Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS

The Conversion on the Way to Damascus
Caravaggio
1601
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

Breathing murderous threats, Saul galloped to Damascus to secure the Truth but the Truth seized and secured him. Darkness fills Caravaggio’s canvas. It leads us to the personal encounter between Saul and Christ. The passionate persecutor lies in surrender on the ground. Divine light blinds him while opening the eyes of his heart. Interestingly, the horse dominates the painting. Notice the upturned hoof of the silent animal. Lingering mid-air it could trample the persecutor. But the horse gazes at the blind man, careful not to hurt him. This indicates that the all-powerful God cares. He crushes the sin not the sinner. God changed the hateful man who in turn changed history.

 

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Art/ Heritage

SACRED ART IN 100 WORDS

Christ Carrying the Cross
A follower of Hieronymus Bosch
1510 – 1535
Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium

The artist unconventionally captures the vices of the human heart through its many faces and invites us to journey inwards. Notice the following details: To the bottom left lies Veronica – the brave young maiden who bravely offered to wipe Christ’s blood-dripping brow. She was rewarded the ‘vera icon’ or the ‘true picture’ of the Saviour’s face on her veil. To the bottom right stands the impenitent thief mocked by immoral emotions. Above him is the round-headed soldier representing greed. Next to him howls Barabbas.
Amidst this madness, Jesus carries His Cross silently. Indeed Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

 

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Art/ Heritage

 

Sacred Art in 100 words

The Madonna of the Book –Sandro Botticelli, 1480-83, Poldi Pezzoli Museum

In this painting, the artist provides a meaningful meditation on the Incarnation. Here we see Christ Child sitting on Mary’s lap in a domestic space. Notice the following details: The Book of the Hours – Mother Mary is seen praying from the Book of Hours, a common thirteenth-century prayer book. Through this she contemplates on the Word Made Flesh, seated on her lap. The Passion – Notice the nails and the Crown of Thorns wrapped around the newborn’s hand. This reminds the viewer that Jesus was born to die for our sins and redeem us. Remember, the sword that pierced the Son’s side also pierced the Mother’s heart.

 

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Faith

Differences ironed out – Thursday, 5th week in Easter – Acts 15:7-21

What we hear of today is the great council of Jerusalem, the first council where the ‘church; its apostles and elders’ gathered together to discuss a matter at hand. The first council of the Church was not without controversy, for the text that we studied yesterday tells us that on arrival in Jerusalem certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had now become believers in Christ objected to the discussion at hand. So, what was it that triggered off this great discussion?

No sooner had Paul and Barnabas arrived back at Antioch, reporting to the church how God had worked through them and had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles, than trouble arises. Trouble that’s, in fact, triggered by their great success in bringing Gentiles to faith. It’s ironic isn’t it? In Acts 15:1-6 we are told that some men came down from Judea to Antioch and contradicted the teaching of Paul and Barnabas who got into ‘a long arguments with these men’. What should have been a moment of great rejoicing is all spoiled by these interlopers who come in from Jerusalem with their loaded agenda about what to do with all these Gentile converts. So, it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas would go to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the elders and apostles.

When they arrived in Jerusalem, we are told that the Pharisees’ who now followed the teaching of Christ insisted that the Gentiles that Paul were converting on his first missionary journey should be circumcised and instructed to the keep the law of Moses. (Acts 15: 6) In short what they were demanding was a conversion to Judaism first. This implies that they saw themselves and other adherents of Christ’s teachings as primarily a ‘sect of Judaism’. Paul preached that faith in Christ alone was what was needed for salvation but here were these people saying, “No, that’s not enough. You also need to be circumcised. The apostles and elders thus decided to ‘look into the matter.’ This brings us to the text of today and the great council of Jerusalem.

Today’s text tells us that the discussion had gone on for a long-time prompting Peter to stand us and address the gathering. Peter reminds the council of his own experience with the household of Cornelius. You may remember that when that incident occurred Peter got into trouble from the Jerusalem Christians for entering a Gentile house and preaching the gospel. But his answer was that if God had made them clean, and that was shown by the fact that the Holy Spirit fell on them, then how could anyone consider them unclean. So he reminds them of that and especially that it’s through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we’re saved. In doing this Peter opens the way for Paul and Barnabas to share how God had blessed their mission in Asia Minor.

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Art/ Heritage

TO BE OR NOT TO BE: ‘The Anxiety of St Joseph’ by James Tissot (1886 -1894), Brooklyn Museum

‘Joseph teaches us that faith in God includes believing that He can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses…amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course. At times we want to be in control, yet God always sees the bigger picture. ’ – Pope Francis

The Artist: Born in France, James Tissot enjoyed great success as a high-society painter in Paris and London in the late nineteenth century. He was one of the most sought-after affluent portrait painters. In 1885 while working on a series of paintings, Tissot visited the Church of St Suplice. Here he experienced a profound religious vision of Christ. Abandoning his former frivolous subjects, Tissot embarked upon an ambitious mission to illustrate the Hebrew Bible.

The Tissot Bible: An artist between two worlds, Tissot met the Lord in Paris and followed Him to the Holy Land. He strove to present a Jewish Jesus within a historically accurate landscape, architectural exactitude, and localized costumes and customs. The result was the magnanimous ‘Life of Christ’ popularly known as ‘the Tissot Bible. Did you know that these paintings inspired the modern film set for the epic Ben-Hur?

The Carpenter’s Shop: Let’s now delve into the setting for today’s painting – the Carpentry Shop. The Greek word for the term ‘carpenter’ is ‘tektön’. It signifies a craftsman who builds with wood, stone, and even metal. The shop we are looking at is nestled in the tiny village of Nazareth. True to first-century Palestine, it adjoins a little cave and is constructed with mud bricks, lime plaster, and wood. Pieces of timber rest on the lateral walls. The windows look out onto the bustling streets of Nazareth, where the townsfolk go about their daily affairs.

Let’s glance back into the workshop. A sturdy wooden workbench stands at the centre surrounded by curled wood shavings. At its foot lies a woven basket filled with carpentry tools. However, you may notice that one such apparatus seems to be missing. We hear of it but can hardly see it.

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