Judging Composition

The Day of Judgement, Fra Angelico

Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Did I ever mention that Art School Confidential is one of the greatest films known to man? It's a comedy, it's a crime mystery, it's a film featuring John Malkovich at his most awkward...all if these being the marks of a movie that I love. Most importantly, it is a movie that represents Art class in the way that I remember it. I've been in that strange dark setting where a working artist leads a handful of developing art students in a critique of their work. As these young apprentices stand under judgment, they try and use big words (incorrectly) to defend what they did. A common misconception of Art School is that it is a place of free flowing, self expression where everyone gets a trophy for being themselves. It is based on the idea that Art is about nothing more than self expression and being true to one's self. If you have been to Art school, majored in Art or had any intensive level of Art instruction then you know that it is a place of judgment. Now it is not like Math education, where there are more wrong answers than right answers, and the real world of Art after school is murkier in its definition of what is right (or if there even is a right way), but much Art education is about judging you and about building your sense of judgment. Honestly that is what education is about across the board. Nobody likes the idea of judgment... or do they? No one likes being judged, when it means getting F's on tests. Yet everyone likes the idea of being able to exercise good judgment themselves, which leads to getting A's on tests. Passing a test is having someone judge that you have good judgment. Everyone loves judgment when it turns out well for them... when it means means reward instead of punishment. Our educational system (and our whole paradigm of knowledge attainment) is based on the concept of the test and judgment. The greatest thing that I learned to judge through these Art class critiques was composition. Wikipedia shares that Composition "in the visual arts—in particular painting, graphic design, photography, and sculpture—composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art." But judging composition also affected how I understood the arrangement in other disciplines such as literature, science, oratory, sports, mathematics, etc. The key to judging a thing was by analyzing the structure of it's ingredients. This skill was valuable to my education across disciplines. Jesus was first and foremost an educator. Think about it: when God decided to communicate the fullness of His salvific truth to Mankind He chose to do it through a school. Jesus was a Rabbi (a religious teacher) that had students (disciples) who followed him in an apprenticeship (where they learned to be religious teachers). This should not be fully imagined in the paradigm of a seminary class, but rather as a real life laboratory in 1st century Palestine. In this open air workshop they would lean to study the Scriptures, heal the sick, suffer persecution, feed the hungry, make Gospel presentations and distribute the mercy of God under the instruction of their Master-teacher. So when Jesus teaches them in Matthew 25:31-46 about judgment it is a class about the precepts of Composition. It tells of a future time when the Son of Man will finish testing and will gather all men together for a critique. In it he will judge them according to the composition of their lives.

Two Sections




Paradise panel from The Last Judgment, Fra Angelico

So just to give you non-Art majors out there a taste of Art education, let's have a little critique of our own. Now don't be scared, I'm not going to use one of your childhood refrigerator drawings or even one of the doodles that you made in the margins of the meeting minutes at work. We are going to critique the great painters who have illustrated Matthew 25:31-46. So technically this is both a critique session and an art history course. The painting at the very top of the page is "The Last Judgment" by Fra Angelico. We know a lot about Fra Angelico's work and personal life. It is all due to that strange first name "Fra." It is actually not a name at all but a title. "Fra" is short for "Friar." He was a priest in the Dominican Order and Renaissance painter. He was actually beatified (the third step before being proclaimed a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church) by Pope John Paul II in 1982. So Fra Angelico looms large in both Art and religion. The Dominicans are also known as "The Order of Preachers" and being a preacher, Fra Angelico illustrates Matthew 25:31-46 by making a prominent feature in the composition of the text through a prominent feature in the composition of the painting. Both compositions show a heavy bilateral symmetry. There structures are broken into two parts. In the painting as in the text, Jesus is enthroned with those on his left in far dire straights than those on his right. As you go further out to the extremes you can see that the right is reserved for those in Paradise (Heaven) and those on the left suffer in the torment of Hell. This should not be confused with our contemporary Western, political notions of Left and Right but rather to the traditional Middle Eastern practice of using the Left and Right hand for shows of honor and shame. 

Hell panel from The Last Judgment, Fra Angelico

The Right hand is used for honorable things such as shaking hands and eating, while the Left hand is used for the dishonorable task of wiping oneself after defecating. My apology for the frankness of that last sentence (and the one instance of profanity in the Art School Confidential clip) but that is the frankness of the disrespect that is alluded to in Jesus' story. Some of you readers may debate the literalness or eternalness of Hell, but I'm sure that you can agree that Jesus is describing a place of ultimate dishonor that is apart from God's mercy. That is the crux of the description. It is a depiction of Jesus as the divider in this two sided reality. He is the eternal judge that categorizes things as Sheep and Goats, Left and Right and Angels and Demons. Though it may seem heavy handed and obtuse, reality is often divided into two factions. The question is, what are the two groups and what distinguishes each. This is where judgment comes in. Judgment is discernment, insight and the ability to keenly understand the nature of things. Jesus teaches us in this lesson that the judgment that he teaches us to exercise will enable us to decipher between the ways of life and death. Being an apprentice of Jesus will lead to one mastering life. I say this with no "self-help book" intentions because true life mastery is not about focusing on helping yourself but rather helping others. Your life is wrapped up in theirs.


Seven Parts

 The Works of Mercy, by the Master of Alkmaar

Of course Fra Angelico was not the only artist to cover Matthew 25:31-46. Master of Alkmaar approached this text from a different angle and his composition reflects it. Compared to Fra Angelico, we know very little about the Master of Alkmaar outside of this one painting. We are not even sure of his real name. Just like those who sit on the right hand of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46, the only thing that we have to judge him with are his Works of Mercy. They are seven different paintings framed individually so they would normally seem like disconnected scenes. Often in our life acts of kindness can seem random and isolated. They can be large commitments like taking care of an aging parent or simple acts like giving food to a homeless person. When the Master of Alkmaar chose to place these scenes side by side as one piece he captured the emphasis of Jesus' message. When Jesus judges our acts of kindness and works of mercy, they will not be understood as separate disconnected episodes but one unified and creative exhibition of beauty. Jesus will honor them as an act of worship to him. If you are wondering why the artist features seven scenes, it is due to the Catholic teaching on works of mercy: 

"Corporal Works of Mercy are those that tend to bodily needs of others. In Matthew 25:34-40, in the The Judgment of Nations, six specific Works of Mercy are enumerated, although not this precise list — as the reason for the salvation of the saved, and the omission of them as the reason for damnation. The last work of mercy, burying the dead, comes from the Book of Tobit."

The seven corporal works are listed as:

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To harbour the harbourless. (also loosely interpreted today as To Shelter the Homeless)
5. To visit the sick.
6. To visit the imprisoned (classical term is "To ransom the captive")
7. To bury the dead.

The Methodists traditionally have a different list which includes working for the abolition of slaves.

1. Doing Good
2. Visiting the Sick and Prisoners
3. Feeding and Clothing People
4. Earning, Saving, Giving All One Can
5. Opposition to Slavery

The fact that Catholics added one more to Jesus' list and that Methodists have a different list that only consists of five acts does not negate any of these lists. I don't believe that they meant to be totally definitive. There are endless ways to perform creative acts of mercy. The point of all of them is that they testify to the fact that your spiritual life is not defined only by you doing "spiritual things." It is not defined by a club made up of only you and Jesus. True spirituality and worship of God is praying to God for guidance in serving those around us. The Epistle of James describes it this way, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." We are saved to save our brothers and sisters. We are given grace with the understanding that we will pay it forward to others. 

One Central Image

Giotto, The Last Judgment

Both Fra Angelico and the Master of Alkmaar came to the story of the last judgment in Matthew 25:31-46 fully aware of the artistic giants who had approached the subject before them. Behemoths of Art history like Giotto, whose "The Last Judgment" exudes a standard for the genre that even latter Renaissance figures like Michelangelo must acknowledge. In a way we can think of Fra Angelico and the Master of Alkmaar's paintings as analytical judgments of Giotto. They were critiquing one if the greats. They constructed their two part and seven part compositions in response to Giotto's one part composition. In calling it a one part composition I am using a misnomer because it has several points and sections, but the thrust of the movement in this piece is central. Just like the text in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus sits in the center of Giotto's painting. Just like the Sun, the Son of God radiates illumination as to the true nature of all who surround him. He deciphers that those who have chosen the path of honor on his right have chosen life while those who have chosen the path of dishonor on the left have chosen death. The decisions that they have exercised while living will continue in the afterlife. Unbeknownst to them the were investing in their eternal destinies by showing interest in life or ignoring it. Jesus is exercising judgment. Judgment is not based on only two factors or seven factors. All of these factors are just expressions of one consideration: Jesus. Specifically I mean following Jesus. Whether we clothe the naked, feed the hungry, comfort the sick or what have you, we do so in an act of following Jesus. It is not just following what he said but it is also following what he did. It us not just believing in him but rather believing in what he said so much that we take it up as a lifestyle and practice. Heaven will not be full of just "believers" rather it will be full of "doers." This is the apprenticeship that the Master has set before his disciples: to learn from his actions and to replicate his actions. We are disciples of Jesus because we want to practice the works that Jesus practiced. The life of Jesus is the central element that should drive the movement in the composition of our lives.

Composition and Completion

Detail of the broken tombs in the central panel of The Last Judgment, Fra Angelico

Since we've analyzed how his fellow painters depicted Matthew 25:31-46, let's return to our critique of Fra Angelico. We discussed the extreme left and right panels but what about the center. The middle section below Jesus is overlooked and sparse on detail but it speaks volumes. It is the point where Fra Angelico's academic and theological analysis into the Gospel text turns personal. The painter depicts open graves that both that have been opened. Those who stand on both the Lord's left and right hand are both resurrected to judgment: some to eternal life and others to eternal death. This part is personal because the painter realizes that he to will be judged like these. Fra Angelico realized that the key to his being deemed honorable by the Righteous Judge will not be contingent on his artworks as a master painter or even his work a priest but rather his works of mercy. It is said that his tomb is engraved with the following:

"When singing my praise, don't liken my talents to those of Apelles. Say, rather, that, in the name of Christ, I gave all I had to the poor. The deeds that count on Earth are not the ones that count in Heaven. I, Giovanni, am the flower of Tuscany."

When entering the door to the afterlife Fra Angelico understood the unifying theme if Matthew 25:31-46. The unifying compositional element to Jesus' story was sustaining the life of others. All too often we Christians act as if the only important part of life is the end. We value dying because our misunderstanding of Jesus' message is all about leaving here so we can go to Heaven. Jesus believed in an afterlife and Jesus also believed in Heaven but the fullness of Jesus' concept if the Kingdom of Heaven was not something that we live in after we die. Jesus believed that the Kingdom of Heaven is for the living. The Kingdom of Heaven is about life and eternal life. Looking out for the temporal life of others is an investment in our own eternal life. In his earthly ministry Jesus healed the sick, feed the hungry, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead and fought every aspect of physical and spiritual manifestation of death and decay. He pursued the promotion of the spiritual and physical life of everyone around him because that is how love us expressed. Love gives life. If you are Jesus' disciple then be like your Master. Live like your Master. Love like your Master. And when the time of your final critique comes, Jesus will honor the work you have done.

The Harvest of Peace and Tumult

Landscape with Wheat Sheaves and Rising Sun, Vincent Van Gogh

 Luke 10:1-9

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

My wife is Irish Catholic and I’m Black Baptist: the comedic extreme versions of each group. Maybe we’ll raise our future kids in a Korean Seventh Day Adventist Church just to keep it interesting. In spite of our denominational differences we still visit each other’s church services. The other week I went to my wife’s church and heard an amazing sermon. One of our family friends, who is a newly ordained deacon, preached the sermon this very same verse in Luke. We had actually attended his ordination at Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Now he was dressed in his Deacon's robe (with the diagonal sash that makes him look like he's the mayor) delivering a homily about the great call that he had just answered... to be a Harvest worker. He reminded us that just like the nameless 72 followers of Jesus in this verse, we too are called to go out into the world and spread the message of Christ’s kingdom and to offer his peace to the restless. Before the mass started he and I chatted about the sermon itself, sermon construction and the art of preaching in general. While he preached I thought about the fact that over two millennia there have been countless others that have been added to the 72. Whether they were preachers, missionaries, teachers or just nice old ladies on the bus: many have been sent out in to the world, feeling the call to spread the message of hope in Christ. Just like the 72 many succeeded and reaped the joy of the Lord as their reward, however, some did not. Some did not receive a captive audience. Some did not return home. Some did not receive the joy of the Lord in the end. Today I would like to share with you about one those from that last group. One who went out to spread the message of peace but never received God's peace himself. His name was Vincent Van Gogh.

There is no doubt that nearly all of you have heard of Vincent Van Gogh as an artist. Even people who know the least about art know about "that guy who cut his ear off." I have even less doubt that those of you that are familiar with Van Gogh's paintings probably list them as some of your favorite works of art. Van Gogh as an artist is the art equivalent of Tupac as a rapper, Wagner as a composer or Kobe Bryant as a basketball player: whether they're the best is debatable but if you don't like them its probably due to their personal flaws than their artistry. Van Gogh is a giant among painters for several reasons. His expressive colors and thick brushstrokes are the envy of any painter who desires to let loose and apply the paint several inches thick. His ability to deliver a character's psyche and personality in their portrait or even a painting of their shoes is the envy of any aspiring novelist. His fulfillment of the "troubled artist" archetype and failure at financial success during his earthly life are the envy of any self loathing, Emo musician. Even with this universal admiration of him I do wager that their are many of you that are unaware that for a time Van Gogh was a preacher and that a good portion of his works have scriptural themes and symbolism in them. 

Van Gogh picked up professional painting later in life. Before that he spent time as a Methodist minister in training and missionary to the poor. At this point in history Methodists held the title for their missionary and evangelistic efforts. The Methodists were not initially started as a separate denomination but rather as an Evangelical renewal movement within Anglicanism (which is the same as Episcopalian in the United States). It's founder, John Wesley, focused much of its spiritual discipline on personal holiness (the theological conversation that he started would eventually lead to the Holiness, Pentecostal and Charismatic movements as well). John Wesley's movement's success was due to his brother Charles Wesley's hymns and Methodist missionaries willingness to go anywhere to serve the underserved and church the unchurched. Their efforts amongst the poor laborers of Europe were especially noble. It was these efforts amongst the working poor that attracted Van Gogh.

The Sower, Vincent Van Gogh

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.

To say that Van Gogh was interested in Harvest is an understatement. Van Gogh spent massive amounts of time and energy considering the harvest in thought and brushwork. Whether it was a depiction of the field itself, the labor in the field or the laborers, Van Gogh did the Harvest like Andy Warhol did Campbell's Soup, like Cosby did Coogi & HBCU sweaters, like Kenny G did elevator music. Vincent Van Gogh's love for the Harvest wasn't just a love for the aesthetic of a European farm landscape but it was also a love of the souls of the Harvest worker. These underserved, rural souls were the same ones that held Bible studies for. Van Gogh would also go on to minister to coal miners, but wheat harvesters held a special place in his artistic cosmos. Jesus also repeatedly used harvesting images in his greatest works of art: the parables. As Christ informed his closest followers on the need for ministry workers he used an analogy that workmen would understand: "The harvest is ripe but the laborers are few." The time for the spread of Jesus' message is now. It is ripe. Like a wheat plant that has grown from seed to stalk, salvation history has grown from the promise of Abraham to the arrival of the Messiah. This plant has developed its fruit and the fruit has ripened. The fruit of the wheat is the grain, ready to be made into bread and drink and enjoyed by the people. The fruit of God's Seed is the Gospel, the sacrifice of Christ, ready to be made into spiritual bread and drink and enjoyed by mankind. But a laborer is due his wages so it is only right that workmen of the Gospel may partake in the fruit of their labor: the Peace of God.   

Sheaves of Wheat in a Field, Vincent Van Gogh

But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.

Alas peace is something that Vincent Van Gogh could never find in this world. Like Jesus commanded he took next to nothing for his journey. When he preached to the poor he embraced poverty. He would willingly go without shoes during the winter while ministering to those who could not afford their own. Was this extreme? Yes. And it eventually lead to his superiors questioning his longevity in ministry and general stability. Well, that and the fact that Vincent actually did struggle with mental sickness. The life and mind of this messenger of God's peace could at times be tumultuous. Their are several theories as to why Vincent Van Gogh was troubled and sometimes hear voices. One that I have heard recently was that he may have had a form of Epilepsy that leads to seizures and auditory hallucinations. Van Gogh went without many things but the one thing that he did have was family. We have such an extensive record of Vincent Van Gogh's thoughts because of his letters that he wrote to his brother Theo Van Gogh, a Parisian art dealer. Theo would support and encourage his brother in his art and life. This is the unspoken background to Christian ministry: mutual support. Christ spoke of his messengers spreading blessings of peace upon the house of those that accepted them and their message. But what about the messengers themselves? Who would minister peace to them when they felt rejected and alone? That is why Jesus sent his missionaries in pairs. There are some Christian groups that emphasize the communal aspect of faith wonderfully. Yet there are still some approaches to following Christ (especially in America) that are too "me and Jesus." Yes, in the end you alone are the one who will answer to Christ, but he has also surrounded you with brothers (and sisters) for support and encouragement. They may not be blood brothers (like Theo and Vincent) but they may be that friend that sticks closer than a brother.

But why wasn't Theo enough to save Vincent? Sometimes this brotherhood and support may not come in the form of another believer. Sometimes this support may not come in the form of an individual but in the form of a service. Christians are implored to pray whenever sickness arrives. This is the right thing to do, however, I fear that their may be a false wall that we have erected between faith and medical science. It is almost that we feel that we are dishonoring God if we cannot remedy the situation with hands of prayer and the anointing of the sick. Let me be explicitly clear, the Lord choses many ways to heal people. Your job as a sick person is to pursue them... all of them. He uses prayer and the answer to that prayer may be the healing hands provided by a medical professional. This is even the case when the medical professional is not a believer. God has been known to use non-believers to fee his people (consider Cyrus the Great, a Persian king who emancipated the people of Israel and rebuilt the temple). I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is always the case with mental illness. You cannot just say a prayer and put a band aid on depression, schizophrenia, pedophilia or a score of other mental disorders that we as Christians have swept under the rug for too long. God provides support, but we must open our eyes, swallow our pride and accept his peace from the hands of others.

But Vincent sought medical support and he still took his own life in the end. What does that say about God's peace? Look, the peace of God is so valuable... but at the same time it is yet so elusive. It is hard to grasp. It is a butterfly floating away from a child in the wind and the child's net has holes in it. But if you are patient it will be yours. Sometimes it may not be a case of trying hard but just continuing to try. The Holy Spirit enables us to run marathons not sprints: sometimes it is not about the intensity of your faith but the endurance. Trust me, I have seen hard times when the world of sunshine and roses doesn't pierce through your dank shack of despair, but it does get better. If you suffer with mental illness of any kind then you must realize that God hasn't just called you to minister to others but to minister unto yourself and be ministered to. In Galatians St. Paul discusses the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our life. Of these nine attributes the one that everyone skims over is long suffering. Ironically it is one of the greatest gifts can give anyone who wants the peace of God in hard times. It means what it says: suffering long. It is the spiritual tenacity that enables a believer to weather life's tumults. It is the road that leads to God's kingdom of peace. 

Vincent Van Gogh, Wheat Fields

And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

Visionaries can always be dismissed as dreamers. Sometimes their tales of grand plans can come to fruition. The story of Christ and Van Gogh both involve their own stories of a great community that they would erect. It is a tale of two utopias: Jesus’ & Vincent’s. After his failed attempt at ministry, Van Gogh took to painting. He did not abandon spiritual aspirations for he say painting as a godly calling. As we discussed earlier he encoded many of his artworks with parabolic symbolism. Later he would forge a friendship with Paul Gaughin (the great expressive painter of colorful Tahitian culture and corrupter of young Tahitian women). They eventually set out to build an art commune. Vincent saw this as an opportunity to recreate culture and even our concept of religion... I imagine that Gaughin saw is as a way to score chicks with his wingman Vince. They were roommates and after an argument and the collapse of their art commune idea, Van Gogh sliced off part of his ear. This was not the end for Van Gogh but it was the end of his idea of an artistic paradise. If he only understood Jesus' message that "the kingdom of God has come near you." Often times we misunderstand the whole concept of the kingdom of God as well. Does it mean Heaven, or some place that I go when I die? Yes. But it means more than that. A kingdom means "the king's domain." it is anywhere that a King has sovereignty over. Case in point, King George III of England, the King of England, naturally was the sovereign ruler of England (hence the title). But he also was the ruler over all of England's possessions over seas, which until a fight broke out in 1776 included 13 British colonies in the New World. It didn't matter that he resided in one particular area, he was the sovereign ruler of all that submitted to him. His kingdom extended overseas. Likewise God's kingdom encompasses more than Heaven (the place for angels and dead people), God's kingdom is wherever people submit to his rule. To take it one step further, God's kingdom is in Christ. It is Christ that would be "coming near" the townsfolk that the 72 would preach to. It is in Christ, not, Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem, that Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles will gather to worship God in spirit and truth. It is in Christ that the fullness of the God is revealed. It is in Christ that the harvest and the harvest workers will find God's peace.

 

Vincent Van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows

Although Van Gogh painted several other types of paintings during his career (portraits, flowers, rooms), he stayed fascinated with the harvest of wheat fields until the end. Days after painting the canvas above, entitled Wheatfield with Crows, Vincent returned to the same field and shot himself. He was able to make back to the inn where he was staying and confessed to what he had done. He slipped into a coma and passed away. It appears that Just as Christ said in his parable of the sower after the seeds of the gospel had been sewed the birds of the air came and snatched them from Vincent's heart. This isn't the only story that I know of a minister struggling with impact of mental illness. When I was growing up in New Orleans, Bishop Paul Morton was in the midst of changing the landscape for many Black Baptists across the nation. He had built the Full Gospel Fellowship as an alternative for Baptist believers who chose a more Pentecostal/Charismatic approach to their worship. He also introduced a Baptist conference that was structured in a more diosecan format (hence the title "bishop) and ordained women into all levels of ministry. Even though I was from a more traditional Baptist background it was impossible not to feel his impact on the local Christian community. So when he openly discussed his Bipolar condition and subsequent mental breakdown in the late 90's it opened a new chapter in the Christian community. It showed that it was okay to be not okay. It showed that taking medicine can be an agent of God's grace for you physical and mental health. It showed that many bad things in our life only gain additional power when we hide them out of shame. The God's harvest is ripe. It is hungry souls waiting for the freedom that comes with the peace of God's kingdom. Those who are called to work this harvest must also realize that they too are part of the harvest. When Darkness clouds our minds we too must be nursed by others with lifesaving Light. If you do not have anyone that you can talk to or rely on to minister to you then do like Jesus said and "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  You may not be perfect but you can be made better. You are the one that God sees as special. You are the one whose cries he listens to. You are the one who cannot give up. You are the one that Jesus died for, to have peace. You are the harvest.