Art/ Heritage

QUATREFOIL: The Inspiration of St. Matthew by Caravaggio (1602)

 The word ‘Gospel’ represents a record of Christ deeds and His life. It is equivalent to the Greek word ‘euangelion’ which translates as ‘good news’. The origins of this word can be traced to the Romans who designated the date of Caesar’s birth as ‘euangelion’ (good news) for the whole world. The four evangelists to announce the Good News of Christ in the Bible are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Inspired by the Revelation of St. John the Evangelist (4: 6 – 7) and the visions of Ezekiel (1: 5 -14), the Early Christian artist often depicted each gospel writer with a winged figure. Although subject to varied interpretation, St. Jerome envisioned the man (Matthew) as a representative of the Incarnation, the lion (Mark) a representative of the Resurrection, the bull (Luke) a representative of the Passion and the eagle (John) as a representative of the Ascension.

In this series titled ‘Quatrefoil’ through art and its interpretation we will explore the lives of the Gospel writers and their sources of inspiration.

The first painting in consideration is titled ‘The Inspiration of St. Matthew’. Executed by the great Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio, this work of art was commissioned by Cardinal Contarelli for the Chapel bearing his name in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.

True to Caravaggio’s style, the painting is devoid of detail. No landscape, no architecture, no bystanders. Caravaggio strips out the non-essentials to draw us to the heart of moment. His monumental protagonists are life-like. They include: the evangelist Matthew, the divine angel and of course Caravaggio’s secret player – LIGHT.

The room is gripped in absolute darkness. One can almost picture the saint pacing the room, storming heavens, seeking inspiration and wisdom. As the night falls still, in swoops the angel accompanied by a mysterious light that illuminates the unseen. The descending angel’s body creates a curve which progresses in the opposite direction through the figure of the saint, thus giving the composition a serpentine movement.

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The Good News verses the fake news – Friday, 14th Week in ordinary time – Mt 10:16-23

We are in the second of the five discourses of Matthew and I am making an artificial separation in chapter ten for the sake of study. We are in the second of the three part missionary discourse.  The first part was the commission to mission, now we are in the consequence of a mission and tomorrow we will look at the courage to mission.

My dear friend, the late Fr Larry Pereira, always said that Christianity is not for ‘namby-pambies’. The words have more than just a nice ring to it for it conveys a truth. It is dangerous when we propagate personal devotions to Christ over the tougher message of the Gospel.

Let me give you an example and please don’t get me wrong, I have no disrespect for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or any other devotion. I grew up with this devotion and still have devotion but this devotion has always been portrayed as ‘sweet’, ‘merciful’ and for ‘namby-pambies’. I have yet to hear, on the feast day, a homily that challenges us to follow the Lord’s heart of justice, suffering in mission or one that confronts evil. Somehow the devotion has always been presented as ‘sweet’.

If we are truly to follow the heart and mind of Jesus then the road is narrow and less trodden. The Gospel of today is a fine example of what a Christian is called to. Perhaps in some parts of the world or country, we don’t experience what is described in today’s Gospel; the flogging, hatred, being put to death and the terror of having to flee your home. But that means one of the two things; either we don’t live in that part of the world where this happens or we don’t go out in mission in our part of the ‘safe’ world.

The apostles did not even need a choice. They were burning with passion for the Lord. Not only had they been given great authority they were also given the consequences of that authority and none of those consequences were ‘pretty’.

Think about it, would you exchange even for a moment, the power to raise someone from the dead (verse 10: 7) in exchange for the possibility of being flogged and put to death ( 10: 17 and 21). I guess each one would respond to this quite differently but it certainly does not sound like an appealing bargain.

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A Plate for Peter – Thursday, 14th Week in ordinary time – Mt 10:7-15

The first part of the mission discourse focuses on the call or commissioning to mission. Interestingly the apostles are ‘sent’ to preach the good news but what they will experience and have to accept, is that the good news comes with a lot of bad news .  Jesus is emphatic; the call to mission has no rose garden along with the sunshine.

The mission of the apostles is clear; proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons.  This is a very powerful mandate. Imagine the excitement in a little village when the apostles raised someone from the dead.  All of a sudden these twelve ordinary men would be viewed with great awe, reverence and honour. They would be sought after for their amazing gifts.

Jesus is aware what this power can do and so He cautions His apostles. He wants them to go out armed in faith and not to put their trust in material objects. In travelling light, they are dependent on God and not on their possessions.

But there is also another warning. Such power could be misused by those who wish to align themselves with the apostles; not for the sake of the Gospel but for personal gain. It is something that could happen today too.  It is for this reason that Jesus says, “Whatever town of village you enter find out who in it is worthy”.

It would be a scandal to the proclamation of the Gospel if the apostles would stay in a home of one who sought the apostles for personal gain. Jesus wants His apostles and us, to do our due diligence. The proclamation of the Gospel is serious business and not some happy-clappy exercise. The mission of the Gospel should not be shrouded in scandal nor jeopardised by those who seek to use the Gospel for personal gain.

It would be interesting if the apostles came to our neighbourhood today. They would have to ask around as to who in the community was ‘worthy’ of lodging with. We would need to ask ourselves if we would be considered worthy of such an honour. Would I lay a plate at table, knowing that Peter would definitely sup at my house?

Fr Warner D’Souza

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Qualifying the chosen – Wednesday, 14th week in ordinary time –  Mt 10:1-7

 With this pericope we walk right into the second of the five discourses found in Matthew.  This one is often referred to as the ‘mission discourse’.

Jesus is not a solo artist though He could be. Strictly speaking He does not need us. His invitation to share in his ministry should thus be seen as privilege, for we share now in His ministry. Chapter ten elaborates that invitation.  There is a call, there are consequences and then there is the courage needed to live that call. 

Though Jesus has many disciples, he narrows them down to twelve calling them, apostles. The very word apostle means, ‘one who is sent’. The twelve are now emissaries with real power. While the mission discourse is primarily to the apostles it is not limited to only them.

But the mission of Jesus in Matthews’s gospel is not to all. Remember that Matthew is communicating to a predominantly Jewish Christian audience. His principal focus is to them, the’ lost sheep of the house of Israel’ and while Jesus is not closed to the evangelization of the Samaritans and the Gentiles, His purpose is principally to the ‘lost sheep of Israel.’

How could we best understand this in today’s situation?  It’s as if Jesus was calling us to make His name known to the whole world but his primary focus would be re-evangelization. First reach out to lapsed Christians, the lost sheep of Israel rather than principally focusing on evangelization to all. Such a situation may arise if the number of Christians falls sharply and the need would be primarily to re-evangelize and invigorate the faith. For now the mandate to evangelize all, stands.

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A Church of labourers, not supervisors  – Tuesday, 14th week in ordinary time – Mt 9:32-38

After having preached the great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus works ten miracles in chapter eight and nine. Today’s gospel covers the last of these miracles and leads us to the second of the five discourses In Matthew’s Gospel, the ‘mission discourse’ that is found in chapter ten.

In order to grasp every pericope we need to set them in the author’s literary context and the larger historical context. The gospel of Matthew is written in the midst of great hostility towards the community of Matthew by the Jewish authorities. Having excommunicated the Jewish Christians from all synagogue services, they now bay for their blood. This hostility to the disciples and to Jesus is reflected in the Gospel of Matthew.

So it is no wonder that they see the healing of the mute demoniac as the work of the ‘ruler of demons’. Their tinted glasses of prejudice prevent them from seeing that which the people saw, ‘a sight like never been seen in Israel before’.

Matthew ends this literary section by highlighting the compassion of Jesus and contrasting it with the legalism of the Jewish authorities.  Matthew uses these transitional verses to not only introduce the magnitude of the mission but also to highlight the compassion of the ‘Lord of the harvest.’  What He preached on the Sermon on the Mount in words, He lives in the plains in deeds.

In the face of such authentic living, the disciples are charged to go and do likewise. Jesus is relentless in His mission and sets the bar high for the disciples. We are told that he went through ALL the cities and villages, teaching, proclaiming and curing for He was moved with compassion by the woes of a shepherdess flock.

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