Art/ Heritage

FAITH AND ART: Christ healing the Mother of Simon Peter’s Wife by John Bridges, 1839

Balance, elegance, harmony, symmetry of composition, flatness of paint….these are probably the ad hoc adjectives to describe the painting in consideration. These features also adhere to the Renaissance style of art that focused on the ‘eternal’ in an earthly setting.

However a glance at the date of composition of the painting flings forth an artistic shock. Why does John Bridges, an English painter of the 19th century employ the artistic traditions of the 15th century age of revival? Is he consumed by a culture lag? Or does he seek to revive the swag and the style of a ‘forgotten’ era?

Read forth to explore the mental dynamics and the origins of his style.

As the Renaissance galloped its way to the Baroque and the Rococo it confronted an art of persuasion accentuated by drama, realism, bold contrast, physicality, palpability and exuberant ornamentation. Beaming with energy, this art was meant to capture the senses and awaken emotions. The figures of the painting and the viewers of art merged together to share each other’s space and time. The divine and the earthly collided.

But not everyone was happy with this encounter. A few artists decided to do away with the vigour and passions provoked by the French Revolution (1789 – 1799). They left Germany and France and marched forward to Rome – Rome, which had lost its worldly powers but not its essence of the eternal and the universal. Thus sprung forth the ‘Nazarene movement’

Their main aim was to deny the ‘materiality’ of the painting and to direct the viewer to a more abstract spiritual quality. Art to them was not a de luxe product meant to beautify private homes or sold at exhibitions. Rather they believed in art as the crib of the expression of the daily and a meditation of the heavenly.

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Faith

Feast of the presentation of the Lord – Luke2: 22-40

Among many other things, the presentation of Jesus in the temple reminds us of how recently we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Christmas is not  far away from our memory and in the flow of things it is time for His presentation.

The presentation of Jesus in the temple was an obligations called for in Leviticus 12:3-8. The presentation included the circumcision ceremony where one was formally stamped as a member of God’s chosen people, through whom word salvation was to be achieved (JBC)

Then there was the law for consecration of the firstborn as found in Exodus 13: 1-2. When the child was a month old, he was to be redeemed for five shekels. Luke does not mention this but mentions the presentation.

Witness to this presentation is Simeon, whose name means ‘God has heard’ and Anna whose name means ‘grace’ or ‘favour’. Simeon is no priest but like Anna he spends his life serving God. What perhaps is often lost in the rituals of the candle procession and blessings held on this day in the Catholic Church is the witness of Simeon and Anna.

The Gospel focuses on the fidelity of Simeon and Anna. Simeon is like a back stage crew, a name in small letters in the credits in the Christmas story. Even sheep and cows somehow get a higher rating in the Christmas story and yet he is faithful.

On the feast of the presentation, Simeon is presented to us as a model of faith for he was in tune with God when nobody else was; not Caesar, nor the Roman senator, nor the Jewish leaders who were too apathetic to find out who this baby was, nor Herod, was too paranoid about the birth of the child.

Simeon had insight because he was faithful. The Bible tells us three things about Simeon; that of his description, his proclamation and his prediction.  Simeon was certainly an older person for he speaks of his departure from the world but more than physical description the Bible gives us a spiritual description; he was just (righteous) and devout.

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Faith

All of us helping all of us- Thursday, 4th week in ordinary time- Mark 6: 7-13

Most people would simply roll over and give up if they were rejected by their very own family in the pursuit of their mission or dreams.  Jesus does not ‘give up’ because He was rejected by His townsfolk; He simply ‘gives in’ to the mission of His Father. Having been rejected Himself, He empowers the twelve, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

Yet as we will see later, these very twelve ‘empowered’ apostles will begin to doubt the mission of Jesus, seeking for themselves personal glory and power. They, who had authority, seek power and glory. But for now the Gospel focuses on the mission that Jesus shares with them.

This makes one sit up and take notice of the fact that Jesus is no solo artist. He is after all God and He most certainly did not need help; yet that’s exactly what He did. His plan for salvation included all of us helping all of us and He began with twelve.

If Jesus ever started a company of his own, He would have hit losses in the first month simply because by human standards these twelve could only be categorized as losers.  Their actions ranged from betrayal, denial, abandonment, fits of anger, doubt, unrestrained opinions and what have you. Yet to these are given authority and mission.

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Stepping stones not stumbling blocks- Wednesday, 4th week in ordinary time- Mark 6: 1-6

We move from belief to disbelief, and the fact that this disbelief comes from Jesus’ own hometown in Nazareth, makes this incident all the more shocking. But this brings to a close Mark’s collation of the rejection of Jesus in Galilee, a rejection that began in Chapter 3:7 and reaches a crescendo in 6:6.

Jesus moves from the western shore of Galilee, inland towards Nazareth, and here the rejection is personal. Rejection is always harder when it source is one’s own family. His own did not accept Him while strangers in Capernaum did!

Jesus comes to the synagogue in Nazareth and begins to teach. The initial reaction of being ‘astounded’ to such wisdom, gives way to more negative comments which are personal in nature. Unlike Jarius and the haemorrhaging woman, they can only see a face, not faith – they recognise a name, not His nature. One would never understand why the ‘son of the town’ who has such wisdom, would not be celebrated? But then again human beings are fickle!

The description of Jesus as the ‘son of Mary’ was more an insult than a desire to identify Him. Jews were customarily known by their father’s name; they should have called Him the ‘son of Joseph’. But it is their own thoughts that scandalize them (vs3). Interestingly the translation of ‘they took offense’ is ‘skandalon’ or in English scandal, whose roots reveal that a scandal is more a ’stumbling block’. It is not the words or the person of Jesus that cause His hometown folk to be scandalized, but their own thoughts that become a ‘stumbling block’ to His acceptance.

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