People Patterns

Luke 2:22-40

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 

"This work here has to do with memory. With this work, we revive iconic moments, people and scenes." Thus spoke the prolific Brazilian street art muralist Eduardo Kobra in his native Portuguese tongue. He was explaining to a worldwide Youtube audience why he painted a 170 ft. mural on the side of a building in São Paulo, Brazil that depicts Oscar Niemeyer, the architect of Brazil's capital city of Brasília. Yet, Eduardo Kobra's description explains much more than this painting. It seems to explain the great majority of his painting. It definitely explains the mural that I used to drive by on my daily commute to work. There it was at 1220 N. Highland Ave in the midst of Hollywood, 4300 square feet of wall transformed into a glorious ribbons of multicolored memory forming patterns of people. This is the majesty of what Kobra does. His works are make us remember the multicolored patterns of greatness and beauty that we have witnessed in our world. They are patterns that form people; people who formed our present world. The work that I was blessed to see was a picture of redemption. I mean that it in its most literal sense: to exchange, to buy back, to ransom from captivity...and in doing so to repair, atone and bring beauty. This mural both beautified and beatified this plain wall by telling the sacred stories of three people who worked to redeem people: Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Even so, Eduardo Kobra's description explains much more than his paintings. It seems to explain the theme of today's Scripture reading in Luke 2:22-40. It explains the gospel narrative that is in itself a multifaceted tapestry of people patterns. Those interwoven memories of iconic moments, people and scenes that sing to us the song of redemption.

Moses

...Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”...

In the grand, intricately patterned, mural painted by the gospel writer we meet Moses. Yet this picture curiously looks just like Eduardo Kobra's portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is the portrait of a visionary preacher. A preacher who was also a leader of a nation of people who were historically held captive far from their ancestral home. A preacher who worked for a new Law that expressed the full freedom of these children of slaves. A preacher who spoke of a Promised land that he had seen from the Mountaintop. A preacher of a Promised land that he knew that he would not live to enter

Martin Luther King, Jr. knowingly borrowed from Moses' narrative. In fact, ever since the days of their enslavement the African American community had long seen a corresponding narrative in the Israelite enslavement in Egypt. Even Harriet Tubman, who had freed hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad was lovingly referred to as "Black Moses." So there Dr. King stood in the shoes of Moses, generations after the initial freedom of his people but still not quite yet in the age of the Promised land that the new Law would govern over. The undeniable parallels made his message more powerful and understandable. We can use our familiarity with Dr. King to better understand Moses. Why am I focusing so much on Moses, a character who doesn't actually act in this narrative? It is because even his absence he still acts. His presence is felt in the actions and motivations of the actual characters in this episode. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to be presented in the temple they did so because Moses said to do so. The gospel writer makes sure that we don't miss this point by including the Scripture in the Torah that inspired the act. But what's the significance of this? Moses had a long career with many heroic acts and wrote five books of Scripture. The mitzvah that Mary and Joseph perform for Jesus is quoted from only one of those books. What was so special about this one that it should be listed in the beginning chapters of a book about Jesus? It is because this mitzvah and Scripture encapsulated the overall message of Moses' ministry. It tied together the single point that Moses communicated throughout all of his works. This mitzvah was about Redemption. This mitzvah is a work that practicing Jews still practice to this very day, called the Redemption of the first-born son or Pidyon haben (פדיון הבן‎). When Jewish parents refer to this ritual as redemption, they mean that it in its most literal sense: to exchange, to buy back, to ransom from captivity...and in doing so to repair, atone and bring beauty. Moses readied his readers for this practice (in his earlier writing) by exposing them to its precursors. In each the firstborn male is ransomed by giving God exchange or substitute payment. 

In Genesis Moses tells us how God asks Abraham togive Him Isaac (not Abraham's firstborn son, but his firstborn son with his wife Sarah). God then tells Abraham that this sacrifice would not be necessary because God had provided a ram as an exchange to substitute for Isaac. The theme of the story of the binding if Isaac is not that God may ask you to kill your kids or that God likes to trick people into shows of faith but rather that God was instituting a substitutionary atonement model for redemption.

Moses then tells us the Passover story in the first half ofExodus. As part of his assault campaign of plagues and curses against the House of Egypt, he takes the Firstborn sons of the Egyptians (and their livestock). The houses of the Israelites are protected from death when God offers that they sacrifice a lamb and smear it's blood over their doorpost. Their firstborn sons were redeemed through an exchange for the blood of a lamb. Observant Jews still practice this mitzvah to this day as a sign that God was continuing to honor substitutionary atonement for redemption.

Finally in the book of Numbers Moses tells us of the Choosingof the Levites. It appears that The Lord taking first borne son was not about sacrificing him (as proven by the binding of Isaac) but it did have to deal with sacrifice. Moses shows us that up to that point the first borne so acted as the priest of every household. By priest I don't mean one who preaches or pastors but rather the one who performs the necessary religious sacrifices to God. God had accepted the first borne son of every family as a minister. Hence Moses' older brother Aaron was naturally the priest of his family. What changes on Leviticus is that God offers to redeem the other tribe's first borne sons out of this service by choosing the tribe of Levi as the sole priestly tribe. They would collectively oversee the religious sacrifice and worship to God on the tabernacle and later the temple. Among them the family of Aaron (Moses' older priestly brother) would be the only Levites to perform the priestly function of actually sacrificing animals. So from this point onward Jewish families would bring turtle doves or pigeons to a Cohenim (the priestly family of Aaron) to sacrifice for their first borne son. They would also pay the Cohenim a few silver coins as an exchange for redeeming their son by being an atoning substitute in their son's priestly service. Contemporary Jews still maintain this practice by paying giving silver coins to a fellow Hew with the last name Cohen or Kohen (the modern day descendant of the priestly family of Aaron) to redeem their first borne sons.

This is what Mary and Jesus were doing with the infant Jesus at the temple. But why is this story featured in the beginning chapters of a story about the life of Jesus? It is significant because tied together the single point that Moses communicated throughout all of his works. This story was about Redemption. It is the story of being bought back by the sacrifice of another. It is the story of freedom. It is what we as Christians believe that Christ, our high priest and atoning sacrifice did for us on the cross. It is the story of a vision that Moses, Jesus and Dr. King all had of a  "day when all of God's children, black menand white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able tojoin hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free atlast! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Simeon

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against  (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

In the grand, intricately patterned, mural painted by the gospel writer we meet Simeon  Yet this picture curiously looks just like Eduardo Kobra's portrait of Nelson Mandela. It is the portrait of  a patient and wise old man. An old man who had foreseen the future consolation of a nation. An old man would endure an age of injustice while faithfully waiting for an afar off time of justice and equity. An old man whose suffering would be replaced with joy as his hands blessed the government of this new era. Mandela's status of the enduring sage and prophet of a politically realized eschatology helps us see Simeon in a more approachable light. We know Simeon because we know the archetypal type that he fulfills. History is full of figures that fill his prototypical mold. 

We even see these figures in the redemptive history that Moses first introduced us to. The redemption of the first-born is even seen in Biblical stories after Moses like the story of Hannah dedicating her son Samuel back to God (through the Levite temple service). In the opening of the book that bears his name, we are told of Samuel being a child born to a formerly barren mother. After she promises to dedicate her child to the Lord, she is granted a child by God. After the child is weaned she brings brings him to the temple in Shiloh (long before the temple in Jerusalem) and gives the Levites to be raised for temple service. Samuel's story is a reverse of the redemption of the firstborn. His mother intentionally does not redeem him from priestly service but willingly gives him back to the Lord. This was not done due to poverty (her sacrifice shows that she had more than enough financial means to afford the five shekels). This sacrifice was done as an act of living worship.  

Samuel would go on to judge Israel. Since this was the time before an Israelite monarchy the judges were the government of the twelve tribes. In this time of loose tribal organization Samuel was the man who heard cases and brought down the corrupt. When God finally allowed the Israelites to have a monarchy, Samuel was the prophet that he chose to identify and anoint the first two kings (Saul and David). In the time of centralization of national government Samuel was the man who would uplift the humble. .

Simeon followed in the prophetic tradition of Samuel. Simeon continued the redemption history that Moses testified to. Like Samuel he was there for the consecration of the new King, not like any other king that had been anointed before him. This child Jesus was the Anointed One, the Christ,the Messiah. He was the rightful Divine King that God had always intended to rule. In him the monarchy was merged with the theocracy. And in his redemption God was trading giving his Son in exchange for our sins. This is the prize that Simeon had the endurance to wait for. It is the reward that if we are faithful and patient shall receive. Sin and hardships may weigh us down and separate us from God but as believers in Christ we testify to an enduring and resurrecting faith that concurs both of these foes. It is the endurance of Samuel, Simeon and Nelson Mandela that proclaims "Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."

 

Anna

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

In the grand, intricately patterned, mural painted by the gospel writer we meet Anna  Yet this picture curiously looks just like Eduardo Kobra's portrait of Mother Theresa. It is the portrait of  a holy and prayerful old woman. An old woman who dedicated her life in humble service to God.
An old woman who could not work in the priestly system that restricted to males but found an outside way to glorify God. An old woman who communicated the message of God's salvation of her city. An old woman whose message of citywide redemption lead to the salvation of the humble outsiders for whom God had built His kingdom.

Mother Teresa's story and Anna's story are both the fulfillment of God's promises to exalt the lowly and humble the proud. Due to the nature of both figures religious traditions, neither would be able to go through the traditional routes of religious leadership. But as you may remember from my previous posts God instituted another system alongside the priesthood that acts as a critical check to abuses in the system. It is that of the prophet. Prophets were not a constant office like that of the priesthood. They also were not an inherited office. The prophet was God's own little internal affairs investigator and spoke the very edicts of the Divine. The existence of a prophet was either revelatory of Scripture or a sign of judgment against the current authorities or even both. Scripture tells us that Israel had not seen a prophet for hundreds of years since Malachi and his Old Testament peers. So when the Lord chose to bring about a new generation of prophets like John the Baptist and Zechariah (his father) to announce the new Messianic age, He also called Anna.

Like Mother Teresa, Anna's prophetic ministry would not consist of making sacrifices in the temple but rather in prayerful and sacrificial actions. These actions would both capture the heart of God to reveal it to the world and highlight the Lord's love of the meek, the humble, the disposed and the suffering. The Gospel of Luke is known for highlighting the lives of women in its narrative. Like many other ancient writers, when the author of Luke highlights women he is not just speaking about women. he is using women (who were treated as the underclass) to represent all of the underclass and dispossessed. Yet these supposed second-class citizens are the only citizens of Heaven. They are the ambassadors of God's upside down kingdom that eschews the riches of this world and regards the conventional wisdom of our age as foolishness.

In addition to prophecy, Anna's primary spiritual gift was the same as Samuel's mother Hannah. This was the gift of prayer. The first chapter of the book of 1 Samuel tells of Hannah's prayer of petition to God for a son. The beginning of the second chapter of is filled with Hannah's prayer of praise to God for the gift of her first born son. She follows these prayers by giving her son Samuel back to God as an act of worship. If this storyline seems familiar it is because it is an Old Testament shadow of Jesus' mother, Mary. She too was a woman who had visions and heard from the voice of God. After submitting to God's use of her body as an act of worship, she shared a prayer of praise to God, The Magnificat, as she learns of her formerly barren cousin Elizabeth's (another parallel of Hannah)mothering John the Baptist. As you know, Mary would go on, like Hannah, to give her son Jesus back to God as an act of worship. She would give him as an exchange to God as a redemptive substitute for her and every humble, repentant sinner that walked the earth since the time of her foremother Eve. But Jesus would not go into service in the temple but would rather be crucified by the temple priesthood and religious leadership of the day.   

Anna followed in the prophetic prayer practices of the lowly meek servants that went before her and would follow after her. It is an intercessory prayer that doesn't stop when one opens their eyes. It is prayer as a prophetic lifestyle of talking to God, hearing His voice and seeing His tears in the suffering of others. It is prayer as the whole hearted submission to a loving and active God who desires to live in us and act through us. As disciples of Christ it is an understanding of being attentive to the heart of God. It is the understanding that Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary and Mother Teresa had that “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Conclusion

So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

In addition to his murals, Eduardo Kobra is known for his posters of musical and pop-culture figures. Like his murals, these figures are individuals who significantly changed their art and spoke timeless truths to the world. One of these figures is Bob Marley. Along with being the undisputed king of traditional Roots Reggae, Bob Marley was also the transmitter and popular face of Rastafarianism to the world. Don't worry Christians, I am not about to say that Christianity and Rastafari movement agree. On the contrary, Rastafarians worship of the deceased Ethiopian emperor  Haile Selassie as the Messiah conflicts with the Christian belief that in Christ as the sole Messiah and son of God. However in their appropriation of Judeo-Christian beliefs and terminology for their own theological purposes, Rastas have created many songs that capture the essence of the Biblical narrative. The talk of Scriptural themes like the Lion of Judah, Babylon, Exodus and other motifs that echo the message that the prophetic line from to Jesus was communicating. No other Raggae song that I am aware of does this a beautifully and simply as "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley. It tells of Redemption of captives by means of ransom. In this blog we have discussed the usage of poetic devices all over Scripture but maybe just saying that the Bible is poetic doesn't drive the point home enough. Scripture sings a song. Throughout the winding narratives and tapestries of people patterns it repeatedly sings the chorus of redemption.  It tt brings us up to Jesus' own redemption of the firstborn ceremony as an infant to lead us into the story of his adult ministry as a worker of redemption. Redemption that would exchange, buy back, ransom from captivity...and in doing so repair, atone and bring beauty. This redemption was a song that all of God's creation will one day join together and sing of. All of God's children will join Scripture in singing the Redemption Song.

The Christmas Story According to the Gospel of Luke and the paintings of Jacob Jordaens



The Nativity, Jacob Jordaens

Luke 2:1-21

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world 


 Adoration of Shepherds, Jacob Jordaens

should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
 

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them,

The Adoration Of The
Shepherds, Jacob Jordaens


“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
 

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 
 “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made 

Adoration of the Shepherds, Jacob Jordaens

known to us.” 
And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

The Holy Family with St John the Baptist, Jacob Jordaens

  

 



The Christmas Story According to the Gospel of Matthew and the Paintings of James Tissot



The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, James Tissot

Matthew 1:18-2:23

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.


Betrothel of Mary and Joseph, James Tissot

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Journey of the Magi, James Tissot

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 

Herod the Great, James Tissot

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
 

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

The Magi in the House of Herd, James Tissot

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.



Flight into Egypt - James Tissot

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”



The Massacre of the Innocents, James Tissot

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:


The Return from Egypt, James Tissot

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”^[c]

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,  saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Jesus Found, James Tissot

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
 

 

 

 

There's Something About Mary

Holy Mary, Empress of China, Chu Kar Kui (Gary Chu)

Luke 1:26-38

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

The irony of this blog is that it is about Art and Christianity and I have yet to discuss the most popular subject in Christian Art. There are a few complex reasons for this: some of them are individual to me and some of them deal with the interaction between all the sections of Christianity throughout history. Despite whatever the reasons for this silence, it ends today. These images, the discussion surrounding them and the Scriptures that inspire them are to important to not be discussed. This controversial image is that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Art images of Mary (specifically with her infant son Jesus) is called the Madonna are described by Wikipedia as:

A Madonna is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna, meaning "my lady". No image permeates Christian art as much as the image of the Madonna and child.

So why would any self-professed Christian (like myself) or art enthusiast (like myself) wait so long to address the image of Jesus's mother? That's the question that I've had to ask myself this week. after much soul searching, bible study and historical analysis I have come to the same answer that I had when I started: I'm a Protestant. Though all Protestants aren't theologically or religio-cultarally similar, there is a undercurrent of Protestant Prejudice and mistrust of anything seeming to Catholic that pervades much of our movement. It is like a twist on the old saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater"... except in our case we Protestants are throwing out the Mother with the the bathwater and keeping the baby... and in our case the baby is the Christ child and the mother is the Virgin Mary. Now,  I am not pretending that there are not reasons for the differences between the various branches of the Christian religion. I also am not advocating that the distinctions aren't necessary (on the contrary I am a fan of the Reformation). What I am against is the lies that we tell about each other and about ourselves. We can be different and also tell the truth. The greatest of these untruths is what I call the Protestant/Catholic myth. It is the belief that Protestants own the Bible (and the rights to preach from it) and that Catholics own Church history, traditions, Mary and the Saints. the sad irony is that all parties abide by this fallacy as a rule and dig into their territory as a defensive position. In doing so we all are the poorer for it. Since I am a Baptist, I'll speak from the Protestant position. We don't focus on Mary enough and in doing so we exclude a great portion of the Biblical text. Mary isn't just a figure that we find out about through extra-biblical sources, she is there in much of the beginning of Matthew and Luke and then returns throughout the gospels. The four evangelists were intentional in every detail that they weaved into the narrative of the gospels. They understood that telling the story of Mary was integral to telling the story of Jesus. If you, like me, believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture, then we can agree that God thought that telling the story of Mary is integral to telling the story of Jesus. we can also conclude then as members of the body of Christ, that telling the story of Mary is vital to telling our own story. 

So it is with that conviction that I commit to seeing the story of Mary afresh. It is the story that Chu Kar Kui (Gary Chu) tells in his painting of the Madonna. In imagining Mary as the Empress of China, Chu has not fully reimagined her but rather re-contextualized her so that we can appreciate the detailes of the story that has been told for millennia. In it Mary points us to Jesus, presenting him (in all of his salvific significance) to the viewer. She holds the infant with a telling gaze that testifies of the fullness of his true nature. It is a simple and humble message that is predictive of the cosmic significance of his future ministry. Like this image of Mary and many Madonna images, Mary always points to Jesus. It is a picture of what we are called to be as a Church. That is because in Scripture Mary is often symbolic of the Church. Learning about Mary can teach a lot about the Church as a whole. Mary's story is our story 

The Annunciation, Fra Angelico

Hail Mary

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 

When the Dominican friar and early Italian Renaissance painter Fra Angelico tells us Mary's story he focuses on on a part of the story that has great significance to his own story. Like the writer of the Gospel of Luke, he depicts what is known as the Annunciation. In it the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus the Messiah. Like most announcements, Gabriel starts off with a greeting. The greeting was "Hail Mary!" Of course it is lost in the New King James Version translation that I use in this blog, so here it is in the King James Version:     

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, 'Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.'"

As a Catholic priest Fra Angelico would have been very familiar with the text of this greeting because it is what forms the basis of the first part of the "Hail Mary" or "Ave Maria" (in Latin). The text of that prayer reads:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus..."

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus..."

This greeting perplexed Mary and indeed perplexes many Protestant believers today. Both wonder what is meant by the "Hail Mary." Mary seems to be troubled by the angel's greeting in fear that he may have come as a messenger of something frightful (maybe even her death), on the contrary, the angel came as a messenger of hope and a new life. Protestants are troubled by the Hail Mary prayer because of the fear that it is everything we fear about Catholicism. In the second half it features praying to someone other than God and asking that person to intercede for us:  

"...Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Now as a Protestant, I don't believe that it is appropriate to pray to anyone other than God. However, I also understand that what Catholics are doing when they pray to Mary or any other saint is not worship. It is asking a fellow believer (who happens to be dead) to pray for you, like you would ask another living believer to pray for you. But outside of this part of the argument, I believe that both parties may be missing the bigger picture. I think that the text of Scripture reveals something that both Protestants and Catholics are overlooking yet these paintings reveal. Mary is preaching to us, just like the angel Gabriel preached to her. In the Annunciation, Mary does not speak of herself but rather of her son...and her God. Mary points us to Jesus In doing this Mary is symbolic of the symbolic of the Church. Not the Church that is but the Church that can be. A Church that doesn't major in pointing out the difference between its members but rather points the greater truth that unifies us: Jesus. 

Theotokos of Kazan

Theotokos

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Now if you are a good, judgmental Protestant like myself, then you noticed that I didn't discuss a portion of the second half of the Hail Mary prayer that was jarring to your theological sensibilities and couldn't be swept away. That is the part where Mary is referred to by the title "Mother of God" or in its Greek form "Theotokos." That brings us to our next painting, Theotokos of Kazan. Like most icons, it is not necessarily an original work that is credited to one specific artist, but rather a heavily stylized and symbolic image that it replicated and used in worship. Our brothers in the Orthodox Church are probably the most known for their Theotokos icons but there are other communities who use this icon. The Theotokos of Kazan specifically comes from the Russian Orthodox Church (within the Orthodox Churches). When the Orthodox use the word Theotokos (instead of "Mother of God") they are intentionally doing it to highlight what the word literally means. Wikipedia helps us out with this one: 

Theotokos is a compound of two Greek words, Θεός God and τόκος parturition, childbirth. Literally, this translates as God-bearer or the one who gives birth to God; historian Jaroslav Pelikan translated it more precisely as "the one who gives birth to the one who is God"

 

The distinction between calling Mary the Mother of God and the God-bearer may seem to be a subtle one, it is a distinction with much historical importance in Church history. In understanding the historical significance behind Theotokos we must remember the two truths that constantly appear when discussing Mary: 1) Mary points us to Jesus and 2) Mary is symbolic of the Church. So Theotokos speaks more to what we believe about Jesus than what we believe about Mary. 

Even though the phrase was in use beforehand, its usage became official after the Council of Ephesus in 431. It appears that Nestorius, the archbishop of Constantinople, rejected the use of the title Theotokos due to what many believed was his rejection of Christ's divinity. Nestorius found himself involved in a debate involving the worldwide Church over the nature of Christ and the will of Christ. Specifically it was a question of how much of Jesus' nature was Divine and how much was human, alongside the question of which side ruled Christ's will, the human or Divine? Nestorius argued that Mary was the mother of Jesus' human nature and not his divine nature. Therefore he preferred the title "Christotokos" or Christ-bearer. In hindsight it appears that Nestorius was not an advocate of taking away Jesus' divinity but was merely reacting to popular teachings that arose from the church in Alexandria that seemingly robbed Jesus of much of his humanity. The Council of Ephesus found that Jesus was at all times fully human and fully Divine, even while in the womb of Mary. Nestorius was eventually ruled to be a heretic by the Church but he was accepted back by his followers in Persia (Iran) and Syria. They would break away from the greater church and form what was known as the Nestorians, the Syriac Churches or the Church of the East. The Alexandrian faction that Nestorius reacted to would also be anathematized as heretics and would return back to Egypt and form the Coptic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Both of these rifts that split the Church would predate the Catholic/Orthodox Schism and the Protestant Reformation by a few centuries. The idea of Theotokos never tries to argue that Mary was the mother of God the Father or the Trinity in totality, Yet it does establish that Jesus is fully God. Its a confusing mystery but it is a mystery that is truth. Eventually the Catholic Church would come to reverse its ruling of the Syriacs (Nestorians) and Coptics being heretics, as they and the Eastern Orthodox would find common ground with the other two communions on the nature of Christ that was separated only by semantics and misunderstanding. These historically separate arms of the Church are now unified in their proclamation of Jesus' full Divinity that saves us, full humanity that died for us and one will that loved us.

 

That brings us back to Gabriel's message to Mary the Theotokos. In telling her that she would bear the eternal Messiah he was also telling her something about us as the Church of Christ. We may not bear the body of Christ in our wombs (especially me, since I am a man and possess no womb) but we do house the Spirit of God within our body. When the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost to dwell in the believers. Like Jesus, the holy Spirit is fully God. As believers in Christ, that Holy Spirit that is fully God fully dwells in us. I have written the last few sentences carefully in preparation for the following statement: The Holy Spirit dwells in us individually, but He dwells within us more so corporately. When Scripture tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it is speaking of our individual bodies but when Scripture call us "The body of Christ" it is speaking of us corporately. God works within in us when we work together. We may have separate denominations, parties and factions in Christianity but God has called us to have one will...just like the Council of Ephesus taught that Christ had one will. As the Church, we are those who bear the Holy Spirit in our body. That body is the one, eternal kingdom that Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would rule over. Our one will must be His will... That we all might be one.


The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner

Impossible 

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

So that brings us to the story as told by the African American, Realist painter, Henry Ossawa Tanner. Tanner was the son of an AME (African Methodist Episcopal) preacher and his depiction of the Annunciation brings with it the treatment, questions and sensibilities of an American Protestant. True to the Realist tradition, Tanner attempts to honor the dignity of the peasant/working class by depicting Mary in her historical setting. She is depicted as a young maiden in a sparse room looking into the light of a mystery. There are no frills in the décor of the room and not much description in the depiction of the angel. But the truth of this image is where Mary's story meets our story.

Tanner's effort at historical fidelity in his pictorial depiction is due to his being a child of Modernity. This painting is not "Modern Art" but Tanner's mind is modern in that it is the product of centuries of thinking based upon Reason and research. These two aspects of Modernity are first widely expressed in the parallel movements of the Renaissance and Reformation. Protestantism is the child of the Church and Modernity. But it is not a line child. Science is the other child of Modernity. In our present day these half brothers in the mold of Isaac and Ishmael all too often play the role of Cain and Abel. We imagine them as always set in contention. All to often Protestantism (particularly the Evangelical and Fundamentalist brands of it) are at the vanguard of the this fight against Science. But that is when we don't tell the whole truth about Protestantism. We theologically conservative Protestants make a practice of ignoring the Liberal Protestant tradition. Though there are many problems in Liberal Protestantism, there are also many important questions that they bring to the table. The opposition between the two Protestant camps need not be a war to destroy each other but rather a competitive comradary to sharpen each other...to challenge one another to be better. We can learn from them to be open to questioning our traditions if thought and practice. They can learn from us to maintain a reverence for Scripture. It is not just about taking Scripture figuratively or literal, but it is about taking it seriously. Likewise we must take Science seriously, because all truth is God's truth. That is where our story converges with Mary's story in Scripture. That is where we meet Mary in Tanner's painting. Like her we are alone in a sparse room looking into the light of a mystery. It didn't take the advances of Modern Science for Mary to understand how babies are made. So she asks the angel how a virgin was to bear a child. Mary had a respect for what we call Science, making conclusions from observable facts. Yet it is because of our contemporary grasp of Scientific and technological advances that we may be able to understand virgin birth. Virgin birth is another way of saying that this child was produced without sex. This should not be as hard for us to imagine since we live in an age where many children are produced without sex occurring. Of course we still need a sperm and an egg to produce these children, but just like it it took someone before our time to imagine the possibility of sexless procreation as a possibility, we are challenged to imagine spermless procreation as a possibility. That is what this whole controversy is about: having possibilities. That is what God is: a being who has unlimited possibilities...or to put it the way Gabriel stated it "nothing is impossible for God." 

We are able to think in terms of these possibilities not in spite of Science, but rather because of the advances in Science. If we have attained these possibilities in time, then what would a Being who is timeless be able to achieve? Mary points us to Jesus. The same Jesus who gives us a picture of the future in the past. If we can start to trust what Jesus' story says about an alternative story to the beginning of life then what about his notions about an alternative to the end of life? Could we trust him when he says that there is no end of life but that he offers eternal life? What about his predictions about a future with peace and no war between men or conflict between species? Mary is symbolic of the symbolic of the Church. Mary was willing to live prophetically as a symbol of a new humanity on the horizon... a new creation. As the Church, the assembly of those who bear the Holy Spirit in our body, are we willing  to live this prophetic truth? It is the truth that we can use to shape a future that honors God and blessed our neighbors and enemies. It is a truth that us our future for nothing is impossible for God.


Madonna of humility by Domenico di Bartolo

Humility 
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The story of the Annunciation concludes with the image of the Madonna of humility . Like any depiction of the Madonna, this is a often repeated depiction of Mary. It is the Scriptural picture of Mary's willingness to be a servant. The artists depicts how the gaze, desire and life of Mary point to Jesus. This humble Jewish maiden has been exalted to the handmaiden of The Lord Almighty. That is the greatest lesson for us. Mary is symbolic of the Church. She is an example of a believer who has submitted their life and body as a tool for God. In reward for this service, God has given the highest reward: servanthood. Is that our contemporary aspirations? As the Church, those who bear the Holy Spirit in our body, do we aspire to serve God and serve others. Do we seek the unity of will with other diverse Christians as the body of Christ? Do we look for chances to continuously humble ourselves or do we look for opportunities to promote ourselves? Humility, service and selflessness is the greatest reward that God can give us and we can give back to God. That is what Mary symbolically preaches to the Church. That us how Mary points to Jesus. For it was with his humility, service and sacrifice that Jesus showed us what God looks like.

Word & Light

Kumi Yamashita

John 1:1-28

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men...

 

It all begins with the word. The word is the expression of our internal will and intellect. The word is both used by the speaker to reveal one's internal self and to creatively fashion the external world after one's internal desire. The word is something with such immense power that it can take the seemingly inexpressible and make it expressible. Kumi Yamashita is a word artist. When I say that I don't mean a poet, novelist, speech writer or any other traditional type of writer. She is a visual artists that works with words. Yamashita takes the conceptual, verbal and textual nature of the word and solidifies it into a tangible, three dimensional reality. She does this by changing our understanding of the nature of the word. When she takes the word and deconstructs it to its own most basic components (letters), the results are even more expressive than before. When Yamashita arranges letters in a in a seemingly disorganized fashion it appears that she has robed it of its ability to be comprehended verbally. Yet when the light is shined on these sporadically spaced consonants and vowels their descriptive ability becomes all the more potent. These letters that were deprived of their ability to make linear and coherent statements create human profiles better than the writing of Gore Vidal. Even though it is beyond our expectation, these letters have found an unconventional way to form a word. A word that is inaudible, yet perceivable. A word that became more than verbal, it became tangible. The word manifested itself in form and we saw that form is a human like us. The artist illuminates our eyes to see that when we see this word, what we are seeing is the work of the light. She shares in her artist's statement that , “My art making helps me realize that in everyday life we are seeing only a tiny fragment of something that is immeasurably and inexpressively grand!” Though those words came from the lips of a twenty-first century visual artist, I feel as though she could have plucked them from the mind of of a first century evangelist. An evangelist who we believe to be the Apostle, St. John. An apostle that we remember as the beloved disciple that lay next to the heart of Jesus at the Last Supper. And it is that heart that he strives to reveal in his Gospel. The heart of the Messiah, who is the Mind and Word of God. The heart, mind that Word that is the spirit of the Law. The Word that was there in the beginning with God. The Word that John the Gospel reveals is that very God himself. So when John wrote his gospel sharing how he had glimpsed the immeasurable, inexpressible grandness of the Divine for three years of his life, he does so with a slyly subtle, and familiar structure. One that had been used continuously all throughout Scripture going back to the original Creation narrative in the first chapter of Genesis. John reminds us how the Creation story opens with only God and His Word, God speaks and light is created. God speaks and life is created. John used this to reveal that Jesus' ministry was much grander than just a first century rabbinate. It was part of ages old plan where God revealed himself to Mankind. In it He reveals himself as the Word. The Creator illuminates our minds to see that when we see this Word, what we are seeing the source of Light and Life. The Word manifested itself in form and we saw that form as a human like us. The Word revealed Himself as Jesus Christ. Just like Kumi Yamashita, John is a word artist. His art form is writing the Gospel narrative of Jesus' life. When I say that I don't mean anything like Matthew, Mark, Luke or any traditional type of gospel narrative. In creating this Gospel of the Word, John not only tells the story of Jesus' few years of earthly ministry but his eternal ministry as the Creator. John goes back to Genesis and retells the Creation story.



Kumi Yamashita

Light

...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

 

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God...


The strength of the genus behind Kumi Yamashita's work is that it highlights as a stated medium an unstated medium that is integral to any other work of visual art: light. Without light we are unable to register color, depth, line or any other visual phenomenon. Without visible light there is no visual art. Yamashita forces us to be aware of this subtle truth. Light also finds itself integral to the creation of several other things as well. The book of Genesis (and therefore all of Scripture) begins with a poem. It doesn't use rhyming words (like much of our contemporary poems) but rather uses rhyming ideas (like much of the ancient world's poems). Just like the Psalms, Genesis 1 (and all of Genesis) uses parallelism, repetition and clause structure to communicate a story. In telling the story of Creation, Moses (the assumed writer) describes the world in six sections. On each of the first six days of the week he describes God as creating one of these sections. This is the structure of Moses' Creation poem:

On day one God uses His Word to create Light and separates it from darkness (day and night).

On day two God uses His Word to create a separation (Heaven/the heavens) of the waters below from the waters above (rain).  

On day three God uses His Word to create a separation between the waters below and dry land appears. In addition to that He uses His Word to begin creating procreative beings. The first if these being plants.  

On day four God uses His Word to create the Sun, Moon and stars in the heavens to rule over and give meaning to day and night.  

On the day five God uses His Word to create procreative beings that populate the seas and fly through the skies.  

On the day six God uses His Word to create procreative beings that populate the earth (land animals). Then He creates Mankind in His own image. He creates Man as a procreative being to rule over a care for all of the other procreative beings.

On the day seven God finishes His workweek by resting from His creative labor. Even though Moses separates Creation into six sections, you can see that each section is itself separated into a substructure of two sections. Each day is devoted to opposites like light and dark or air animals and sea animals. When you look at it another way Moses has also embedded another categorical division within the sections. Moses has mentioned that some of the Creations are procreative (the smaller, animate and organic ones) and some are not (the larger, inanimate and inorganic ones). John takes notice of this and bases his retelling of the Creation story on this two part structure. But just like each day in Genesis, John's structure has a substructure.

Word as a living being: A) Creation B) John C) Grace

It always starts with the Word of God being revealed to be a conscious (yet uncreated) being. It then shares how the Word was integral in some aspect of Creation. Then it relates that aspect of Creation to the prophetic preaching of John the Baptist (not the Gospel writer) Finally it tells of acceptance and rejection of Grace of the preaching of the Word. We can see the poetic substructure at play in John 1:1-13:

Word Deified: A) Light B)John C) Grace

It is with this substructure that he begins to teach us about the Word. John begins his poem by teaching us that the Word is not only a being but Deity Himself. Then he tells us how the as the Creator, the Word uses His creative power to redeem Mankind. This is where we see John's retelling of the Creation story. If we were to separate the sections of creations into two parts (inanimate and animate) then the first and greatest of the inanimate creations would be Light. John shares that Jesus the Word of God has come to save His creation through bringing Light to Mankind and dispelling spiritual darkness. This is the message that John preached. This is the Grace that is freely offered.                              

Kumi Yamashita

Flesh

...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him...

Like any clever artist who wants to have repeated gallery sales and collectors Kumi Yamashita works in series. Her artwork surrounding the word is not one or two pieces, it is several. Artists are encouraged to do this because it shows a focus and a direction. It shows that the artist has a specific outlook, insight and message to communicate through their medium. This is not limited to visual artists, since writers do the same thing. The Apostle John can be seen doing this in the introductory prologue in his gospel. John mimics the parallelism of Moses' creation poem in his own creation poem in the beginning of his gospel. He employs his poetic substructure a second time in John 1:14-18 to reveal more of the truth about Jesus the Word.

Word Personified A) Flesh B) John C) Grace

If we were to separate the sections of creations into two parts (inanimate and animate) then the first and greatest of the animate creations would be Mankind. Mankind is a subset of a subset. It is included type procreating creation that has bodies made of flesh (or meat). These creations are mostly mobile and are what we refer to as animals. Being that Mankind was created to rule over and care for all of procreating creation, the Word took upon flesh in the form of a man so that he might completely care for the Mankind that He ruled over. He would care for them by redeeming them. he would redeem them by dying for their sins. This is the eternal truth that John bore witness to. This is the fullness of Grace that was revealed and declared in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a story that Moses starts in delivering of the Law but John completes in his full unveiling of Grace.


Kumi Yamashita

Ripples and Waves

...Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”

Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
He said: “I am

‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as the prophet Isaiah said”

 

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose”...

I may have falsely given you the impression that Kumi Yamashita only makes word art. She doesn't. However her art most often does include the creative use of Light. Take the above posted image. In it she shines light upon ripples and waves in paper and creates beautiful human profiles, silhouettes and shadows. I saw this because it it easy to think that John changes his literary style once finishes his introductory Creation poem. It appears that he begins a separate narrative that floats along the ripples and waves of the baptismal waters of John the Baptist. This is not the case. John uses the same structure throughout the rest of the chapter and the whole gospel itself. Every word and clause has been carefully structured, placed, repeated or inverted to show the flow of the Word's seamless ministry from the beginning of creation until the Roman Empire's rule of first century Palestine. The Power that created light and flesh would now separate flesh from darkness...beginning with the baptismal waters of John the Baptist. The God of eternity had truly stepped into the Apostle John's time. But how would he communicate it in his gospel narrative?  What structure would he use? The repetitive structure that I started noticing earlier was what is called Chiastic structure. Wikipedia describes it this way:

Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a literary technique in narrative motifs and other textual passages. An example chiastic structure would be two ideas, A and B, together with variants A' and B', being presented as A,B,B',A'. Alternative names include ring structure, because the opening and closing 'A' can be viewed as completing a circle, palistrophe, or symmetric structure. It may be regarded as chiasmus scaled up from clauses to larger units of text. These often symmetrical patterns are commonly found in ancient literature such as the epic poetry of the Odyssey and the Iliad. Various chiastic structures are also seen in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, where biblical writers used it to illustrate or highlight details of particular importance.

To put it lightly, I was seeing the wrong things. Yes there were patterns in John but I was seeing them make the wrong shape. The "chi" part of "chiastic" refers to the Greek letter "X", which is referred to as "chi." The chiastic structure puts word clauses and ideas in an 'X" shape pattern to emphasis a point.  Where I saw a ABCABC pattern earlier, John 1:19-28 definitely reveals a more chiastic and inverted parallel structure. This is shown in an excerpt from a presentation slide at Society of Biblical Literature 2010: 

[2]  John 1:19-28
	A(1:19)					1:19 Who are you? (1:19)
		B(1:20-21)					1:20 I am not the Messiah (1:20)   (ὁ χριστός)
			C(1:22)					1:22 we can give an answer to those who sent us? (1:22)   (πέμψασιν)
				D(1:23)					1:23 I am the voice of one crying out in the desert (1:23)
			C'(1:24)					1:24 Some Pharisees were also sent.(1:24)   (ἀπεσταλμένοι)
		B'(1:25)					1:25 Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet? (1:25)   (ὁ χριστὸς)
	A'(1:26-28)					1:26 I baptize with water (1:26)

As you can see, the structure looks just like the side of an "X." But in my defense, when you pair it with the prior verses it sure does look like a series of waves and ripples:

[1]  John 1:1-18

A(1:1-2)

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (1:1)"   (ὁ λόγος)

B(1:3)

1:3 All things came to be through him (1:3)   (δἰ αὐτοῦ)

C(1:4-5)

1:4 this life was the light of the human race (1:4)   (ζωὴ)

D(1:6-7)

John   (Ἰωάννης)

E(1:8-9)

1:9 The true light was coming into the world. (1:9)   (κόσμον)

F(1:10-11)

1:11 his own people did not accept him.(1:11)   (παρέλαβον)

F'(1:12-13)

1:12 those who did accept him (1:12)   (ἔλαβον)

E'(1:14)

1:14 the Word became flesh (1:14)   (σὰρξ)

D'(1:15)

John   (Ἰωάννης)

C'(1:16)

1:16 we have all received, grace in place of grace, (1:16)"   (χάριν)

B'(1:17)

1:17 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (1:17)   (διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ)

A'(1:18)

1:18 The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side(1:18)"   (μονογενὴς)

    A: God and only son. B: Through Jesus Christ. C: Grace for human. D: John. E: Coming into the world. F: Accepted and not accepted.  

[2]  John 1:19-28
	A(1:19)					1:19 Who are you? (1:19)
		B(1:20-21)					1:20 I am not the Messiah (1:20)   (ὁ χριστός)
			C(1:22)					1:22 we can give an answer to those who sent us? (1:22)   (πέμψασιν)
				D(1:23)					1:23 I am the voice of one crying out in the desert (1:23)
			C'(1:24)					1:24 Some Pharisees were also sent.(1:24)   (ἀπεσταλμένοι)
		B'(1:25)					1:25 Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet? (1:25)   (ὁ χριστὸς)
	A'(1:26-28)					1:26 I baptize with water (1:26)    "A: Who is John. B: Messiah, Eliah, and the Prophet. C: Being sent. D: The voice of one crying out in the desert."

And when you compare it to Genesis 1 you get the same ripples and waves running right through the story:

[1]  Gen 1:1-2:4a
P(1:1-2)				The Creation     (שׁמיםארצ)
	A(1:3-5)				"The first day, light and darkness, day and night"     (אור)
		B(1:6-8)				"The second day, water and sky"     (מים)
			C(1:9-13)				"The third day, land and plant"     (עשׂב)
	A'(1:14-19)				"The fourth day, light and darkness, day and night"     (מאור)
		B'(1:20-23)				"The fifth day, water and sky"     (מים)
			C'(1:24-31)				"The sixth day, land and plant"     (עשׂב)
P'(2:1-4a)				The Creation    (שׁמיםארצ)

A: Light and darkness. B: Water and sky. C: Land and plant. Gen 1:24-31    A(1:24-25)    "Words of God 1, good"     (טוב)       B(1:26)       "Words of God 2, domonion"     (וירדו)          C(1:27)          God created man       B'(1:28)       "Words of God 3, dominion"     (ורדו)    A'(1:29-31)    "Words of God 4, good"     (טוב)     A: Good. B: Dominion. C: God created man.

 

By now you may be wondering why I am being such a theological nerd about the textual pattern of Scripture. It is because it is placed there to reveal a thematic pattern in Scripture. The pattern is lying there beneath the surface and testifying to the synthesis of all of Scripture. Through the pens of several writers over hundreds of years God has been communicating one central theme. Through the voices of many prophets The Lord has been foretelling of one time. Through the movements of plethora of acts through history God has been pointing to one Person. All of these streams flow into the prologue of St. John the Apostle's gospel as we meet John the Baptist preaching in the Jordan River about the coming Kingdom of Jesus the Messiah.

Kumi Yamashita

The Continuing Narrative
...These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Kumi Yamashita has used various mediums in her artwork but the one constant is her use of light. Even when she doesn't use waves or letters, the light still evokes her work involving the word. The memory of the viewers first encounter with the word still lingers and speaks in every piece no matter the medium. The power of the light evokes the image and intention of the original works centered around the word. Often that is where we find ourselves as modern day disciples of Christ. We may not be baptizing in the Jordan River or authoring gospel narratives and epistles like John the Apostle, yet just like these first century believers we too testify of our encounter with the Word. The waves of the central theme that flows throughout the narrative of Scripture ripples into our own lives as we are illuminated by the Light. No matter the medium, our Creator continues to communicate the message that it is in Jesus, the Word. that Creation is fully redeemed and restored. The Creation poem that begins the gospel of John not only parallels the creation poem of Genesis but also proclaims that the Gospel message is one of the Creator re-Creating all of us through Christ, the Word. Christ, the Word, is the immense Power that it can take the seemingly inexpressible, unknowable and intangible God and make Him tangible and known through the expression of His love to us. Christ, the Word, is both God's self revelation in flesh and the Creator fashioning the World after eternal desire to redeem it. Christ, the Word, is the expression of God's will and intellect. It all begins with the Word.


Kumi Yamashita