Art/ Heritage

THE WISE DREAMER: on the wings of ‘The Dream of Solomon’ by Luca Giordano

The mysteries and histories of dreams and visions have long impressed man and aroused his curiosity. They feature commonly in the Bible. God who could manifest Himself through thunderstorms and earthquakes was believed to communicate through dreams as well. Right from Abraham to Abimelech, from Jacob to Joseph and from Samuel to Daniel, the Almighty revealed his divination through visions and dreams. The most popular impression among them is the dream of Solomon.

The plot goes thus. King Solomon ‘loved the Lord’ (1 Kings: 3:3). He went to Gibeon, the most important high place, to offer a thousand burnt offerings. That night God appeared to the king in a dream and offered him a boon. Rather than bidding for long life, riches or success at war, the young king prayed to be endowed with wisdom. His request pleased Yahweh who rewarded the king multi fold with wisdom, wealth and fame.

Luca Giordana enlivens this tantalizing and intangible episode by striking his brush and imagination.  Far from extinguishing the visible through the dark of the night, Giordana allures the invisible through the glistening lights. The scene is cast not on earth but among surging billows of clouds.

We are at once captivated by the image of God the Father. Enveloped in glorious splendour, His outstretched arms and sublime majesty embraces the earthly ruler. He is surrounded by the heavenly host, each absorbed in action. The first blurts, ‘How marvellous is the sight!’ the second with hands joined acknowledges, ‘All Glory to God’. The angel to the right of the Almighty mourns at the bleak of the eventual while the ones below hush the curious mortals.

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Feast of St Martha- Luke 10: 38- 42

I am a Martha in a man’s body. I have always been on the move, for a million things have to be done and to be honest, I resent the ‘Marys’ in the Church. How can you sit around when so much needs to be done? The pericope has often left me a bit resentful. Anyone can sit endlessly with the Lord in prayer. What a stress free life that is from the backache of churning a six course meal for the Lord and His twelve unannounced guests.

The problem with this text has stemmed from the reading of it. For those like me who can’t sit still and wish to be busy changing the world, the praise of Mary seem awfully unfair! If the Church were to sit and pray, who would repair the falling steeples?

The fact is plainly this; Jesus is not reprimanding ‘hardworking Martha’. He is actually inviting her not to be distracted, but instead, to be focused on Him in this particular circumstance. His exact words to her are, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her” (10:41-42).

So what Jesus is really communicating to the ‘Marthas’ of the world, is not a condemnation but a course correction. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has resolved to walk resolutely to Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 which precedes this text, is a clear announcement of the mission and purpose of Jesus. From this moment on, He is the focus, and nothing should ‘distract or worry’ the disciples.

The Gospel of the Way, as Luke’s Gospel is often called, has the Lord walking to Jerusalem. He is walking purposefully; His death and His path must not be filled with distractions. This is the time when the disciples should rally around Him and desire to be with Him alone; food and drink can wait!

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Partnering with God- Friday, 16th week in ordinary time- Matthew 13: 18-23

One third of Jesus’ teachings were in parables. His objective was to make His message as simple as possible so that the message of the kingdom would take root and bear an abundant harvest. Chapter thirteen has seven parables relating to the kingdom of heaven and the first of these parables is the parable of the sower.

Realistically speaking, the title of this parable is misleading. The parable is not about the sower or the seed as much as it is about the soil. There is no preferential treatment shown or given by the sower whose identity is assumed to be Jesus himself. The seed scattered is the same; the real focus of the story is the soil or the listeners of this parable.

Jesus chose the idyllic setting of the Sea of Galilee to tell this parable; it was here that He had handpicked the twelve. Now in the face of a growing following, He sat in a boat while the crowd stood on the beach. 

Chapter thirteen begins by telling us that that Jesus told the crowds ‘many things’ in parables. We can safely assume that Matthews collection of seven such parables, in this chapter, were only some of the many wonderful parables that Jesus shared in order to spread His message.

The readers of Matthew’s Gospel would have had no problem understanding this parable for they were living its consequences. Matthew’s community was no care free hippie generation. Their decision to follow Christ clandestinely or openly meant that consequences followed. The range of rejection and persecution was spread over thickly from family to state. The possibility of being put to death for ones beliefs always loomed large.

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A questioning mind or a listening heart? Thursday, 16th week in ordinary time. Matthew 13: 10-17

Matthew chapter 13 is also called the parable discourse. It is the third of five discourses found in the Gospel. In it, are found seven parables attempting to explain what the kingdom of God is like. Remember that Jesus does not limit the notion of the kingdom of God to a specific idea, but He always compares it. Yet, the kingdom is always greater than what it has been compared to.

A parable is really a ‘throwing alongside’.  It is a comparison of two entities so that one may throw light on the other.  There was a reason why Jesus spoke in parables. Parables embodied simple elements of everyday life; it avoided the jargon of the learned and it got the message across simply. For Jesus it was the best means of communication, especially since His intended hearers were the simple folk.

There was a reason why Jesus took His message to the masses. Chapters eleven and twelve which precede this chapter, clearly tell us of the heightened tension between Jesus and the Jewish leadership. No matter what He did, they simply found fault with Him. Their learning came in the way of the unfolding reality, that Jesus had come as the Messiah.

It is for this reason, that chapter 11:25 has Jesus exclaiming a thanksgiving, ‘for the mysteries are hidden from the learned and revealed to mere children’. Our Gospel of today is a take-off from the issue at hand. There was nothing wrong with the sower or the seed; the problem was always the soil, and the soil of the Jewish leadership was anything but receptive. It was hardened, shallow and thorn infested!

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My boys- Tuesday- Feast of St James the Apostle – Matthew 20: 20-28

Mrs Zebedee was quite a sassy woman and that mixed with an ambitious plan for her sons. It seemed to her that Jesus was rapidly giving away ministerial portfolios. Peter had already been given the keys of the kingdom with power to bind and loose anything on earth. So the prime ministerial berth was taken and now one had to move in fast to get anywhere close to the other plum postings.

Mrs Zebedee must have thought, why not go for the seats on the left and right. Home and finance minister is not so bad for “my boys”. So she waltzed into the presence of the Master for she knew that up to her sons, they would dare not ask Jesus for any such favour.  Her request seems anything but polite; “Command them to sit at your right and left”.  They would dare not disobey Jesus if He commanded them, she must have thought.

Power can make us all go a bit crazy and Mrs Zebedee is not too far in the game. That’s not the kingdom that Jesus envisaged. His was a kingdom of servant leadership and He was the servant par excellence. It was a long time before the words of Jesus actually sunk in, for while He was alive they were all fighting for special places.

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