yoke or beam that is typically used between a pair of oxen seems to represent the cross of Christ as well as the injunction to take up our cross and follow him, and to unite ourselves to him (Mt. 16.24). Finally, the eagle depicts the divinity of Christ (cf. Rev. 8.13).

An alternative but Christ-based model of the tetramorph is the patristic interpretation, which depicts the four living creatures as symbols of the 4 evangelists’ accounts of Christ. There are different versions but most follow the description of Epiphanius’ (310-403) account:

Matthew’s gospel portrays the man.

Mark’s gospel depicts the lion.

Luke’s gospel represents the ox.

John’s gospel symbolizes the eagle.

Notice the OT description of the four living creatures in which “all four were full of eyes all around” (Ezek. 1.18). Compare this verse with that from the New Testament (NT) concerning the Lamb of God “standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes” (Rev. 5.6). In fact, Ezek. 1.28 clarifies and summarizes the aforesaid vision by making the following declaration:

This was the appearance of the likeness of

the glory of the Lord.

So, from a Christian perspective, this sounds very much like Christ the Lord!

——-

The Apocalyptic Vision of Revelation 4 through 6

In the NT, the four figures of Rev. 4.6 that are “full of eyes in front and behind” (cf. Ezek. 1.18) are called animals or creatures (τέσσαρα ζῷα), not angelic beings. As for the “twenty-four elders” of Rev. 4.4, they are discussed at length in my article “Who Are the Twenty-Four Elders of Revelation Chapter 4?”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/117722359047/who-are-the-twenty-four-elders-of-revelation

The Book of Revelation gives us additional information about the function of these four “creatures” and what they actually do. Apparently, they act as models and influencers of worship (Rev. 4.8-11), while crying a triple invocation of holiness:

Day and night without ceasing they sing,

‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty,

who was and is and is to come.’ And

whenever the living creatures give glory and

honor and thanks to the one who is seated

on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

the twenty-four elders fall before the one

who is seated on the throne and worship

the one who lives forever and ever; they

cast their crowns before the throne, singing,

‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to

receive glory and honor and power, for you

created all things, and by your will they

existed and were created.’

A major difference between the Ezekiel account and the one in Revelation 4 is that, in the latter, the living creatures are completely separated and distinct from Christ!

The similarities can be explained by the principle of “expositional constancy.” This principle is based on the notion that an image or idiom is employed in the same way (consistently) throughout the Bible. The fact that the same symbols are used both for the Messiah and the living creatures suggests an intimate connection between them. Thus, the images of messianic typology in the OT seem to be related to those in the NT.

Moreover, notice that the living creatures are explicitly described as “animals” (Gk. ζῷα), not as part of the angelic host. Any inference on our part to associate them with the cherubim or any of the other orders of angels is unbiblical because it cannot be substantiated. In point of fact, no angel has ever been described as an animal (Gk. ζῷον) in the Bible! However, a living being, such as a human being, can also be defined as a creature. In fact, in his work entitled “Politics,” Aristotle says that “man is, by nature, a political animal.” Thus, the NT references to ζῷα or creatures may be allusions to human beings, and especially to the humanity of Jesus.

In the Abrahamic religions, the seraphim are considered to be heavenly beings with either two or three pairs of wings and functioning as throne guardians of God. They’re traditionally known as the burning ones who praise God night and day by means of the Trisagion liturgical hymn (i.e. Thrice Holy): “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In Christian angelology, the seraphim are considered among the highest-ranking heavenly beings, comprising pure light, who seem to have direct communication with God. Some think that they’re an exalted order of angels aka cherubim. But despite the cherubim’s proximity to the throne of God, there are notable differences. For example, the cherubim have 4 wings whereas the seraphim have 6 wings, and the latter fly overhead whereas the former do not. Therefore, these disparate Biblical passages do not seem to depict the same phenomena or the same living creatures. For instance, in Isaiah 6.2 these celestial beings are called śə·rā·p̄îm (Seraphim), not beasts. Similarly, the cherubim are called hak·kə·ru·ḇîm (Gen. 3.24), not creatures (cf. Rev. 19.4 where the 4 living creatures are called ζῷα or “animals”). So, even though the 4 living creatures are, in some respects, reminiscent of the seraph in Isa. 6.2-3, they have vastly different depictions.

Are the Four Living Creatures UFOs?

Given that Ezekiel’s account has sometimes been interpreted as a UFO sighting, the animal-like “creatures” that are neither fully human nor decidedly angelic could therefore qualify as “aliens,” according to the Ancient astronaut theorists. This is the pseudoscientific hypothesis that intelligent, extraterrestrial beings from other planets visited the earth in prehistoric times using technologically advanced spaceships. In this instance, they’re basing their theory on various Biblical accounts, such as the one in Genesis 6.2 in which “the sons of God” made contact with human beings who gave birth to giants (called “Nephilim”). These events occurred “when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them” (Gen. 6.4).

But the Ancient astronaut theorists are especially interested in the extraordinary account of Ezekiel chapter 1. Ezekiel 1.13 seems to be suggesting some type of spacecraft propulsion, including “something like a wheel within a wheel” (v. 16), not to mention various other references to “wheels” and to *flight* (vv. 19-20), as well as “something like a dome” or a sphere on top of them (v. 22). These descriptions seem to indicate some kind of advanced alien spacecraft. Not only are the images reminiscent of a UFO but also the “creatures” themselves appear to be alien in that they’re neither human nor angelic in nature. So, the question of their origin deserves a legitimate biblical investigation.

However, Ezekiel clearly states that he had a vision (1.1), not a close encounter of the third kind. Ezekiel’s account, therefore, comprises a spiritual experience, not a physical contact with aliens. In fact, Ezekiel heard audible voices from heaven and describes the experience as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord (1.28). As for the “creatures” themselves (based on the imagery that is used), they seem to be identified with Christ to such an extent that it is difficult to separate the two. That’s because the living creatures are the royal emissaries of Christ! As you will see, they’re part of the exclusive elite group that governs heaven. And they’re part of the glorious throne room of God. Here’s an example. In the midst of the throne——between the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders (the inner circle of God)——is Christ (5.6). Revelation 5.8-10 reads:

When he [Christ] had taken the scroll, the

four living creatures and the twenty-four

elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a

harp and golden bowls full of incense,

which are the prayers of the saints. They

sing a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the

scroll and to open its seals, for you were

slaughtered and by your blood you

ransomed for God saints from every tribe

and language and people and nation; you

have made them to be a kingdom and

priests serving our God, and they will reign

on earth.’

Notice, the text doesn’t say that by his blood Christ ransomed for God extraterrestrials from the multiverse, from every solar system, planet, and alien life form. On the contrary, it says that those that Christ redeemed “will reign on earth.”

The 4 Living Creatures Have a Surpassing Knowledge of God Which Raises Them to Divine Status

And when Christ took the book, the 4 creatures and the 24 elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb and sang a new song of praise and thanksgiving. It appears as if these holy congregations are presided over by these high-level government officials, as it were, who appear to be the highest-ranking officers or high priests in God’s inner circle. They have direct access to God. They seem to be next in rank to Christ and are, perhaps, empowered to serve as ecclesiastical authorities in his absence. The 4 living creatures are God’s elite group who lead the myriads of angels in prayer (5.14), who preside over the dissemination of prophecy, including the dispensation of judgment, as in the breaking of the 7 seals in Revelation 6.

Notice the chain of command. Christ opens the seals and the 4 living creatures, in turn, make the official proclamations. For example, during the breaking of the first seal, the first living creature summons forth, “as with a voice of thunder, ‘come’ “ (6.1). The second creature also commands “come,” in relation to the 2nd seal, the red horse (6.3). The same thing occurs with the 3rd seal (6.5). Then, in Rev. 6.6, the 4 living creatures pronounce the judgment! And, once again, the 4th seal is announced by the 4th creature (6.7). Based on their function and position, the four living creatures appear to be the highest order of celestial beings in the upper echelons of God’s government.

But it remains enigmatic why they are referred to as creatures. Given that they are the highest form of life, they might appear to us as strange and, perhaps, even terrifying creatures. Let’s not forget what God says in Exod. 33.20:

you cannot see my face; for no one shall

see me and live.

After all, God, the Son of God, and the four living creatures are all extraterrestrials. They are not human. Christ is the only extraterrestrial who becomes human in order to redeem humanity. But he, too, like Superman, “is not from this world” (Jn 18.36). The Matthew Henry Commentary on Revelation 4 says that by mentioning the many eyes of the living creatures, scripture is denoting their “sagacity, vigilance, and circumspection.” In other words, they seem to possess powers that are close to those of God!

As to the identity of the 4 creatures, John Gill’s exposition of the Bible (Rev. 4.6) mistakenly says:

the angels cannot be intended, because

these four living creatures are said to be

redeemed by the blood of Christ, and are

distinguished from angels in (Revelation

5:8-11).

Although the angels are certainly not intended to describe them, nowhere is there any evidence that the four living creatures were redeemed by the blood of Christ! But Gill’s commentary is correct in refuting the notion that the 4 creatures represent the evangelists, because “it makes John to be one of the four creatures which he saw.” John Gill’s commentary also understands the important administrative functions of the 4 living creatures with regard to Judgment. It says:

and one of them is said to give to the seven

angels the vials of wrath to pour out …

(Revelation 15:7).

John Gill’s exposition of the Bible (Rev. 4.6) correctly states that the four living creatures cannot possibly be the tribulation saints:

these four living creatures are distinguished

from the hundred and forty four thousand

on Mount Zion, in ( Revelation 14:1

Revelation 14:3).

Thus, the four living creatures are neither angels nor men.

——-

Conclusion

According to the Genesis 1 creation account, God’s focus is predominantly on the earth, not on other planets, solar systems, or galaxies. What is more, in Colossians 1.16, the author——most likely Paul, since the letter’s authenticity is still staunchly defended by many credible scholars——gives us a short briefing on “all things in heaven and on earth [that] were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers.” The only other classes of beings that are mentioned, other than humans, are the spiritual beings which have been traditionally grouped into three celestial orders (from highest to lowest): the Seraphim/Cherubim & Thrones; the Dominions/Powers; and the Principalities/Archangels & Angels. No other life forms are mentioned.

In fact, Revelation 21 shows that the destruction of the universe is associated with a recreation of “a new heaven and a new earth” (v. 1). But this is all done with humanity in mind (v. 3):

And I heard a loud voice from the throne

saying, ‘See, the home of God is among

mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be

his peoples, and God himself will be with

them.’

The text doesn’t say that all life forms will eventually unite and live on earth. It only mentions mortals (Gk. ἀνθρώπων). In fact, there’s no Biblical evidence that God created any other alien life-forms. Those who claim that Hebrews 1.2 refers to many worlds are in error because the Greek term αἰῶνας refers to ages or cycles of time, not to physical worlds. It’s a mistranslation. Moreover, Christ redeemed humans, not aliens. He himself became man (Jn 1.14; Phil. 2.7) and will one day resurrect *humans* (not extraterrestrials). God's plan of redemption (Eph. 1.7-14) is exclusively for human beings. In fact, the entire universe will be destroyed and remade so that redeemed humans (not aliens) can inhabit it, according to the text.

At any rate, God “is not from this world” (Jn 18.36), and neither are the 4 living creatures. So, although there is no evidence of physical extraterrestrials roaming around on other planets, the invisible kingdom of God is itself of extraterrestrial origin. And since the four living creatures are deeply identified with Christ, and are neither angels nor men, they might be the highest form of life ever created by God, ranking above the angelic host, second only to the Trinity❗️

——-

#fourlivingcreatures #aliens #angels #extraterrestrials #transhumanism #Ezekiel1 #Christ #expositionalconstancy #book of revelation #elikittim #messiah #thelittlebookofrevelation #ufo #Ancientastronauttheory #nephilim #sons of god #lamb of god #typology #ek #MatthewHenryCommentary #creatures #JohnGillsexposition #Thrones #Dominions #cherubim #seraphim #redemption #salvation #eschatology #Bibleexegesis

[dailyaudiobible]

11/25/2020 DAB Transcript

Daniel 1:1-2:23, 1 Peter 3:8-4:6, Psalms 119:65-80, Proverbs 28:14

Today is the 25th day of November, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it's wonderful to be here with you today as we take the next step forward like we do every day, the next step. It's funny, just the next step is what we take and then we…we end up having moved through the entire Bible and then through an entire year. And it's such a vivid portrait of what next steps can do when we take the next right step and letting the Bible be a voice in that next right step. Well that's why we come here every day around the Global Campfire isn’t it. So, let's dive in. And right off the bat here we’re moving into new territory in the old testament brand-new book.

Introduction to the book of Daniel:

This book is called Daniele and it’s an intriguing book to say the least, maybe one of the more intriguing books in the Old Testament. And it’s…it’s an historical account and is certainly helpful and valuable and gives insight into the…the kind of times, the times of exile that we've been reading about for quite a while now. It hasn't been that long ago, but it seems like it’s been a long time ago that we read the story of Solomon and we came to like the apex of ancient Israel's culture and civilization. And since that time we've…well…we've been in a lot of territory but this theme of exile, this thing of conquest and Jerusalem being conquered both historically and prophetically have been kind of where we’ve been camped out and we get a different perspective of that in Daniel. But Daniel also though contains these incredible visions and these visions have been poured over for thousands of years in eschatological studies - the studies of the end, the end time prophecies. Daniel is a centerpiece in that study. So, here's what's interesting. We just read the book of Ezekiel and Daniel was contemporary with Ezekiel. He was…he was taken into exile when Jerusalem first fell to Babylon in 597. And we know because we’ve been reading these stories of deportation and exile and prophets both in exile and in Jerusalem. So, we got Jeremiah prophesying from Jerusalem through all of the turmoil and we’ve got Ezekiel prophesying from exile in Babylon during all the turmoil. So, we know that it was not a good easy time whatsoever for those who were being displaced and Daniel was one of those people. And despite the struggle of being deported to a different land Daniel was favored by God. He was gifted. He was young. He rose to become an influential advisor. He was of utmost authority in the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. But there's quite a story that got him there. And even though Daniel was exiled and was a Hebrew and was a prophet he really wasn't a prophet for or against Israel, which makes his voice unique because this isn't a particularly Jewish set of prophecies with the other prophets. We need that…that Hebrew context that we’ve been drilling into all year long to sort of understand the grievances that are being laid out before the people of Israel and what repentance might look like for them and what things might look like if they continue on the road that there on. Daniel’s not really prophesying with that kind of voice at all. So, we’ll notice that Daniels’s…it’s not broken up into two different halves or anything like that, but we’ll see that generally the first part of the book is the story of Daniel's life. So, we get to know Daniel in the first part of the book. And we’ll find some of the most famous of Sunday school stories in in this part of the book like the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace or the account of Daniel in the lion's den. Then once we kinda move through that narrative, move into the back half of the later part of the book, it shifts then to Daniel's prophetic visions. And he has visions of four great world empires. And it…it's…it's apocalyptic literature. So, as a genre, it's highly symbolic and allegoric and we’ll see almost cinematic in nature as its retold to us. Remember when we…remember the wheel within the wheel and all of that imagery in Isaiah when we’re trying to think this all through and picture all this. We’ll be doing that with Daniel as well. And of course, if…if eschatology, the study of the end times is a passion of yours then there's no way to avoid Daniel. It’s the centerpiece of that type of study in the Bible. But whether or not figuring out the end of all things, the end times, the apocalypse is…it is important or not in your faith journey, what Daniel portrays through all of his visions, if we had to kind of boil things down we would see that Daniel is revealing that God is sovereign over every kingdom of the world for all time. Like, God is the most-high God and He is sovereign over all. So, let's let’s dive in. Daniels gonna to carry us into the final month of the year, which is the month of December and we’re just days away from that.

And, man tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. It’s also China's birthday. So, I’ve had two major holidays land on two birthdays in my family. Jill’s birthday’s July 4th. So, that's a constant. Of course, China's birthday is the 26th of November, but it happens to fall on Thanksgiving. So…so we’re…we’re really at the threshold. This is like Thanksgiving Eve, everybody's cooking lots of food and after this we move into warp speed so quickly that we just need to take a deep breath as we move into this new territory, reminding ourselves that God is sovereign over all things and continue to do what we talked about just a few minutes ago, the next step forward, day by day, no matter what the chaos or…or all the stuff that's going on swirling around. Even though it's festive, the rhythm we've established is what's gonna carry us into the new year. So, we’re reading from the New International Version this week. Daniel chapter 1 verse 1 through 2 verse 23.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another day. We thank You for bringing us into new territory. It's always exciting to turn the page and move into new territory. And, so, we thank You for the book of Daniel, and we ask Holy Spirit that You would awaken our minds, quicken our hearts that we might hear and learn and see whatever it is that You have for us as we continue this journey day by day, step-by-step. Come Holy Spirit, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. Thank you. If…if what's happening as we continue to sail across the year together in the Scriptures, as we continue to be a community around the Global Campfire, if that is important and makes a difference in your life then thank you profoundly and humbly for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you're using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can dial 877-942-4253 or you can hit the Hotline button in the app, it's the little red button up at the top. And no matter where you are in the world you can share from there.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey this is Jared calling from Duluth Minnesota it’s 2:53 in the morning on Sunday November 22nd, day 575 of my renewed journey in the DAB family. I was so moved today by __ of joy who’s been cycling down for three weeks and can’t move, is scared, not going out of the house, completely alone and your desperate cry for help. Want you to know that we are praying for you and that I’ve been there before in a dark place and so difficult to get out of that…that hole sometimes but __ can help and God will be your rock in time of need. And also, for Rosie, Free in Jesus where one year ago her son disowned her like my son has disowned me and your husband died and contemplating suicide. And again, I’ve been in those dark places. I want you to know that we’re praying for you and that God would just supernaturally bring peace, comfort and joy in your life today and in the future. God bless. Bye.

Hello food DAB family this is Vonnie from Northern California calling on Sunday morning the 22nd of November. Just heard Sheer Joy crying out for help this morning and even though I know it’s been a few days I am praying for you dear sister and know that the Lord sees you and hears you. And even though your family is praying for you a few days after you called God sees you exactly where you are at that moment and He is going to come in and He is going to enter in His Holy Spirit to help you. And we’re asking, O Father please in the name of Jesus we ask You to bind the enemy and keep him from our dear sister, Sheer Joy. Bring back the joy, restore the joy of her salvation dear Father. Help her in Jesus’ name come in and eradicate any part of the enemy’s plan to bring her down. Bring someone else in, a friend, somebody who can bring light and joy and comfort and encouragement to our friend and bring her out of this pit. I think of David and the psalmist calling out from the pit and she’s doing exactly that Lord Jesus. I pray that You would restore the joy to her, fill her with the love that casts out all fear and all dread and bring her back to fullness and to healing and hope and to health. We thank You in Jesus’ name.

Good morning everybody this is God’s Smile here. Just like to share a little about Maria my helper. Maria had an experience. She’s had two this year. She’s been with me two years, Maria, and our relationship has really grown close. We’ve had some chats about the Lord but that’s as far as it’s gone. Maria had sleep paralysis twice now and, in that paralysis, she sensed evil and her hands were tied in front of her outstretched and she couldn’t speak or move, and it really frightened her. So, when I heard this, I said to her, “Maria there is power in the name of Jesus and so to use that name. And she said, “how do I use that?” and I said, “if you can’t speak it Maria just say it in your mind.” So, we conversed like this and I gave her a little prayer to say and gave it…spoke to her about the Lord and His love for her. So, Maria is covering around tomorrow to…she’s a teacher but she cleans for me. Isn’t that lovely? And, so, I felt…I felt the Lord saying get her a Bible, but I wasn’t sure when to give it. So, this Bibles come today. So, I’m…she’s been messaging me, and I really have this rise deep inside my heart that the Lord is in all this. Of course, He is. But you know, faith is rising to believe she is very close to receiving Him as her Lord and Savior. So, would you pray for us? My discerning about the right time…time’s ticking away…give her the Bible. Bye-bye everybody. Love from God’s smile. Kiss kiss.

This is for Dorothy the special ed teacher who called in with compassion fatigue and for all teachers, front line workers, nurses, doctors, police officers, first responders and I would add veterinarians for we’re doing our best to provide good medical care and love on our patients while providing curbside service and it’s just so difficult for people. There aren’t enough hours in the day and the dogs are so frightened. But we’re doing our best Lord. And I also want to lift up a prayer for the student who called in with so much anxiety she couldn’t leave her apartment. She was too anxious to stay in bed but too depressed to get out of bed. Oh Lord I lift up my prayers for mercy for from 138. I give thanks O Lord with my whole heart and sing your praise because when we call on you, you answer us. And the strength of our souls you do increase. You know that though we walk in the midst of trouble you preserve our lives. You stretch out your hand against the wrath of all that would threaten to overcome us, and your right hand delivers us. You will fulfill your purpose for us, and your steadfast love O Lord endures forever. For I know that you will not forsake the work of your hands but instead pour your Holy Spirit on us. Fill us with your living water. Lift us up with the power that raised Christ from the dead. Renew our strength. It will mount up like eagles. Lord I give you my thanks and I pray your grace and mercy on all of these who have called in. In Jesus’ name. Amen. This is Donna from Pennsylvania.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Wonderfully Made in Albuquerque. Today’s the 23rd of November. I have a prayer request. I have been struggling with some really really extreme anxiety related to work stresses. The work that I am involved in deals with a lot of regulatory compliance issues and I lead a team that supports…has…is a support group for customers. And I…there are some customers that are pretty combative, and I am not the kind of person that deals well with that. I want peace I hate conflict. I know that conflict exists in this life, but I shut down when I have to deal with people who are like that. And I…it’s Monday, I‘m anxious, the emails are pouring in and I’m starting to shake because I am scared of what I’m going to have to deal with. And, yes, I could leave my job and go to a different job but the challenge with that is there’s always going to be people that are just very abrasive and mean and….and so I’m dealing with…I’m struggling with that, especially with how I respond as a Christian. I really don’t lash out in anger at people but what happens is I…I hold it in, and I think through conversations I want to have which I know won’t be edifying. So, anyway I’m just really really struggling, and I need prayers. Thank you so much.

[anastpaul]

Today, 8 December, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. I wish you all a Blessed and Holy Feast Day!

Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 8 December 2012

“I would like to emphasise that Mary is Immaculate through a freely given gift of God’s grace, which, however, found perfect willingness and cooperation in her.   It is in this sense that she is “blessed” because “she believed” (Lk 1:45) and because she had steadfast faith in God.   Mary represents that “remnant of Israel”, that holy root which the Prophets proclaimed.   The promises of the Old Covenant find a ready welcome in her.   In Mary, the Word of God is met with listening, acceptance and a response, He encounters that “yes” which enables Him to take flesh and to come and dwell among us.

In Mary, humanity and history are truly opened to God, they welcome His grace and are prepared to do His will.   Mary is a genuine expression of Grace.   She represents the new Israel, which the Scriptures of the Old Testament describe with the symbol of the bride. And St Paul takes up this language in his Letter to the Ephesians where he speaks of marriage and says “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (5:25-27).   The Fathers of the Church developed this image and thus the Doctrine of the Immaculate Virgin first came into being with reference to the Church virgin-mother and, subsequently, to Mary.   Thus Ephraim the Syrian writes poetically:  “Just as [it was] because these bodies themselves have sinned and are themselves dying, that the earth, their mother was also accursed (cf. Gen 3:7-19), because of this body which is the incorruptible Church, her land was blessed from the outset.   This land is the body of Mary, a temple in which a seed was sown” (Diatessaron 4, 15: sc 121, 102).

The light that shines from the figure of Mary, also helps us to understand the true meaning of original sin.   Indeed that relationship with God which sin truncates is fully alive and active in Mary.   In her there is no opposition between God and her being, there is full communion, full understanding.   There is a reciprocal “yes” – God to her and her to God.   Mary is free from sin because she belongs entirely to God, she empties herself totally for Him.   She is full of His Grace and of His Love.

To conclude, the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary expresses the certainty of faith that God’s promises have been fulfilled and that His Covenant does not fail but has produced a holy root from which came forth the blessed Fruit of the whole universe, Jesus the Saviour.   The Immaculate Virgin shows that Grace can give rise to a response, that God’s fidelity can bring forth a true and good faith.”

Room of the Immaculate Conception

Following the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX, which took place on 8 December 1854, the pontiff decide to celebrate the event with a cycle of frescoes. The large room adjacent to the Raphael Rooms was chosen and the task was assigned to Francis Podesti (1800-1895), a painter originally from Ancona but rooted in the Roman artistic and academic panorama.   The artist, along with his team of workers, worked on the commission from 1856 to 1865, planning it and following its execution in all its aspects –  the wooden doors and window frames and the inlaid marble work, as well as the installation of the Roman mosaic from Ostia Antica, purchased specifically for this space. The pictorial decoration proceeds from the ceiling, with allegorical scenes alluding to the virtues of the Virgin;  it continues along the northern wall with the homage of the continents to the Church enthroned;  it continues on the west wall, devoted to the Discussion of dogma in St Peter’s Basilica and concludes on the east wall, with the Coronation of the Image of Mary, an event following the Proclamation, which took place in St Peter’s.   Podesti, who was present, included a self-portrait here.

#theimmaculateconception #december8theimmaculateconception #catholic #roomoftheimmaculateconception #vatican #catholicism #vaticanimmaculateconception

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 1373

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 1373

Spoilers, obv.

(I say I do these before the next issue came out. I was posting this yesterday and my tumblr account died. As in, my tumblr account was terminated.There’s a couple of things which make me think it’s a glitch (not least there’s no reason for it I could think of, unless Tumblr really loathes writer notes about a lucifer nun. I contact them going “Huh?” and come the morning, it’s back. Hmm. Anyway - here you go, and the next special - Wicdiv: the funnies is out today) 

The final historical special, which seems to require my notes to pull them together and talk about the larger intent. Sitting here and writing, I’m not sure I want to. The backbone of the specials have been the relationship between various Lucifers and Ananke across the centuries. You get a chance at least get acquainted with four Lucifer’s, and get to compare and contrast, and you get to see more developed portraits of what Ananke has been up to across the centuries. As the last one in the printed chronology, that means this one ties all that together, plus (as the other one) introducing some key ideas for the next arc.

It differs in another way – while that’s how the reading order will work for anyone working in single issues, in trades, it’s another story. These are going to be gathered together as Volume 8 (OLD IS THE NEW NEW) and printed chronologically (as in, 455, 1373, 1833, 1922). That’s how people in trades are going to first experience them, which creates a different spin and will bring different elements to the surface.

To state the obvious, the big thing in this one is “oh – here’s how bad Ananke can be.” By implication, it raises the stakes for the final arc in terms of what she could do if her back is against the wall.

I admit, I’ve always been a bit worried when I see a handful of people assume the specials aren’t essential to the story. I don’t believe we’ve ever said that, and it’s simply not true. You can skip them, sure, but it breaks the story as much as skipping any individual issue of WicDiv. What we’ve said is that trade readers don’t need to buy the specials to follow the story. I’m trying to think of anything I could have said that could have been misconstrued? Possibly the “anything we use will be reintroduced”? I dunno.

Anyway – this is simultaneously the biggest and smallest of the special. The idea came to me early – a Lucifer having escaped to a nunnery, repented and lived past the end of her two years. Then Ananke and Minerva catch up with her. Apart from that, I knew that it would give the clearest statement of what Ananke has been doing, and that it would end in fire. The rest of this issue was a process of discovery.

(I’ve talked influences here. Ken Russell’s the Devils. Carrie. The Seventh Seal. Black Narcissus. The Sound Of Music. One of these is a lie.)

To get it up front: I was raised Catholic. This issue caused Katie and Chrissy to basically glance side-eye at me, as if encountering an alien. I’ve done something similar to this before, with Generation Hope’s Idie, but this is a far deeper, darker dive into that.

Fun time, for everyone. The response has been interesting. The people who loved it adored it. Catholic Guilt fist-bump.

Jamie/Matt’s Cover: This is just a stunning one. Jamie’s ability to switch modes is something we rarely push in WicDiv (mainly in icons) but doing stained glass is a hell of a thing. But Matt comes out with something else, and actually making this thing glow. Numinous. Totally Numinous.

Ryan’s Cover: Ryan and I first worked together in Three, and I’d first really fell for his work in his Northlanders arcs, so there’s historical fiction previous. This is a particularly grimy issue of WicDiv, and he’s leaned into it. Lucifer, penitent, looking up – at us, but as we go further, we realise her Father. This is the only place we see with her horns. Clearly, having this on the cover and seeing what she looks like inside has an implied story.

IFC

The icons were oddly tricky here, and Jamie had to work for a period drawing of Satan to riff on. However, the Minerva is a delight. If anyone has seen my attempted drawing of a Minerva symbol when signing Volume 7 will know, this is about my level of physical accuracy.

One thing about the specials I find interesting is what’s the minimum of historical data we have to give to make a story make sense. Obviously “It is thought to be the greatest natural of all time” is loaded. Especially the word “natural.” I wish I tweaked it to make it clear I was talking about the Black Death’s effect on the world rather than just Europe though. The Black Death devastating Europe isn’t the biggest natural disaster – it’s the Black Death full stop.

Page 1

I wrote this issue sparsely. It’s designed to be mediative. As such, a slow long pan opening, setting up the themes visually.

The host… well, do I have to explain Catholicism here? The Host is transformed in the ceremony into the body of Jesus Christ. In this period, however, the actual eating of the host was relatively rare. As such, most ceremonies were more about the simple act of observing the host – the holding up in the modern ceremony is a hold-over for that, as well as the larger size of the host itself so folks can see it better.

Of course, that the observation was the key things make this scene possible – it’s possible for someone to observe the host without actually entering the church, as this long slow pan back from the divinity of the church to the rats on the streets show.

Avignon was home of the Papacy in this period. Generally speaking, there was less research in this special than any other one. I read enough to get the Black Death details I needed, to trace its path and various other things, as well as hitting up period Catholicism. However, it’s also the special that’s most based on my own actual pre-existing knowledge.

Page 2

Size is meaning, as always, and an intro to Lucifer’s cheery catchphrase for the issue.

Oddly, getting period Nun garb for lucifer was hard. I wanted originally for her to be a noviate (as in, Novice)but I couldn’t get reference I trusted, so I went full Nun. FULL NUN. Or NUN MORE GOTH as several excellent people put it.

Page 3

By this point we should realise that Lucifer wants her Father To Forgive Her. I am subtle and elegant in my writing, so you may have missed this.

Good stern mother superior here. The choice of the reds in the eyes is strong. And the reveal of the sawn off horns, which says everything about her.

Page 4

From Ring a ring o’Roses, which folks say is about the plague, but apparently dates from far too late.

Page 5-6

And hello, Minerva. You’re having a bad century too. Trying to signal that she’s falling apart but it’s not the plague was a tricky thing, and we obviously do a lot of pointing in the dialogue.

It’s only here that you start getting the weird and uncanny cleanness of the mud-rolling Lucifer. That she’s addressed as the Girl Who Walks Through Plague makes it even odder. This is an unusual notes for me – I haven’t looked at the issue in a while, so some odd stuff is striking.

“None of us are irredeemable” – god, this issue is king of the loaded lines.

The dispensation thing is a reach, but not an impossible one – during the plague there was a dispensation given in various areas where layfolk could hear each other’s confessions when there was no access to a Priest. This seemed a logical enough extrapolation.

Lucifer’s last lines… oh, I’ll save that. She’s got more WTF ARE YOU SAYING ones in a minute.

Page 7-8-9-10

The Two Days Later loc cap reminds me of what I was doing in terms of setting the date of the story – it’s the Sunday before lent kicks off. That google lets us easily find the calendar for the period and work out when Lent would start is A+.

So much mud! Matt is known for the hyper-bright effects, so to go into something as low-key as this is great. See how it works with Ryan as well.

Flagellants are one of the bits of the research which tweaked the story a little. Self-mortification was on my mind – it’s a key thing in The Devils – and the Flagellants are the avatar of religious injuries, so I was thinking of them anyway. After all – they’re a great image, this mass of people whipping themselves and lamenting loudly. Anyway, I do the research, and discover that as well as travelling the country lamenting, they also were basically a wandering lynch mob killing Jews. Which takes the fun out them, y’know?

“A ditch of god’s good earth is closer to paradise than I deserve” – that’s the kind of line that had me looking at my fingers as if they were alien beings. This issue was structured loosely – Lucifer is called, experiences things on the way, and hears Ananke’s confession” with me writing to explore the setting and characters. As such, it was a surprise half the things Lucifer said about the world around her. This shouldn’t surprise me though – I had a similar experience with Idie, in terms of just being afraid for her.

That Lucifer is THE GIRL WHO WOULDN’T BURN is another connection to Idie, of course. And also foreshadowing.

The nudity is the hardest thing to do, especially when you add whipping to it. I wanted it objective, nature of fact. I have no idea if we pulled it off or not. I do like the space that Ryan puts between the head flagellant, Lucifer and the rest – as if they’re a little intimidated, not wanting to be involved.

And then Lucifer’s judgement. Lucifer’s pride and self-hate are fascinatingly intertwined. I’m not sure if I could have dealt with writing much more of her, but part of me would love to have.

(God – just had the image of Lucifer as my crucifix, which is so OTP I laugh)

The silence at the end of the page makes it linger. The expression Ryan gives Lucifer at the end of the scene – utterly ambivalent to the violence behind her – is one of the more quietly chilling things in the book.

Page 11

I could have just had Lucifer find Ananke here, but I wanted something to show her heading through the town – as well as a chance to look at the plague symptoms. The idea of Ananke having arranged all these corpses to guide the way seemed both chilling and very Ananke.

Worth noting – these are the wrong symptoms for Plague circa 1373. This is the original Black Death symptoms, because Ananke is still carrying the O.G. Plague. It’s not the sort of thing I suspect anyone would ever notice, but it’s there.

Lucifer entering the hut on the last page is a great one – Ryan modulating tone towards Lucifer. This is a straight horror shot.

12-13

And hello, Ananke. You look well, how are you, what have you been up to?

YOU DID WHAT? ANnnnnakkkke!!!!

I like the central framing of this. Purely Objective.

The core question of the issue right at the end of the issue – I do like how Ryan has Ananke pushing up the villain here. Ananke knows how this is going to go. Anankes always don’t really want to die, but I suspect this one may be an exception. This has been no fun at all for her.

The Harrowing Of Hell is basically when Christ went down to Hell to free all the souls from Satan. In short. I’m really not sure how much of this stuff I have to say – a lot of you are Americans, and a far less secular culture than us Brits. Most of my readers didn’t know any of this, which did lead to dialling back the allusions a little.

From now on the issue is basically two women talking in a room, one of whom spends the whole time weak in bed. This is not exactly dramatic comics, so we have to work to keep it visually interesting. To be honest, I always like the challenge. One of the most fun issues I wrote at marvel was just Cyclops and Wolverine in a cell, arguing, with just a six pack for company.

Anyway – some great expressions here from Ananke. Look at panel 5 on page 13. Such contempt!

Page 14-15

For those working out what’s up with Minerva, 14 would be the page to go into. We already know from issue 36 what happens if she can’t complete the ritual.

The flashback to Lucifer’s transformation is an interesting one – the pink colouring really makes me think of 90s Vertigo, and the non-pop-comics they put out then seem to be the closest to this issue.

I like the steel in Lucifer’s glance in panel 2 of page 15, and how uncomfortable that makes Ananke.

Page 16-17

The main thing to try and keep this scene less static is Ananke’s Knife. For these two pages it’s a “Oh – Lucifer’s picked it up. That implies something.” The second is “is she going to use it”. Keep things interacting.

These pages are the simplest explaining of Ananke’s methodology. A lot could be extrapolated, but this ties it together. The other side of this pushes forward what I originally conceived for the historical specials  - as in, seeing how Ananke’s desires twist a little across the centuries. Frankly? She hits the beat again later, but this is a snapshot of how she’s feeling circa 1373.

Page 18-19 “Adieu” is the one bit of actual french in it. I’m not normally a big one on this. It just sometimes feels right.

The tension of the previous page turns is born of the knife, but here’s it’s all about Ananke’s questions. The pauses panel on page 18 is the thing which lends the question weight. I’m fond of “Frozen” panels where you don’t really get to see someone’s face.

The Father on Earth/Father in Heaven enters the story, of course. This is at the heart of the book.

Yet more dead parents on issue 19. WicDiv, eh?

Wherein, Lucifer has the world’s worst superhero origin story. It’s… like, Guilt? I’ve always had a sort of twinge of “Hmmm” towards Spider-man. Guilt is a motivation that has to be unpacked.

Anyway – Lucifer’s fundamental tragedy.

Page 20-21

Here’s a thought experiment for writers – try re-arranging the statements in the first panel here, and realise why we did the order we did and the implication it would carry if we did it in another way. “The Flagellants” is yet more precision to make sure you demarcate stuff.

The plague traveling comes from the research, and as far as I can work out, is accurate. Of course, there’s far better theories to explain this weirdness than “An invulnerable Old Lady was driving the ship”. People will come to respect my genius in years to come, I’m sure.

Ananke is laying it on a little thick, of course. Like… this is a very strange confession. Confessions are strange. There’s a question of what power is.

This is one of those pages which I suspect will become more important when collected with the other specials and read as the eighth volume before the conclusion.

Page 22-23

Great building rage here from Ryan, and what Matt does with the mood is also A+. The arrival of the wet, gore reds after an issue of the mud and old blood is something else. Compare and contrast to the reds and oranges in Lucifer’s eyes.

I look at this and think about page turns. In an ideal world, the 22-23 would be a page turn – you can see she doesn’t stab Ananke, and the self-inflicted injury by glancing to the right. But space is always a premium, and frankly every page could do with being the reveal-turn in this sequence. It’s that or pad it, right?

Ryan added a panel to draw out the pulling away the flesh, which I love.

“this is my body” is about the point where we realise THIS IS REACHING PEAK CATHOLICISM.

Page 24-25-26

I’m feeling if I explain the sacrament here, I’m patronising folks, and if I don’t, these notes kind of are missing the point. I say a bit earlier here, but Google Transubstantiation if you don’t know it. Suffice to say, this is a particularly blasphemous flip of the core regular miracle of the Catholic mass. Bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Lucifer’s body into fire.

I can’t remember where I had this idea from. I knew it ended in fire initially, but didn’t realise it would be this. It was just there when I needed it. It made sense, and that it makes sense worries me. Comics!

Anyway – everything goes Carrie, as the fire consumes them both. The full horror stretching out and out as much as we can, and we return to the “father forgive me” which haunts this book. Which, by this point, everyone knows is loaded.

I like this Lucifer. She’s one of my favourites. I’m glad I got to write her.

Page 27

And Minerva heads off, with her bag of you know what, into the future.

Page 28

Yes “Transubstantiation” pushes the WicDiv design to breaking point.

That’s enough. Thanks for Ryan to join us on this one – he’s an incredible talent and we were lucky to have him. As I write, WicDIv: The Funnies drops tomorrow, with WicDiv returning for its final arc in November.

Thanks for reading.

#WicDiv #ryan kelly #the wicked and the divine #writer notes

[ramrodd]

What does the Confederate flag represent to the people in the South?

COMMENTARY:

In the Army community before Vietnam, Robert E. Lee was sanctified, as defined by the Profession of Arms. Eisenhower lived in Gettysburg in the first house that belonged to Mamie and not to the US Army. Eisenhower kept a picture of Lee on the wall in his office for the same reason a master builder of bridges might keep a portrait of John A. Roebling on the wall of his/her work space, as a muse.

I feel the same way about Lee. He wouldn’t be my inspiration. My inspiration was Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe. These are the guys that took the same oath as the Oath Keepers and slogged their way through eons of drudgery and sudden moments of the Fear of the Lord commingling with an eleven on the Pucker Meter. When they came back from being Up Front for the duration, they didn’t storm the Capitol. The idea of actually assaulting the US Constitution by force of arms, such as January 6, was played out in the minds of the Greatest Generation by the civil rights movement in the South and the anti-war movement more or less universally, but they left the fighing to the constitutional authories to sort out. That’s the point of the 2nd Amendment: the Ku Klux Klan does not fall within the actionable boundaries of the UCMJ and, as both Socrates and Jesus concur, the civic duty of a citizen in a society defined by the secular rule of law, as opposed to any theocracy, is defined by Romans 13″1 - 7: it’s why we elect the leadership of the Republic.

And, in the Profession of Arms as the moral substance of the Clausewitz Paradox that defines the instrumental relationship between the civilian playing the role of POTUS and the terrible swift sword. Robert E. Lee is the absolute metaphysical Archetype of the republican terrible swift sword.

What the fuck do you thing war is all about?

America has been doing war against the African-American community for 40 years with the War on Drugs. SWAT means “Special Weapons and Tactics” which are principally the urban warfare tacticts the Army and the Marines took to Fallujah. SWAT tactics were just being introduced into the civilian police forces when I got back from Vietnam in 1971 in response to the boutique terrorism of the Weather Underground and extreme Maoist black counter-terrorism gangs. The whole Patty Hearst thing brought it to a head and people like Christopher Hitchens began to re-think the charms of the Trotsky insurgence. Munich in 1972 demonstrated that the battle had gone to another level and the Radical-Liberals on the Upper East Side began to keep their distance from Yoko Ono.

And, when the Reagan people took over Washington, which was nearly 70% black at the time, the PeterMeter on racism went off the scale. All these preppy white bigots like Klukker Karlson began showing up at saloons all over town and they began to transform the DC culture to their version of We, the People Land, like a Disney-version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to make white supremacists feel safe and cozy.

White people are scared to death of DC because it is Chocolate City run by black folks who are determined to get some pay backs from the white bigots who come into town to buy their drugs or hook up with their whores. I live in DC because I have always felt safe here and I’ve been held up at gun point twice. It comes with the NRA version of the 2nd Amendment.

But DC is really pretty much a Rainbow culture in the government. I’ve been involved in affordable housing since the Carter administration and I was part of the Housing for All campaign that was launched by the Community for Non-Profit Housing and Economic Development organization to capitalize the Housing Production Capital Fund with $100 million annually to preserve, repair, replace and create affordable housing to and to constantlly mitigate and prevent homelessness. As you shift people off the streets and into permanent housing, you begin to make significant shifts in the costs in public healthcare from the fiscal budget to a capital budget, which is far more cost effective than the current paradigm. I just watched a ZOOM broadcast between Anita Bonds and Stephen Glaude about raising the capital pool to $400 because Mayor Bowser’s affordable housing programs are such effective investments that, like the Parable of the Talents, the city wants to double down on it.

So, I’ve watched this city government at work since 1971 and the farther away we get from Congress running things through the Committee on the District of Columbia, the better the city works to support the mission of the Congress. DC has been a playground of elected officials since Congress bought it from George Washington and you have assholes like Matz Gaetz and Ron Johnson who are offended by anything negro at all unless its shining shoes or setting the table for 8 dinner party in Georgetown.

And that’s what the Confederate Flag means in the South as distinct from Robert E. Lee. It’s a banner that reads “We can do any fucking thing we want to do because we are white, free and 21 and, if you’re not. get your ass out of town by sundown or swing in the lyrics of “Strange Fruit” by morning.

And these are basically the assholes who claim to be Oath Keepers because they are white and free to buy as many guns as their budgets can afford and be just like the predominately white SWAT Team officers, busting down doors and shooting their way into the living room according to doctrine.

Officers like Robert E. Lee were in charge of soldiers and Marines breaking into the homes and neighborhoods in Fallujah. What are SWAT Tactics to Oath Keepers looking for glory as a fashion statement was just another day in Paradise for the soldiers and Marines veterans of Fallujah.

Lee was able to avoid the scorched-earth tactics of Sherman and Sheridan by remaining primarily on the defensive, but that’s not the reason for his sactification. It is because he is a nearly prefect model of the republican citizen soldier and hoodwinked instrument of state in the Clausewitzian paradigm and paragon of Duty as the essential virtue of the Profession of Arms.

Donald Trump is a living example of a moral code based on avoiding any civic duty as an organizing principle. And that moral anarchy defines the moral context of the relationship between the Oath Keepers and the Confederate Battle Flag.

Which is metaphysically divorced from everything Robert E. Lee represents in the Profession of Arms.

As I say, the US Army was a Southern institution when I was growing up, but in the George Thomas sense of the word. George Thomas was from the Virginia aristocracy like Lee, but he remained in the US Army and destroyed two rebel armies during the war. Beyond discussing the causes of the war on a purely academic basis, the politics were generally avoided. Any enthusiasm for the rebellion was generally avoided as distasteful and the reality of the systemic lawlessness in the civilian community that the Confederate battle flag represented remained off post.

Robert E. Lee is the exact opposite of what the Oath Keepers represent and the white supremacists who drive around in pickups flying that banner are engaged in stolen valor. The irony, of couse, is that the Oath Keepers believe their are sprinkling themselves with the pixie dust of Robert E. Lee’s honor by appropriating the symbol of the southern patriot in battle who abided by their paroles after Appomattox as tenaciously as they obeyed Lee’s orders before the last ditch ended their service.

Lee was the paragon of Duty, but Honor is the weasle word soldiers on both side give him a pass in regards to his soldiering for the South. Lee went from being the offensive coordinator for Lincoln to being the offensive coordinator for Jefferson Davis. There was nothing personal about it, just business, devotion to Duty.

After 911, nobody was flying Confederate flags until Toby Keith decided to define “patriotism” with a little right-wing cancel culture on the Dixie Chicks and, after that , every time the White Supremacist National Anthe (Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA), was played, more and more Confederate flags began popping out, hoping to start a fight, somewhere.

And that’s what the Confederate battle flag means in the South.

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May 13, 2018 - “I Am the Vine” John 15:1-8

Click KEEP READING to read the full sermon.

Introduction

Have you had a fruit-bearing plant in your backyard or plantation that brought such a great delight to your heart because of its abundant fruits? I had one. And it came in the most unexpected place during my first pastorate in the city of Tuguegarao in the northern province of Cagayan. In an interior part of the city stands a two-floor church building within a thousand five hundred-square meter church lot. Below is the worship hall with folding doors on the western side fronting an open ground fifteen meters to the adjacent lot. The second floor is about four meters above the ground. Half of the area upstairs is a four-bed room parsonage with a wide reception area. It was a privilege to shepherd the church for ten years as a single pastor and dwelt alone in the parsonage. On the southern part of the parsonage are two doors with railings and unfinished stairs. The great surprise came when a papaya plant grew near the wall on the ground below the left door of the parsonage. I wondered how a seed was sown in that particular place and it was so amusing to see the plant grow. The amazing moment came when the plant at two meters high started to bear fruit. The fruits were surprisingly big and many! It continued to bear abounding fruits until it reached the second floor. And all I had to do was to simply pick the sweet ripe fruits at hand from the door. With such delight of a great harvest came much searching of my heart. As I gazed on the wonderful papaya plant, I saw my bare hands in a manner that humbled me before God. Through the years the church had planted four growing churches in three neighbouring towns. It is all by the grace of God. The papaya plant reminds me of my lifetime verse.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Jesus taught his disciples on the Christian life like a vineyard (15:1-3) and focused on his intimate relationship with his disciples as that of the vine and the branches (15:4-8).

We remind ourselves that the “I Am” confessions of our Lord Jesus Christ are revelations of himself so we can personally know him to redeem us from our sinfulness and transform us into his likeness. As the “bread of life,” Jesus offers us the gift of eternal life and for us to enjoy a redeemed life to its fullness. As the “light of the world,” he calls us from the darkness of sin into his light of holiness. As the “gate for the sheep,” he invites us to come to him in repentance and faith and be forgiven and saved from our sins. As the “good shepherd,” he laid down his life for us at the cross and leads us to a path of blessedness. As “the way and the truth and the life,” he is the only way for us to know God and dwell into his heavenly abode forever. And as the “vine,” he calls us to abide in him as branches so we can have a fulfilled and fruitful life.

A.  The Vineyard (15:1-3)

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave a unique portrait of our relationship with God like that of a vineyard. The Heavenly Father is the Gardener, Jesus is the vine and the believers are branches. Though the Holy Spirit was not mentioned, it is him who is also at work behind the scenes together with the Father and the Son.

1. The Vine

Jesus gave an exclusive claim of himself, “I am the true vine” (15:1a). In Jesus’ confessions he used the word “true” to speak of his absolute claims of who he is. He revealed of himself as the “true bread” (6:32) from heaven and the “true vine” (15:1) rooted on earth. John the Beloved referred to Jesus as the “true light’ (1:9) and not of John the Baptist who served as a prophetic light in presenting Jesus to the world.

In a figurative language, Jesus portrayed himself as the “true vine.” In biblical times the primary means of living for the Jews and Gentiles was agriculture. The “vine” which Jesus spoke about referred to grapes as a primary fruit on house table and a source of wine for communal festivities. In a spiritual realm, for Jesus to have claimed of himself as the “true vine” was a clear declaration that he is the absolute source of the entirety of life and fountain of wholesome living. For him to have used the phrase “true vine” implied the existence of “false vines” that are powerless to give life and nourish a meaningful living.

In the farewell message of Moses to the Israelites, he integrated to his narrative speech the spiritual journey of the former generation who had unfortunately lived in unbelief and disobedience. To such a stubborn generation who deserted the LORD their God (Deut. 32:18), Moses gave a disheartening description to his Hebrew people.

“Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poisons of cobra.” (Dt. 32:32-33)

The “vine of Sodom” can either be taken literally or symbolically. If interpreted as a symbol, it refers to the bitterness and unfruitfulness of pagan gods and religious practices. If taken literally, it refers to a real fruit but its identification remains obscure. The probable suggestions could either be the solanum, an orange-colored, inedible fruit, or the colocynth, a wild gourd with bitter fruit which grows on sandy ground near the Dead Sea.

In a figurative sense, Jesus spoke of himself as the “true vine” primarily referring to a grape vine as a choice fruit-bearing vine in ancient times and not to any wild vine that produces inedible fruits. In a spiritual realm, Jesus as the “true vine” reveals of himself as the absolute source of life in its entirety and as the one who sustains the fullness of living.

 2. The Gardener

In the vineyard of life, Jesus claimed of himself as the true vine “and my Father is the gardener” (15:1b). For Jesus to have identified the Father as the gardener with the use of a definite article, he revealed his Father as the ultimate caretaker of souls just as the gardener takes care of the grape vine. And one of the primary tasks of a gardener is pruning.  

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (15:2)

Pruning is normally done during the winter, late November or December, as the grapevines go dormant and loose all their leaves. A gardener prunes vines to achieve a balance between fruit production and adequate, but not excessive, shoot growth. Annual pruning is necessary to remove unsuitable canes while retaining the good ones. A cane is a mature shoot after leaf fall. Fruit is only produced on shoots growing from one-year old canes. Healthy new canes must be produced every year to maintain annual production of fruit. A pruning hook, which is a small knife with curved blade, is used for pruning grapevines. Every branch that does not bear fruit is cut, but each branch that bears fruit is pruned to bear more fruit. Without pruning, the grape vine will have many branches covered with leaves but it will only produce few fruits.

Applied in a spiritual realm, our Heavenly Father who is our spiritual gardener disciplines us as his legitimate children to purge us from our sinfulness so we can live in godliness. Through discipline, God sets us apart as his own beloved children from those who are not. The author of Hebrews explains the necessity of spiritual pruning or divine discipline in the Christian life.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we all had human fathers, who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers discipline us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:7-11)

3. The Branches

It was on the context of the spiritual pruning done by the Father as the spiritual gardener to his own children that Jesus directly mentioned his disciples as sanctified by his word. “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (15:3)

This was in reference to the word that Jesus declared to his disciples when he washed their feet. He said to his apostles, “You are clean, though not every one of you” (Jn. 13:10b). He said this because “he knew who was going to betray him, and that is why he said not everyone was clean” (13:11). He spoke about Judas Iscariot who would betray him. When Jesus told his eleven apostles, “You are clean,” he was not referring to physical cleanliness as Simon Peter thought. Rather, it was a spiritual cleansing for Jesus to have set apart the apostles to himself from the world. He spoke of his disciples that though they were in the natural world yet they were no longer of the evil system of the world (Jn. 17:14). It was for this reason that Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of his disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). The Greek word for sanctify, hagiazo, means to set apart for sacred use or make holy. The word that Jesus declared to his apostles was the same word of the Father. Jesus made this clear, “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (Jn. 14:10b). Through the divine authority and power of the words of Jesus, the disciples are sanctified as “branches” set apart to be holy covenant people connected to Jesus as the “vine.”

The imageries of the vine and the gardener portray the intimate relationship of the Christian with Jesus as the source of life and with the Father as the guardian of soul. Is Jesus the true vine of our lives in whom we anchor our whole being? And is the Father the gardener of our souls to whom we yield our all? In anchoring our being to Jesus as our God, Savior and Lord, we are given the right to become the children of our Father in heaven. As children, our Father prunes us to transform us in the image of Christ. And he disciplines us in his great love for us.

B.  The Vine and the Branches (15:4-8)

In the vineyard of life, Jesus is the true vine, the Father is the caring gardener and the covenant people of God are the branches being pruned to become fruitful. And fruitfulness as a Christian witness is rooted in abiding in Jesus as Lord. Jesus focused on the integrated idea of fruit-bearing and abiding based on the similitude of the vine and the branches. This speaks on the intimate bond between Jesus and his disciples.

1. The Call to Fruitfulness

Jesus called his disciples to bear fruit by abiding in him.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (15:4-5)

In the “I Am” confessions of Jesus, his intimate relationship with his disciples was pictured in two integrated metaphors. First was that of the good shepherd and the sheep. The shepherd laid down his life for the sheep and the sheep listen to his voice and follow him. Second was that of the true vine and the branches. The vine gives life to the branches and the branches bear fruit as they abide in the vine.

Based on the second imagery, Jesus gave a direct portrait in reference to his relationship with his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” In light of this intimate relationship, Jesus delivered a clear message, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” He applied this truth on a personal note, “Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me...Apart from me you can do nothing.” And he gave a clear command and corresponding assurance, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Rooted upon this mutual bond, Jesus gave a reassuring word, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.”

What does it mean to abide in Christ? First, we abide in him as a person. Jesus said, “Abide in me” (15:4, 5). Jesus to have declared that he is the “true vine” was in reference to himself as the God-incarnate (1:1, 14), the absolute Saviour of the world (1:28; 4:42) and the Lord of all (11:27; 20:28). Abiding in him is to believe who he is as he claimed to be. Second, we abide in his word. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you” (15:7). This means for us to embrace his word as the very Word of God. Abiding in him is to trust and take him at his word. And third, we abide in the love of Christ. “Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (15:9) Jesus loved us by offering his life for us. Abiding in him is for us to offer our lives for Jesus and to the Christian brethren (1 Jn. 3:16).

We abide in Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Triune God. We abide in his word as the Word of God. And we abide in his love by yielding our all to God. In abiding in Jesus, his word and his love, he promised us to bear fruit (15:4), much fruit (15:5) and lasting fruit (15:16). We treasure and live by the word of Jesus, “No branch can bear fruit by itself...Apart from me you can do nothing.” This calls on our part for humility, faith, dependence, obedience and sacrifice.

Every Christian disciple is called to bear fruit. The spiritual fruit speaks of godliness in our daily living, faithfulness in our daily task and dedication in our daily witness in bringing people to Christ. Where then is the fruit in our lives? Our answer speaks on how we abide in Christ.

2. The Warning to Unfruitfulness

Jesus made a solemn warning to those who do not bear fruit.

“If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (15:6)

Branches in a grapevine that do not bear any fruit are called suckers. They are recipients of the nutrients channelled through the vine yet contain the benefit to themselves and remain fruitless. These fruitless branches are cut and burned into the fire.

In the gospel accounts, John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ by calling people to repent from their sins and to put their trust in God. He summoned the people with this message, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Lk. 3:8a). For the unbelievers and unrepentant, he warned them of imminent divine judgment, “The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk 3:9). And he particularly prophesied the judgment of Jesus Christ to every person who do not manifest genuine faith and repentance: “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Lk. 3:17). John the Beloved saw in a vision this dreadful eternal judgment as “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:10b, 15). Jesus Christ and John the Baptist referred to the same divine judgment but they used different metaphors. John used the imagery of the cutting of a fruitless tree while Jesus used the cutting of the fruitless branch.

The cutting of fruitless branches from the vine was applied by Apostle Paul to both Hebrews and Gentiles. The vine is Jesus Christ. The natural branches are the Hebrew people and the grafted branches refer to believing Gentiles. Any unbelieving Jew is cut off from the vine while any believing Gentile is grafted in. In the saving grace of God there is no room for spiritual pride. Apostle Paul gave this stern warning.

“You (Gentiles) will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I (Gentile) could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell (unbelieving Jews), but kindness to you (Gentile believers), provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” (Rom. 11:19-23)

This calls for self examination. If we, either a Jew or a Gentile, claims to know Jesus Christ yet does not show on how we live, we may only be a professing Christian. Perhaps, we may know the Christian creed but if we habitually make excuses and justify our sinful behaviours, we may not have a personal relationship with Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Probably, we may go through all the motions of the Christian activities but if we do not have the assurance of being saved because we are defiant to yield our all under the Lordship of Christ, the Holy Spirit may not be indwelling in our hearts to affirm us that we are a child of God. If we are a professing Christian who habitually live in sin and unyielding to the Lordship of Christ, should we not humbly search our hearts and settle things right with God and be sure in our faith in Christ? If not, we could be one of the fruitless branches detached from the true vine.

Apostle Paul makes an earnest plea, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2b). It is not the will of God for anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Yet, we must make a personal choice. Jesus, the true vine, invites us to himself and be one of his fruitful branches. Yielding our all to Jesus is the greatest decision in life for us to be connected with Jesus as the true vine of our lives.

3. The Confidence in Abiding

Jesus gave a reassuring promise to his disciples.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (15:7)

Abiding in Christ is abiding in his word. Faith in the Lord means obedience to his word. Solid trust in God rooted in his word will give us the spiritual discernment of knowing his will for our lives. And if we ask in accordance to his will, we have the assurance that he hears us and grants the desire of our hearts. In full dependence upon God and in complete submission to his will, we have confidence in the reassuring word of Jesus, “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

Like branches that are secure in abiding to the vine, our Lord Jesus will see us through in whatever circumstance in life. In every pressing need, heartbreaking crisis and crucial decision we face, we can be sure of one thing—Jesus is with us as we wrestle with all our pains, fears and tears.

King David went through the unimaginable humbling experience when he appeared as insane before the pagan King Abimelech—out of fear for his life. God rescued him. And David offered a song of prayer.

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry...The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” (Ps. 34:15,17-19)

Jesus our Lord is true and trustworthy. In his farewell address to his apostles he cheered them up. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33) In this fallen world, Jesus had overcome every temptation and trouble. And he did just that for our own sake. So we abide in him and follow his footsteps. In yielding our all to him, his ears are attentive to our cries.

4. The Witness in Fruit-bearing

In all our pains and tears, Jesus calls us to bloom and be fruitful. Jesus declared, “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (15:8). The delightful fruit can be a simple greeting of concern, a smile from the heart, a sincere prayer for someone, a helping hand to someone in need, a word of comfort to the wounded, a listening ear to the broken, a loving rebuke to the wayward, a heart of forgiveness to the fallen and sowing the gospel seed of truth to lead a sinner to Jesus. The abounding fruit is the work of the Holy Spirit as we yield to the Lordship of Christ. In this world we make a godly difference. And we do this in Jesus’ name for the glory of God.

Conclusion

We are called to dwell in the vineyard of God. Jesus is the true vine. The Father is the gardener. And we the disciples are the branches. Jesus, the true vine, is the absolute life-giver and ultimate source of a fulfilled life. The Father as the gardener casts out unbelievers as he cuts off unfruitful branches from the vine, but he disciplines his own children to purify their souls as a fruit-bearing branch is pruned to become more fruitful. And as the branches that cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, so we are called to abide in Christ to bear fruits with lasting significance for apart from him we can do nothing. What does this vineyard of life mean to us?

We are called to cultivate intimacy with God. Are we connected to the true vine? To abide in Christ is to enthrone him into our hearts as our God, Savior and Lord. Anchored upon this personal relationship, Jesus yearns for an intimate fellowship with us. The entirety of our lives must be centered in Christ. Everything must revolve around him. Our hearts will be at peace when we rest in his presence in our daily walk with him.

We yield our all to be sanctified by God. Are we being grateful being pruned by the Gardener? Discipline and affliction are effective tools the Father use to purify our souls. He will never tolerate sin in our hearts. And even if our hearts are right with him, he allows us to go through the fiery trials in life so we can walk in humility in his all-sufficient grace.

We dedicate our lives to bear fruit for God. Do we abide in Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit in bearing fruit for the glory of our Heavenly Father? Despite all our flaws and failures, our Father delights to mold and use us to declare his name and advance his cause. God has a special way to remind us of our noble calling. I will not forget the papaya plant.

#sermon #sermons #God #bear fruit #fruitfulness #Christian #sunday #worship #worshipservice #vine

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Psychoanalytical Analysis

There was undoubtedly a major surrealist influence on Richards when it came to creating this painting, thanks to many works of surrealist artist becoming popular in the 1920s and being brought to the UK and exhibited, as mentioned earlier. But as well as surrealism, it is also widely believed that Richards was inspired by Asian devotional works used for meditation he first saw when visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, accompanied by George Jardin[1] (National Museums Liverpool) who was a fellow student at Wallasey School of Art, and contemporary artist. These devotional works often portray a God or powerful figure in Asian culture in the centre of the piece surrounded by cultural patterns, imagery and symbols. We can see this inspiration due to the similar nature of the portrait; Richards posing in the centre being the largest figure, and being surrounded by various other images and symbols.

Because of the piece’s personal nature, only Richards himself knows the true meaning behind this painting and its strange imagery, however his mother was also one of the few people who knew the paintings meaning. She intended to give information on the painting for the Walker Art Gallery, but unfortunately died before she had the chance to[2] (National Museums Liverpool), leaving the painting with a sense of mystery, and leaving ourselves as viewers to make only assumptions about Richards and his painting; this does not necessarily have to be a bad thing though, as the lack of information we have on the image and Richard’s life, adds to the surrealism of it.

Here are some things that we can interpret as a viewer: the large use of the colour blue can suggest sadness or some type of anxiety Richards may have experienced, the anxiety perhaps being about the upcoming war and having to fight or perhaps something personal such as attending the Royal College of Art, overall the blue also gives the painting a negative feeling; the blue tinted glasses Richards is seen wearing could suggest that he views most things pessimistically. On the hill in the distance is a crucifix with what appears to be Jesus on it, this suggesting some sort of religious influence in his life. Also, the water surrounding Richards could be representative of where he grew up and has spent his life, Liverpool and Wallasey being places quite close of the sea and rivers.

Additionally, the paratrooper falling from the sky can apply to his future in the 9th parachute battalion or alternatively his veteran father, this would make sense since this painting was produced between the end of the first world war and the start of the second world war; this can be symbolic of how Richards has always had some association with war.

Now Stacey is going give a deeper insight at the iconography of the painting and what it all means.

Bibliography:

National Museums Liverpool, https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/albert-richards-self-portrait-talk-transcript , 8th November to 19th November 2020

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How To Leave Big Canvas Painting Without Being Noticed | Big Canvas Painting

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE L ast week, I wrote about the Kimbell Art Architecture and the Modern Art Architecture in Fort Worth. Ancillary by ancillary in a midsize Texas oil and beasts city, they appearance an abrupt and arch “Made in Fort Worth” ability brand. The city’s got austere money but additionally acceptable aftertaste and borough pride. A third museum, the Amon Carter, is adjacent and specializes in American art. With so abundant art and a abundant symphony, too, Fort Worth is a destination.

When I was a architecture director, I abstruse that company surveys and absorbing over company acquaintance accept alone so abundant value. As people, we’re all unique, and our moods change, too. There’s so abundant aberration that abstraction a company acquaintance or accouterment to a absent all-encomping company can become a decay of time. Aback our personalities and moods appointment art and architecture, a atypical architecture acquaintance is born.

When I visited the Modern in Fort Worth, I craved serenity. If serenity, contemplation, and absent-mindedness topped my agenda, the Modern’s admirable Tadao Ando architecture supplied the stage, and the museum’s curators supplied the exhibition. Mark Bradford: End Affidavit opened at the Modern on March 8, canicule afore the Chinese coronavirus shutdown, and afterwards the crisis, it would accept run through aboriginal August. The Modern’s accessible again, and it has adjourned the loans so the appearance can run through the fall.

The Capodimonte appearance at the Kimbell abutting aperture gives

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[ltworld]

Revelation, Coronavirus, and the Mark of the Beast: How Should Christians Read the Bible’s Most Fascinating Book? Part 2

Kevin DeYoung

Earlier in the week I started a three-part series on how to read the book of Revelation. We will get to the mark of the beast next week, but first, an explanation of what Revelation says about itself.

You can tell a lot about a book by its introduction. Read the first few sentences of a fairy tale, a memoir, or a logic textbook, and you will instinctively know that there are certain “rules” for interpreting these works correctly. A good introduction helps us approach the rest of the book in the right way. That’s what the introduction to Revelation does. It orients us to the type of literature we are about to encounter.

In particular, the first three verses of Revelation tell us three important things about the type of book we are reading. Revelation is an apocalypse, a prophecy, and a letter.

Apocalypse

The word “revelation” is simply the English translation of the Greek word apokalupsis found at the beginning of verse 1. The book of Revelation is about the uncovering or the unveiling of what must soon take place. To be sure, in some ways, this is a mysterious and difficult book. But we must remember, Revelation is not meant to shroud the truth but to reveal it. God means for us to understand this book.

“Apocalyptic” can sound like an intimidating word, but all we need to understand that as an apocalypse, Revelation is a book of showing. That’s what makes it so intriguing and so tricky. The book doesn’t give us precise legal codes; it gives us verbal pictures. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him [Jesus] to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1). It’s important to note that John doesn’t draw us a picture of what he saw or act it out in a play. He expects his visions to be read and heard. We are still dealing with text. But don’t look past the obvious: Revelation is a book of showing. The verb “to see” appears 52 times in Revelation. We are meant to “see” what we read on the pages.

We should look at the visions of Revelation as we would look at portraits in an art gallery. Revelation is not given as sequential clips from a movie, but as self-contained portraits that often show the same thing in a different way. The word most scholars use is “recapitulation.” It means that Revelation is not a chronological road map from chapters 4 to 22, but a series of visions that overlap and repeat. The seven seals are a portrait, and the seven trumpets are another portrait, but they do not necessarily follow one after the other.

Let me see if I can explain this recapitulation better by giving you some examples. Look at Revelation 11:15-18. It’s clearly a picture of final judgment for all people, the righteous and the wicked, the small and the great. Compare these verses with Revelation 20:11-15, which is clearly another picture of final judgment. It will be difficult to make sense of these sections if we think one follows chronologically after the other. We aren’t watching a movie unfold in real time; we are looking at different portraits of the same reality.

You could also look at Revelation 16:17 where the seventh angel pours out his bowl and says, “It is done!” Then in 21:6, he who sits on the throne says, “It is done!” If chapter 21 occurs temporally after chapter 16, we are left with a lot of confusion. God declares “It is done” in two different places. But if Revelation is full of recapitulation, this is not a problem.

Here is one more pair of verses: Revelation 6:12-17 and 16:18-20. In both sections we encounter the day of God’s wrath with a cataclysmic earthquake, islands fleeing, and mountains removed from their place. How can the earth crumble to pieces two times? It doesn’t. But in Revelation, we often have two different portraits of the same event.

We can’t read Revelation like every other book. Revelation is a book of symbols in motion. The graphic images and pictures (given with words) point to a deeper reality. The seven stars are angels, and the seven lampstands are seven churches (1:20). The seven heads are seven hills (17:9). The prostitute is a great city (17:18). Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints (19:8). The ancient serpent is the Devil (20:2). Unless we are prepared to look at Revelation symbolically—in pictures—we will miss the point.

Because Revelation is a showing book, full of symbols, numbers play a crucial role. John doesn’t use numbers as secret codes to crack but as signs of completeness, totality, and perfection (or the lack thereof). Three numbers are particularly important: seven, four, and twelve.

Seven is the number of completeness, especially in a spiritual sense. Thus, John writes to seven churches (real churches) as a representation of all churches. Likewise, we see seven spirits, seven judgments (in the seals, trumpets, and bowls), and seven lamps. The phrase “Lord God Almighty” occurs seven times (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6; 21:22), as does the phrase “the one who sits on the throne” (4:9; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:15; 21:5) and the word “Christ” (1:1, 2, 5; 11:15; 12:10; 20:4, 6).  Prophecy is mentioned seven times (1:3; 11:6; 19:10; 22:7, 10, 18, 19). Peoples, tribes, languages, and nations are mentioned seven times (5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). The Spirit/Holy Spirit is mentioned seven times in relation to the seven churches and another seven times in the rest of the book (1:10; 4:2; 14:3; 17:3; 19:10; 21:10; 22:17). Jesus is used 14 times (7 x 2), and Christ is called the Lamb twenty-eight times (7 x 4).

The number four points to universality or worldwide scope. That’s why we read of four living creatures, four horsemen, the four corners of the earth, the four winds, and the four-fold phrase “people, tribe, language, and nation.” Similarly, the phrase “the one who lives forever” appears four times (4:9, 10; 10:6; 15:7) as does “seven spirits” (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) and references to lightning, sounds, and thunder from the throne (4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18).

The number 12 and its multiples indicate the fullness of God’s people. Hence, we have 12 tribes and 12 apostles. We read of 24 (12 x 2) thrones and 24 elders. We see God’s people symbolically depicted as 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1000). And in the depiction of the New Jerusalem where God’s people dwell for all eternity, the number 12 occurs 12 times.

You get the picture (pun intended). Revelation, as an apocalypse, is a book of symbols and a book of showing.

Prophecy

Revelation is also a prophecy (1:3; 22:7), and as such, it’s rooted in Old Testament imagery. We will misread Revelation if we try to find referents from our day instead of first of all seeing allusions from the Old Testament. Think of all the Old Testament imagery that Revelation borrows: the tree of life, the ancient serpent, the plagues, the Song of Moses, Jezebel, Babylon, the temple, Jerusalem, the 12 tribes of Israel, priests, incense, Balaam, the water of life, the winepress of God’s wrath, and on and on and on. Even though Revelation is about the future, it, more than any other book in the New Testament, only makes sense when seen through the eyes of the past. A list of Old Testament allusions and parallels in Revelation would fill several pages, with around 500 references.

Moreover, Revelation is not just steeped in Old Testament imagery, it is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Think, for example, of the connection between Revelation and the book of Daniel. In Daniel 2 Daniel interprets a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. In his dream Nebuchadnezzar sees a large statue made of gold, silver, iron, and clay. The statue is broken to pieces by a rock that then becomes a huge mountain that fills the whole earth. The four metals are four kingdoms, and the rock is a final kingdom set up by God that will destroy all the other kingdoms and never be destroyed. In Daniel 2:28 Daniel says, “God has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.” And in verse 29 he says, “The revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.” This language is similar, and identical in parts, to the language used in Revelation 1:1, except this time John speaks of a revelation that God gave to show what must soon take place. The phrase “what must soon take place” is used four times in Revelation, and the connection with Daniel is deliberate. What Daniel interpreted as going to happen in latter days is now close and even at hand. The appointed time when God would set up his divine everlasting kingdom—that rock that destroyed the statue of gold, silver, iron, and clay—has arrived.

Let me highlight one more connection, this time between the end of Daniel and the end of Revelation. In Daniel 12:4 Daniel is told, “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end.” In Revelation 22:10 John is told, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.” You can hear the similar language. But, whereas Daniel was told to seal it up until the end, John was told to keep it open, because the time is near. What Daniel saw was coming to culmination in John’s day. What had been far off was now near at hand.

This means we are in the end times/last days and have been for years (cf. Acts 2:17; 1 Tim. 4:1). This doesn’t mean the end of the world is tomorrow. The “end times” or the “last days” is the designation for the time following the triumph of Jesus Christ on the cross. A new day has dawned in salvation history. That’s the point of the connections between Daniel and Revelation. The divine kingdom that would destroy all other kingdoms has already come—it is at hand. But it is not yet fully established. The prophecy of Daniel and the whole Old Testament, really, has come to its zenith in Revelation. The triumph of the Son of Man, the coming of the divine kingdom, and the salvation of the righteous, and the judgment of the wicked have already occurred, and they are not yet completed. In other words, the time that John saw as soon to appear has not been fully realized, but it has been inaugurated.

If all this sounds confusing, it’s because most of us don’t understand how multi-layered biblical prophecy is. Most prophecy in the Bible works by speaking to the immediate context and spinning out into the future. Most prophecy has an already and not-yet fulfillment.

For example, Isaiah 40:3-5 says, “A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.” What is Isaiah talking about? Well, he’s talking about the return from exile in Babylon, but he’s also thinking of a deliverance more complete. Therefore, when the Gospels see in John the Baptist the fulfillment of Isaiah 40, they aren’t making things up. They are seeing the fulfillment of God’s ultimate salvation. The New Testament writers understood—as the Old Testament prophets did—that prophecy usually has a near-term and long-term fulfillment.

It’s as if a prophet came to America after 9-11 and said, “Hear, O my people, in America. Your days of fear will soon be over. I will topple Hussein. Bin Laden will I find out. Baghdad will be a haunt of jackals and Al-Qaeda a wasteland. No more will terror strike your land. Mothers will no longer weep. Children will not be fatherless. I will deliver you from all your sorrows. Death shall be destroyed, and your punishment ended. I will be among you always. I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.” Obviously, that’s not a real prophecy. But since it deals with familiar people and places, we can more easily hear near-term and long-term fulfillment. My made-up prophecy speaks hope into the immediate context, but the language is also so exalted and otherworldly as to point us to a later, fuller fulfillment. That’s how prophecy worked in the Old Testament and how it is fulfilled in Revelation.

Letter

Revelation is an apocalypse, a prophecy, and a letter. It is a letter written by John and sent to seven real churches. Some of the churches were under attack: spiritually, physically, and materially. And some of the churches were knee-deep in compromise and worldliness. The message that this letter conveyed was, above almost all else, an exhortation to overcome. “Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Jesus has won the victory. Live like him. Die like him. But do not succumb to the devil and the world.”

Revelation was probably a circular letter meant to be read at one church and then sent on to the next. Revelation would be read in a worship service, probably in one sitting. Much of the congregation would have been illiterate. They couldn’t have studied the letter even if they had a copy, so the church would listen as the reader read.

You might think, But how could they possibly understand a book like this? They didn’t have commentaries, or concordances, or Bible software, or inductive training methods, or even a Bible to follow along in! But they did have several advantages we don’t have.

First, they didn’t have TVs, movies, and the internet, so they were probably just plain better at learning with their ears.

Second, they probably knew the Old Testament better than we do.

Third, they didn’t need a translation. Fourth, they lived in the world and culture in which the letter was written. That’s a huge advantage. No matter how brilliant and diligent our study, we will never be able to know the world of first-century Asia Minor as well as the people who lived in it. I’m sure there were all sorts of idioms, symbolisms, and referents that we struggle to uncover that they would have known instantly. We have to read big fat books to figure these things out, but things would have been much clearer had you been sitting in the First Church of Smyrna. This isn’t to make us despair of understanding Revelation. With a good knowledge of the Old Testament and some historical knowledge, we can understand this book. After all, God gave it to us to show his servants what must soon take place. The point I am trying to reinforce is that we must not forget Revelation was a real letter to real people. It was written for a first-century audience. Now, it still has significance for us, but it was first of all written to seven churches in Asia Minor who lived in the first century, understood Greek, and were threatened by persecution and tempted to compromise. While it’s quite possible for Revelation to signify more than first-century Christians could fully understand, it must never mean less. As a letter, our interpretations of Revelation must be constrained by John’s authorial intent and the original audience’s ability to make sense of what was written.

Note: This post was first published through The Gospel Coalition website.

#deyoung #revelation

[random-notes-and-jottings]

Following the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol (and the daubing of slogans on the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the plinth of Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square), there have been an awful lot of poorly-argued positions flying around. One such is James O’Brien’s tweet which asserts, “Your view of the statue is your view of slavery”. Even given the limited character-count of Twitter, that is a very poor imitation of an argument. It plays well to the adoring gallery, but it’s no more coherent than “Your view of Boris Johnson is your view of people from New York,” or, “Your view of Priti Patel is your view of British Asian women”.

Those who have condemned the toppling of the statue have tended to rely on an equally poor counter-assertion: “It’s part of our history”. That is true, but it’s not an argument in itself, or perhaps not in the sense that its proponents think. Jimmy Savile is part of our recent popular history. Many of us grew up watching him on TV, and though we always suspected he was a bit of a weirdo, he was generally admired for his charity work, and plaques (and at least one statue) were put up in his honour. However, no one would now justify any public memorial to a man whom we know to have been a paedophile and a rapist. The same would go for any public memorials of Hitler. But should, say, Francisco Franco be similarly vilified? In the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca there are dozens of bas-relief roundels depicting rulers of Spain and the one of Franco was removed in 2017. And yet not one of the others (mainly monarchs from Felipe V to Alfonso XI) would pass any current ‘woke approval test’, largely because none of them lived in the 21st century. Franco’s ‘monument’ may have been removed, but the almost 40 years that he ruled Spain is thereby not magically excised. We cannot change the past. It remains a reality of history, to be debated, examined, recalled, abjured and/or celebrated. Few, if any, historical figures are irredeemably evil or faultlessly saintly.

So there is a tension between contemporary approval and “he’s just part of our history”, and no tweet is capable of resolving that tension in a couple of snappy sentences. I say “he” by the way, because very few non-royal statues are of women, and most that are are recent and therefore more likely to meet with contemporary approval. But even here there are controversies. There is a statue of Margaret Sanger (founder of Planned Parenthood) in the Smithsonian. She’s one of Hillary Clinton’s heroines and, thanks to the Planned Parenthood connection, a ‘woke’ liberal heroine. Yet she was also a proponent of race-based eugenics. In some cities in the United States, up to 5 times as many black women have abortions as white women. Surely, even the most ‘pro-choice’ person cannot think that such a racial disparity is something to celebrate?

Then we hear from Professor David Olusoga, a TV film-maker who tells us that statues are “not about history, but adoration” (and, by implication, approval). That is clearly nonsense, though an attempt at a pithy aphorism that will ensure the maximum media appearances. “Admiration” perhaps, but not “adoration” (and, moreover, “admiration” at the time of erection, not for posterity). Catholics and Hindus are usually those accused of ‘worshipping’ statues. I cannot speak for Hindus, but no Catholic ought to be ‘worshipping’ or, to use Olusoga’s term, ‘adoring’, a statue. A statue is a symbol or a token of the thing represented. 90% of the statues in a Catholic church are of the Virgin Mary and various saints, and none of them is to be worshipped — neither the statues nor the people they represent.

Even when it comes to representations of Christ himself, he is most often depicted nailed to a cross. We do not remind ourselves of the way in which Jesus was tortured and the sufferings he endured during his execution because we celebrate or approve of those sufferings. Rather, the cross stands as a reminder of what human beings are capable of — that when we meet perfect love, we are wont to destroy it. The crucifix is both a representation of perfect love and of human evil. It sustains millions in their prayer precisely because it is both. It demands reflection and meditation. Similarly, the fact that Auschwitz has not been bulldozed points to a similar idea — it is an image of something horrible, but what it represents should never be forgotten, even after the WWII generation are all long dead. And then there are the tombs and portraits of people in churches (particularly those dating from before the Reformation) — not honours given to saints, but plaintive pleas of the deceased for the living to pray for them, because they were aware of their own sin in life and believed they would need those prayers to have any hope for heaven. They were about humility, not pride.

Statues and memorials, then, are not straightforward, semiotically speaking. There is a strong case for having Colston’s statue removed to a museum (as the Hungarians did with all their Soviet era statues) or to a less prominent place, or even for its scrapping, certainly, but it does not follow that it stood as a ‘celebration’ of slavery, or its existence suggested that the people of Bristol are (nowadays) enthusiastic slavers. It might have been different if people were still bringing flowers and garlands, but that was not — as far as I know — the case. One annual protest which did take place around Edward Colston’s statue was the placing of figures of human bodies around the plinth, with labels like “domestic servants”, “sex workers”, “farm workers” and so on, reminding people that slavery still exists in this country. Colston’s statue had thus become, not the celebration of slavery that O’Brien thinks it was, but a rallying point for those who work to eradicate slavery in our own time.

Anti-Slavery Day 2018

Edward Colston is an easy target, because no one would defend slavery (pace O’Brien); but he was also a philanthropist, which is why he got a statue in the first place (1895 in fact). Should the wealthy, cosmopolitan, liberal city of Bristol be allowed to forget that it grew rich and successful partly as a result of the exploitation of human beings? Tearing down a statue doesn’t alter the fact, any more than a slave-owner giving money to charity alters the fact that his money came from slavery. One could argue that such an unhappy period of its history should be, visibly and palpably, on Bristol’s conscience; it shouldn’t be forgotten or erased (because it can’t be erased: even if you demolished Colston Girls’ School and all the other public buildings he endowed). He existed. He helped create modern Bristol. As they say, ‘Deal with it’.

Aside from a tangential contribution to parliamentary sovereignty, I do not ‘adore’ Cromwell in any way. He was a small-minded, anti-Catholic thug. But I cannot erase the fact that he ruled Britain for 5 miserable years, nor can I alter the fact that many still do admire and even ‘adore’ him. But the reason why a statue is erected is not necessarily the reason why a statue should be left in place. No one now worships Graeco-Roman deities, yet we do not crush their statues for hardcore. No one worships Bel or Baalshamin and yet most were appalled by the destruction of their temples in Palmyra by ISIS. The reason that statues are “our history” is precisely that they were erecting “in history”. They are snapshots of history. People in Bristol in 1895 deemed it seemly and fitting to erect a statue to Edward Colson. We would not do so now, but they did then. Perhaps even ten years later they would not have done so. People in the present are not bound by history, because we live in the present, but we cannot erase history, however much we might wish that the past had been better or different.

Let’s say that you are a teacher in Bristol and you have a young and thoughtful class of children (say, Year 7 or 8) with whom you wanted to examine the transatlantic slave trade and Bristol’s part in it. At the moment you have statues and the names of streets and buildings to go out and explore — in other words you have some actual history. It would be a similar story in most of Britain (think of Bold Street in Liverpool or Buchanan Street in Glasgow, etc.). Do we really imagine that the presence of a few 100+ year old statues and street names are going to make kids into racist apologists for slavery, or might the effect be rather different? We have heard, quite rightly, voices urging Britain to “confront” its dark past with respect to slavery. Seeking to “erase” the visible legacy of slavery might not be the best way of going about this, however painful those signs are.

There are also the empty comparisons with the toppling of the statues of Saddam in 2002-03, or Lenin in 1991-92, or the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The difference is surely clear. None of those Iraqis, Russians or East Germans had previously had any democratic means of getting rid of those statues or structures because they were symbols of oppression imposed upon them. Had Colston’s statue in Bristol been universally hated and become an issue in local elections then it could not have remained (Bristol has a black mayor, after all, who can hardly have been ignorant of the connection). It seems that it just wasn’t a major issue for people (which is an issue in itself). Olusoga’s (and some Labour MPs’) view that tearing down statues “IS history” is true, but not a justification. A year ago most people (Labour and Cons) wanted rid of Theresa May, and yet because we knew we had the means to bring this about (a vote of NC, General Election, etc.) we could not have justified sending a mob to Downing Street to remove her. If we were living under an absolute monarchy which still traded African slaves, then tossing Colston into the river would have been a political act, rather than a student jape. It’s worth remembering, too, that although the transatlantic slave-trade ended long ago, we live in a world in which more people are enslaved than at any point in its history. The countries with most slaves are China, India, Pakistan, followed by the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara region. Protestors against the horrors of slavery should also be demonstrating outside the Mauritanian Embassy on Vauxhall Bridge Road. If we are to ‘never forget’ and ‘learn the lessons’ of slavery, should we not be standing in solidarity with Albanians and the Vietnamese who are the 2nd and 3rd largest groups enslaved in the UK? (And indeed British citizens, black and white, who recently took the No. 1 spot?)

When Britain abolished slavery in 1833 (and she would be criticised now for compensating owners yet not ex-slaves) the government borrowed 40% of the national budget* to do so. That debt was only finally paid off in 2015. In the view of Guardian journalists this was a shameful act and little more than ‘blood money’ (and some on Twitter have suggested that British tax-payers were still “paying slave owners” until 2015), but in the US let’s remember it took a civil war and 600,000 deaths to free slaves there. However differently we think Britain should have acted in 1833, the fact is that the Slavery Abolition Act incurred a significant financial cost. For a country to take on a debt so large that it would take 183 years to repay suggests, surely, an admirable commitment to the belief that all human beings ought to be free?

* £20m in 1833 would be approximately £16.5bn in 2013 wage terms. As 5% of GDP would mean £100bn (in 2016). The Treasury’s statement is here.

[hydecurator]

Facetiming the Divine

This post is an experiment. Can our current use of online communications systems provide analogies for the way religious imagery worked on and for the viewer in the Middle Ages?   

While we’re at home, we can find any number of YouTube videos to watch that are intended to be educational and instructive. I have participated in a number of live webinars and meetings but my direct participation is oftenmoderated in some way. I have to raise a hand or type a comment that may, or may not, be noticed by a moderator. Finally, there is the direct form of communication via Facetime or Zoom. Distance constricts and all participants are together, responding to each other in real time.

 Anonymous, (Italian, 6th century) The Arrest of Christ, mosaic, S. Apollinare, Ravenna, Italy. Photo source: Web Gallery of Art.

When we first study medieval art history, we are shown the grand mosaic narrative cycles in S. Apollinare (before 526) and San Vitale (525-47) in Ravenna, Italy. The churches’ architecture asserted a continuation of the Christian Roman Empire, while their decorative schemes included narrative cycles, catechizing visualizations of doctrine, and imposing assertions of imperial authority through portraits of the Byzantine emperor and empress.  As the two halves of the old Roman Empire diverged, Christendom split into the western Latin Church based in Rome and the eastern Orthodox Church centered on Constantinople. The two developed different approaches to religious art. The Orthodox Church restricted the creative license of artists. God, not man, was the sole creator. Thus, tradition and authority governed religious art, more so than in the West.

Anonymous (Egyptian), Christ Pantocrator, 6th century, encaustic on panel, Mount Sinai, Egypt. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.

The East also developed the icon. Primarily a devotional image, it was invested with a unique power. When you stand or kneel before an icon in veneration of the sainted or divine figure portrayed, you are in their presence. Communication is direct. The icon is, in a sense, Facetime. While the style and imagery of icons did infiltrate the West, we are usually taught that the West did not adopt the notion that the icon give you direct access to the person or event depicted. And yet, there were images and occasions in the western tradition when distance and time collapsed and the devout was present at a sacred event or before a holy or divine person.

As Christians have just marked Easter, I will use Crucifixion imagery to explore the analogue and digital powers of medieval art. At one level, the image of the Crucifixion signifies the story of Christ’s death, whether it tells that story in great detail, narrating the Gospel accounts, or it summarizes the story in the symbol of the figure of Christ on the Cross. Through their choice of details, the artist can elicit strong devotional and emotional sentiments in the viewer. Through the introduction of symbols, the image can become a vehicle for the articulation and propagation of theology and doctrine. But in the Latin West, when incorporated into the performance of the liturgy, the activated image can elide time and space and bring one into the Divine presence.

Anonymous (Italian), Equestrian Crucifixion, ca. 1350, tempera and gold leaf on panel (29 7/8 x 14 1/8 x 1½ in.), The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, Bequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde, 1971.4. Photo credit: Steven Sloman.

Known as the Equestrian Crucifixion (ca. 1350) because many of the Roman military are on horseback, this small Gothic panel at The Hyde hews closely to St. John’s account of the Crucifixion. Christ, His head wreathed with a mocking crown of thorns, is nailed to a cross atop which in Latin initials is Pilate’s scornful notice Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudicorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). His mother Mary is present, accompanied by three other Marys. St. John also stands at the foot of the cross. He is the only Gospel writer to claim to have been present at the event. Christ entrusted His mother into his care. Two of the soldiers have the Latin initials of the Roman state – SPQR for Senatus Populusque Romanum (“The Senate and People of Rome”)– emblazoned on their tunics. One knight holds the reed with a sponge soaked in vinegar that was offered to Christ; another the lance by which His side was pierced. With his hands together in prayer, this knight must be the centurion all Gospel accounts record was converted to Christianity. Later, in an apocryphal account, he was given the name Longinus; his lance is a precious relic venerated in St. Peter’s Rome.  

The artist manipulates the viewer’s emotions. He enhances the pathos of the scene with the image of the Virgin Mary collapsing into the arms of the three Marys. Its gruesomeness was highlighted by the trails of vibrant red blood running from Christ’s wounds. Counselled by a priest or confessor in the more affective devotional practices of the fourteenth century, the devout onlooker would have responded to these visual cues. Encouraged to place themselves at the events, the believer would have felt the Virgin’s sorrow, endured the pain of crucifixion, and lamented the role their own sinfulness played in condemning Christ to His sacrifice.

In my analogy with modern communications, this is a powerful and affective narrative in HD, but it has not broken the bonds of time and space. The devotee remains in their sinful world and bound by earthly time. 

Master of Monte Oliveto (Italian, active ca. 1305-1350), Crucifixion, ca. 1325, Tempera, gesso, gold leaf on panel (20½ x 18¾ in.), The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, Bequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde, 1971.5. Photo credit: Joseph Levy.

However, The Hyde’s Crucifixion Triptych (ca. 1325) had the power to break through between the earthly and heavenly spheres. The altarpiece was commissioned by a Dominican nun. We see her dressed in the Order’s distinctive black and white habit in the bottom left panel, kneeling before her patron saint, St. Romauld. She would have been well-versed in the kind of affective devotional practices taught by Dominican confessors to well-to-do women across Europe. She probably placed herself in the role of Mary Magdalen and imagined herself at the foot of the cross, her hair becoming matted with Christ’s blood as it trickled down the cross. Dominican nuns were known to translate such affective devotion into physical acts, such as fasting on the Host alone, as St. Catherine of Siena was to do within a few decades of this altarpiece’s creation.

Painted onto the wings are the nun’s patron saints, among them her fellow Dominicans, Dominic and Thomas Aquinas. Their portraits helped to focus her prayers, though there is no sense here that they behaved like icons, transporting her to their presence in heaven.

However, there is evidence that Dominicans felt that Christ could come to them through the Crucifixion image. Within the convent, Dominicans slept, studied, and prayed in individual cells, and they most commonly had an image of the Crucifixion with them, whether a painting or a sculpture. From written accounts, we know that such images were used to direct prayer, but they were also a consolation, evidence of Christ’s personal compassion for the Dominican’s life of prayer. In addition, there are stories of how Dominican while they slept felt the presence of the divine enter their cell through the image they were accustomed to prayer before. In my modern analogy, communication can work through the image both ways, but not simultaneously.

Bartolomeo Caporali (Italian, c. 1420–c. 1505), assisted by Giapeco Caporali (Italian, died 1478), Missal (detail), Crucifixion, 1469, Ink, tempera, silver and burnished gold on vellum ( 35 x 25 cm). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2006.154. ©The Cleveland Museum of Art.

There was one specific Crucifixion image that could operate as a direct form of communication between the mortal and the divine. It was the image of the Crucifixion that adorns the Canon of the Mass in a missal. Alas, The Hyde does not, yet, possess one of these. I take my example from a stunning missal in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Caporali Missal is a lavishly illustrated Mass book executed for the Franciscan church of San Francesco in Montone, Italy (1469). The manuscript was used by the officiating priest at the altar during the Mass. It contained the words and prayers he had to recite. The principal illuminations were the work of Bartolomeo Caporali (ca. 1420-ca. 1505), including the Crucifixion scene that opens the section of the missal called the Canon of the Mass. These are the unchanging words at the heart of the service, when the mystery of transubstantiation takes place, and the bread and wine become, in part through the agency of the ordained priest, the body and blood of Christ. The priest who officiates thus looks upon an image of the Crucifixion as it occurs anew at the altar. The sacrifice is made afresh for the benefit of those present. In that moment of the mystery of the Mass are telescoped sacred and earthly time, the eternity of Heaven and the particular moments on earth of the historical Crucifixion, the priest’s celebration, and all performances of the Mass entrusted to the care of the universal Church.

There are two particularly important details to notice in this image. Firstly, an angle holds up a chalice to collect the blood from Christ’s side wound. This is a visual assertion of the doctrine of transubstantiation. Secondly, St. Francis, who kneels in Christ’s blood at the foot of the cross, shows the marks of the stigmata, a favor shown him for his great devotion. What friar using this missal cannot have prayed for a similar benediction?

School of Hans Memling, (Flemish, ca. 1430-94), Head of Christ, ca. 1480, oil on panel, 4 13/16 x 3 9/16 in. The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, Bequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde, 1971.1.

A final image of Christ in the collection to consider is The Head of Christ (ca. 1480) attributed to the School of Hans Memling. In this small devotional panel painting, Christ stares directly out of the panel. There was such a desire to know the face of the Savior in fifteenth-century northern Europe that an official portrait was created, based upon a forged text known as the Letter of Lentulus. Purportedly a report sent to the Roman Senate about Christ, it described Him as having shoulder-length hair, parted in the middle, that was the color of “unripe hazelnut,” and a forked beard. Jan Van Eyck (1390-1441) first painted this image ca. 1438 and it was repeated by Dirk Bouts (1410/20-75), Hans Memling (ca. 1430-94), and their workshops throughout the remainder of the century.

This image was undoubtedly based upon the great images of Christ Pantocrator that looked down on believers from the domes and apses of Orthodox churches, and from the icons that derived from them. But as popular as these images were in northern Europe, and as immediate the sense of His presence is in them – his face up against the picture plane – they did not behave as icons. Their particular power in the Latin West lay in their use as indulgenced devotional imagery. An indulgence was a document issued by the Church that ensured the bearer time off their purgatorial sentence for their sins. By reciting a hymn such as Salve sancta facies (Oh Holy Face) or Ave facies praeclara (Hail, splendid face) before such an “authentic” portrait of Christ, one could more speedily pass through purgatory and enter Heaven. Here my analogy breaks down because the power of this type of popular image lay not in its facilitation of communication with the Divine, but with its ability to speed one’s entry into Heaven after death, there to reside for eternity in the very presence of God. Facetime and Zoom cannot take us to the other party just yet.

#hydecollection #face of jesus #hans memling

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

28th January >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Mark 3:31-35 for Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother’.

Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 3:31-35

Who are my mother and my brothers? Those that do the will of God

The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’

Gospel (USA)

Mark 3:31-35

Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Reflections (8)

(i) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

The bringing of the ark of God, or the Ark of the Covenant, in procession to Jerusalem was a very significant event for the people of Israel under their king, David. The ark of God was a container which held the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. On Mount Sinai, God had promised the people of Israel that he would be their God, and they in turn promised God that they would be his people by living according to the Ten Commandments. This container with its contents symbolized God’s covenant with his people and theirs with him. It embodied God’s choice of the people of Israel in the service of all humanity. As the ark of God is brought to the citadel of David in Jerusalem, it is celebrated with elements with which we are very family from our own liturgy, especially the Eucharist. There is music and song, there is sacrifice and there is communion, the sharing of food. At every Eucharist, we generally have some singing. At every Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, his loving surrender to God and to humanity on Calvary, is sacramentally present to us. At every Eucharist, we enter into communion with the Lord as Bread of Life and with each other. So much of our faith has deep roots in the religion of Israel. In the gospel reading we have another element that is central to our Eucharist, the ministry of the word. Jesus is in a house in Capernaum with people sitting around him listening to him preaching, proclaiming God’s word, God’s will. He identifies those sitting around him as his brothers and sisters and mother, his new spiritual family. We all belong to that family and at the Eucharist we both celebrate and consolidate our belonging to the Lord’s family.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Third week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading is the only passage in Mark’s gospel where the mother of Jesus features. According to Mark, she comes with other members of Jesus’ family to ‘restrain’ Jesus, to seize him, because people were saying about Jesus that he had gone out of his mind. Mark presents Mary and other family members as acting out of genuine concern for Jesus. However, the fact that we do something out of concern for someone doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do. On this occasion, according to Mark, Jesus kept his distance from his mother and the other members of his family, in spite of their very good intentions. When word came to him that his mother and brothers and sisters were outside the house looking for him, Jesus identified those inside the house, his disciples, as his real family. ‘Whoever does the will of God’, Jesus said, ‘that person is my brother and sister and mother’. There was an implicit invitation here to his mother and family members to come inside the house and to fully become his disciples. Mary and the other family members had to learn to set aside their will for Jesus and surrender to God’s will for his life. It is reassuring to be reminded by Mark that even Mary struggled to live out the implications of the prayer, ‘thy will be done on earth as in heaven’. It is a daily struggle for all of us to give priority to what God wants over what we want. This is the Christian struggle; it was the struggle of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. In that struggle we are assured of the help of Jesus, who declared, ‘I have come… not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me’.

 And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Third week in Ordinary Time

There are many images of the church in the New Testament. We are all familiar with Paul’s image of the church as the body of Christ. For Paul, each of us is a member of that body through baptism and as members we are dependent on one another’s gifts given by the Holy Spirit. In this morning’s gospel reading, the words of Jesus suggest another image for the church and that is the image of a family. He addresses his disciples, all those who seek to do God’s will, as his mother, his brothers and his sisters. His blood family, his mother and brothers, had come looking for him, to take him away, but, in response he points to his disciples as his new family. The church is a family under God as Father; we are all brothers and sisters of one another and of the Lord. This image of church suggests a church in which everyone is equally cherished and no one is more important than anyone else. Within this family we are all spiritual siblings, called to give support to other members of the family and to receive support from other members of the family. The image of the family, like that of the body, suggests our interconnectedness and our interdependence. When Pope Francis came to the window of Saint Peter’s after being elected Pope, he gave expression of this vision of church when he asked everyone in the Square to pray for him, before he gave them his blessing. One of the important ways we give expression to our interconnectedness is by praying for one another.

 And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

Many images have been used for the church in the course of the church’s history. The most authentic images are those that are drawn from the Scriptures, such as the church as the body of Christ or the bride of Christ or the people of God. The gospel reading this morning suggests another image for the church. Jesus looks around at his disciples sitting around him in a circle, listening to him speaking, and he identifies them as his mother, his brother and his sister. Here we have the nucleus of the church, the first disciples of Jesus, and Jesus identifies them as his family. He attaches more importance to this new family than to his blood family who are standing outside the house in which he is speaking insisting that he come home with them. The church can helpfully be understood as a family. Because of our baptism we are brothers and sisters of Jesus. The letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters and declares that the one who sanctifies, Jesus, and those who are sanctified, ourselves, all have one Father. Because we are adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus, his heavenly Father is our heavenly Father, and we also call on the mother of Jesus as our mother. As church, we are privileged to be members of a very special family, and calling is to true

 And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus seems to distance himself from his family of origin. While Jesus is teaching in a house, one of the crowd informs him that his mother and brothers are outside the house wanting to speak to him. Jesus declares that he now has a new family, the family of those seated around him, the family of his disciples, the family of those who do the will of God as proclaimed and lived by Jesus. It must have been difficult for Jesus’ mother to come to terms with this new reality. Jesus no longer belonged to her or the rest of her family. Jesus now belonged to a much larger family that was not defined by blood but by its relationship to him and to the God whom he proclaimed. This family soon came to be called the church and we are all members of that family today. Through baptism we have been initiated into that family, becoming sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus and, as one family, people who look to Mary as our mother. We are, in many ways, shaped by our family of origin, but, more fundamentally, we are shaped by this ecclesial family to which we belong. It is there that we encounter Jesus, the Lord, in word, in sacrament and in each other; it is there that we imbibe his values and receive his Spirit. According to Jesus in this morning’s gospel reading what really defines us as members of this family is our willingness to do the will of God, as Jesus proclaimed and lived it. That is why the distinguishing prayer that Jesus gave to this family of disciples, our family prayer, begins, ‘Father... thy will be done, on earth as in heaven’.

And/Or 

(vi) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading is the only passage in the gospel of Mark where the mother of Jesus appears. If we only had Mark’s gospel this would be the only gospel portrait of Mary we would have. She is standing with other members of Jesus’ family outside a house where Jesus is teaching surrounded by his disciples. A few verses earlier Mark had told us why Jesus’ mother and other members of his family were there. They had come to restrain him, to seize him, because people were saying that he had gone out of his mind. Here he was, upsetting all sorts of influential and powerful people, making deadly enemies for himself. Somebody needed to talk sense to him and who better than his mother. However, the plans of Jesus’ mother and family for Jesus did not come to pass. When Jesus was informed that his mother and family members were outside waiting to see him, he pointed to the disciples seated around him and said, ‘here are my mother and brothers’. ‘This is now my family’, he was saying. Jesus had moved on from his blood family and was forming a new family of disciples, the nucleus of the church. It cannot have been easy for Mary to come to terms with losing her son in this way. He was taking a path she did not understand and did not always approve of. She was struggling to come to terms with the mystery of her son’s identity. So often those close to us don’t take a path we expect them to take or want them to take. Like Mary, we struggle to come to terms with the mystery of the other’s identity. Like her, we sometimes have to learn to let go and to let be, trusting that in the end God’s purpose will prevail in the lives of those we love.

 And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

This is the only scene in Mark’s gospel where Jesus’ family feature. Reference is made to Jesus’ mother, brothers and sisters. There is no reference to Jesus’ father. Joseph never appears in the context of Jesus’ public ministry in any of the gospels. This may suggest that Joseph was already dead by the time Jesus began his public ministry at the age of thirty or so. It seems as if the family of Jesus on this occasion want to take Jesus away with them; this was their will. Yet, Jesus does not go with them. Instead he declares that his disciples seated in a circle around him are his new spiritual family. Anyone who seeks to do God’s will as Jesus’ reveals it can become a member of this new spiritual family. It must have been a struggle for Jesus’ blood family to let him go to this new family he was forming, the family of his disciples, which came to be called the church. We have been baptized into this family. As members of Jesus’ spiritual family, we are called to do the will of God as Jesus has revealed it to us, through his teaching, his life, his death and resurrection. We spend our lives trying to discern what the Lord’s will for our lives is, and then trying to grow in the freedom to do that will. For Jesus’ mother and his family, doing God’s will entailed renouncing control over Jesus, letting go of their own will for him, which did not come easy to them. Doing the will of God does not come easy to us either. Yet, with the help of the Holy Spirit, our will can be gradually conformed to God’s will for our lives. This is the journey we are asked to be faithful to until the end of our earthly lives.

 And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time

A few verses before our gospel reading, Mark tells us that the family of Jesus set out from Nazareth to Capernaum to restrain Jesus, to seize him, because people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind. With the best of intentions, they set out to take charge of Jesus. According to today’s gospel reading, when the mother and brothers of Jesus arrived at Capernaum asking to see Jesus, he more or less ignored them. He didn’t leave what he was doing, teaching his disciples in a house, to go out to his family. Instead, he sent a message out to them declaring that he now had a new family, the family of his disciples, the family of those who listened to his word and lived that word, thereby doing God’s will. It can’t have been easy for Jesus’ family, especially his mother, to hear that message. Jesus was not going to be managed or reigned in. Jesus’ family had to learn to let him go to God’s purpose for his life. It is a lesson we all have to learn in relation to others, especially those we love. We feel we know what is best for them and we want them to respond to our promptings. Yet, there comes a time when we have to acknowledge our powerlessness and let them go, even though we do not fully understand what is happening in their lives. This can be painful, as it must have been for Mary and the other members of Jesus’ family. Letting go of other is but one expression of a more fundamental lettering go, which is letting go to the Lord. This is what is being asked of Mary and her family in the gospel reading. Their purpose for Jesus was much narrower than the Lord’s purpose for them; he wanted them to be part of his new family of disciples. The Lord’s purpose for our lives is always greater than our own purposes for ourselves. We spend our lives letting go to the Lord’s purpose for our lives which alone can do justice to our full humanity.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or  [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

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[loyolahcmass]

Homily on David Bowie

This week Fr. Rossi will be talking about David Bowie! Here is the preview of his homily:

David Bowie: Lazarus

 “Take refuge in the Lord!”

              The Prophet Zephaniah

 Bowing out with typical style, David Bowie didn’t just release his last album ‘Blackstar’ to coincide with his 69th birthday on January 8, 2016.

 He was using it to say goodbye to the world and giving us a very personal, and I believe, hopeful message.

 A “blackstar” is the opposite of a “black hole” in space: a black hole destroys, but a blackstar gives energy and saves.

 And Bowie brilliantly calls himself “Lazarus” in one song from this album to convey that  “Good News” or gospel.

 The singer could have used any names he wanted for his final message to us, but he selected names that are symbols of spiritual optimism.

__________

 Remember who Lazarus of Bethany is?

 He is one of Jesus’ closest friends, and, like Jesus, spent days in the tomb.

 And Jesus himself, the God/Man, raised him from the dead.

__________

 It must have been very frightening to spend that much time in such a place

 But with the Story of Lazarus, Jesus is saying that there is hope in the darkness.

 Lazarus is the symbol of eternal hope, even in the face of death.

 He is the symbol of the spiritual that can perfect the material and raise it to a new and transcendent level.

The Story of Lazarus is Jesus’ way of saying to us, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

 “He who believes in me shall never die.” 

 “You have hope of eternal life, and I, the Son of God, am giving it to you!” 

__________

 Bowie went through an 18-month battle with cancer that hardly anyone knew about.

 He must have felt as if he were living in the tomb already.

 It was an 18-month struggle that ended on January 10, just two days after his final album was released. 

 Bowie also provided hints about his terminal condition in what was to be the final music video released in his lifetime.

 The video for the single ‘Lazarus’ was Bowie’s parting message to us.

_________

 It opens with a blindfolded, fragile-looking Bowie lying in bed. 

 In a sense, he now sees in a new way, which does not require physical sight.

 His first words “look up here, I’m in heaven/I’ve got scars that can’t be seen” are now obviously an admission of his ill health.

 But, they’re also a fantastical musing on our human mortality. 

 We may be physically delicate, he is saying, but we have a spiritual side as well.

__________

 It soon becomes obvious that he’s in a hospital bed.

 But Bowie is not a prisoner of that bed or of his physical illness.

 In the video, Bowie begins to float above the material world, signifying his transmutation to the other side.

 He’s moving toward a higher state. 

 Watching it now, after his death, it’s a statement as bold as it is courageous.

__________

 As he writhes around on the bed trying to break free from his physical infirmity, another Bowie then appears, a mystical, otherworldly Bowie, who is not a prisoner of his physical shackles.

 He is clad in black and standing upright, a Bowie who can still be himself, and, most importantly, pick up a pen and create. 

 Inspiration hits him and he scrawls quickly in a notebook, while the other Bowie continues to convulse. 

 It’s as if he is writing his own sacred text, animated by a higher power, as were the writers of the Gospels.

__________

 As he writes, we see a skull sitting portentously on his writing desk.

 The writers of the Gospels, the Evangelists, are likewise portrayed this way in their formal portraits.

 The skull is a symbol that reminds us this world is finite and limited, and that we must think about, and look forward to, an eternal future.

 Bowie in his final work of creativity is pointing to something beyond the material. 

 Life isn’t easy, he’s saying, but at the end there is spiritual hope.

__________

 At this point, Bowie steps backwards into a wooden wardrobe that seems to be the portal to another realm.

 “His death was no different from his life – a work of Art,” explained Bowie’s producer Tony Visconti, in tribute. 

 “He made ‘Blackstar’ for us, his parting gift. 

 “I knew for a year this was the way it would be. 

 I wasn’t, however, prepared for it.” 

__________

 Who has ever been prepared for anything David Bowie did?

 He always surprised, and his final album does not disappoint.

 Creative to the very end, Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’ is a heartbreaking, but encouraging way to bid farewell, and a very appropriate one.

 As he was facing his end, Bowie was not just thinking about himself.

 He was unselfishly thinking about us.

__________

 At this point in the video, Bowie wears the same outfit as seen on the cover of his album “Station to Station,” in which he is drawing the Tree of Life.

 The Tree of Life is the ancient symbol for spiritual rejuvenation.

__________

 Some secular critics, who are big Bowie fans, and appreciate his songs old and new, have emphasized the apparent sadness, the bleakness, of Lazarus.

 And this is natural.

 They don’t believe in anything, and, for them, death is the end.

 But, I don’t think they’re really listening to what Bowie is saying to us in his final message.

 Once again, we have to go back to the fact that David Bowie freely and personally chose the name Lazarus as the title for his farewell song.

 The Story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John is the climactic narrative of Jesus’ public ministry: exemplifying his power over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanity—death.

 David Bowie as he was dying was saying to us, 

 “There is Hope! I am traveling from this physical plane to the spiritual world. And, so can you.”

#david bowie #david bowie blackstar #blackstar david bowie #lazarus #homilies #homily #mass #Catholic Mass #catholic #catholic homily #hcm homilies #loyolahcmass

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What Did Jesus Really Look Like?

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06:42

No one has a photograph of Jesus. He never posed for a portrait or a sculpture. Still, he has appeared in the works of countless artists throughout the centuries.

Of course, those artists did not know what Jesus really looked like. Prevailing culture, religious beliefs, and the wishes of their patrons often dictated how the artists portrayed Jesus. Even so, their imagery could influence, even blur, people’s view of Jesus and his teachings.

Some artists depicted Jesus as a frail weakling with long hair and a thin beard or emphasized a look of melancholy. In other presentations, Jesus appears supernatural, adorned with a halo, or distant from those around him. Do such portrayals correctly characterize Jesus? How can we find out? One way is to examine statements in the Bible that can shed some light on what he might have looked like. They can also help us to have the correct view of him.

“YOU PREPARED A BODY FOR ME”

Those are words that Jesus uttered in prayer apparently at the time of his baptism. (Hebrews 10:5; Matthew 3:13-17) What did that body look like? Some 30 years earlier, the angel Gabriel had revealed to Mary: “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, . . . God’s Son.” (Luke 1:31, 35) Thus, Jesus was a perfect man, as was Adam at his creation. (Luke 3:38;1 Corinthians 15:45) Jesus must have been a well-formed man, and he probably had features similar to those of his Jewish mother, Mary.

Jesus wore a beard, as was customary among Jews in contrast to Romans. Such beards were a symbol of dignity and respectability; they were not long and unkempt. Jesus undoubtedly attended to or trimmed his beard and had his hair neatly clipped. Only those set aside as Nazirites, such as Samson, did not cut their hair.​—Numbers 6:5; Judges 13:5.

For the better part of 30 years, Jesus was a carpenter, working without the benefit of modern power tools. (Mark 6:3) He, therefore, must have had a sturdy build. Early in his ministry, he single-handedly “drove all those with the sheep and cattle out of the temple, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” (John 2:14-17) It takes a strong and powerful man to perform that feat. Jesus used the body that God had prepared for him to fulfill his God-given commission: “I must also declare the good news of the Kingdom of God to other cities, because for this I was sent.” (Luke 4:43) It took extraordinary stamina to travel throughout Palestine on foot and declare this message.

“COME TO ME, . . . AND I WILL REFRESH YOU”

Jesus’ warm countenance and appealing demeanor must have made this invitation particularly attractive to those “toiling and loaded down.” (Matthew 11:28-30) His warmth and kindness underscored his promise of refreshment  for those willing to learn from him. Even young ones wanted to be close to Jesus, for the Bible says: “He took the children into his arms.”​—Mark 10:13-16.

Though Jesus did experience agony before his death, he was not a melancholic individual. For example, he contributed to festivities at a marriage feast in Cana by changing water into fine wine. (John 2:1-11) At other gatherings he taught never-to-be-forgotten lessons.​—Matthew 9:9-13; John 12:1-8.

Above all, Jesus’ preaching put the joyful prospect of everlasting life within the reach of his listeners. (John 11:25, 26; 17:3) When 70 of his disciples reported their preaching experiences, he became “overjoyed” and exclaimed: “Rejoice because your names have been written in the heavens.”​—Luke 10:20, 21.

“YOU, THOUGH, ARE NOT TO BE THAT WAY”

Religious leaders of Jesus’ day contrived ways to draw attention to themselves and underscore their authority. (Numbers 15:38-40; Matthew 23:5-7) Unlike them, Jesus instructed his apostles not to “lord it over” others. (Luke 22:25, 26) In fact, Jesus warned: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in robes and want greetings in the marketplaces.”​—Mark 12:38.

By contrast, Jesus blended in with the crowd, unrecognized on occasion. (John 7:10, 11) Even among his 11 faithful apostles, he did not stand out physically. The betrayer Judas resorted to a kiss, “an agreed sign,” to identify Jesus to the mob.​—Mark 14:44, 45.

So while many details are unknown, it is evident that Jesus did not look the way he has often been portrayed. More important than what he really looked like, however, is how we view him now.

“IN A LITTLE WHILE THE WORLD WILL SEE ME NO MORE”

Within the day that he uttered those words, Jesus was dead and buried. (John 14:19) He gave his life as “a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matthew 20:28) On the third day, God resurrected him “in the spirit” and “allowed him to become manifest” to some of his disciples. (1 Peter 3:18; Acts 10:40) How did Jesus look when he appeared to his disciples then? Apparently quite different from his original appearance, for even his closest associates did not immediately recognize him. Mary Magdalene took him for a gardener; and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, for a stranger.​—Luke 24:13-18; John 20:1, 14, 15.

How should we picture Jesus today? Over 60 years after Jesus’ death, the beloved apostle John saw visions of Jesus. John did not see a dying figure on a cross. Rather, he saw the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” the King of God’s Kingdom, who will soon conquer God’s enemies, both demonic and human, and bring everlasting blessings to mankind.​—Revelation 19:16;21:3, 4.

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