 |
| Blue Chandelier 1, Dale Chihuly |
Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him...
In the miraculous case that my wife and I ever become suddenly and obscenely wealthy there are three things that we plan to do...
1) Hide the face that we have become suddenly and obscenely wealthy from others...especially our kids, until they are mid-college age. I mean, look at what happened to Denise Huxtable.
2) Donate to our churches, the poor and other deserving non-profits...I know that you are secretly judging me for not putting this as #1, but I am simultaneously judging you for judging my spending of my imaginary money.
3) Buy a Dale Chihuly chandelier...We wouldn't necessarily get an amazing new house. You'd just walk into a regular house and *bam!*, you run into a Venice Biennale quality hanging sculpture.
Dale Chihuly is an imposing figure who makes imposing pieces. For centuries glass blowers have been known for being the most manliest of all artists. They have to possess the old school, rough and tumble. barrel chested physique to be able push enough air out of their diaphragm to shape hot melted glass. Add to this the fact that Chihuly creates bigger than life sized works and he wears an eye patch. He carries an air of mystery about him and looks like the arch nemesis of the Dos Equis man. There is also a mystery as to what exactly is the nature of Chihuly's work? How do you classify it? Are his pieces pure abstraction or loose representations of undersea life? Are they blown glass art or large scale sculpture? Maybe the answer to both questions is all of the above... and that's what makes them amazing. They are colorful celebrations of the extreme possibilities of blown glass that is turned into large scale sculpture and explores the explores the abstracted inspirations that can come from representing those areas of the sea that the common man knows the least about. They are about light and form, delicacy and strength. They play with the illusion of weightlessness while flirting with the potential dangers of mass. They seem to represent movement and fluidity yet they are stationary. They are multiple things at one time. It is both a recognized hybrid and something that skirts on the barriers of classification. It is interesting that his works seem to make allusions to the sea because one can imagine that the ancients viewed water in the same way that I view a Chihuly piece: elusive yet accessible and plentiful, formless, yet able to take form, invisible yet reflective of light and able to take upon and mirror color. It is with this mystery of water that some of Christianity's greater mysteries are discussed in today's scripture.
 |
| Persian Ceiling, Dale Chihuly |
Water is a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. We encounter it daily and it is the majority of the expanse of our globe yet there are many mysteries to it: Such as what lies in the depths of the abyss. We have magazines and television channels that dedicate much programming to wowing us with the exotic, vibrant and Chihuly-like creatures that inhabit those inaccessible places. Water contains things both personal and foreign. One of it's greatest powers in our daily life is that of the medium for life and cleanliness. It sustains our internal life but also beautifies our external appearance. Biblical literature capitalizes on this aspect in explaining mankind's spiritual dilemma. In our personal external context water deals with our physical dirt. In our personal internal context the image of water deals with our spiritual dirt: Sin. Water shows sin and beautifies us by removing it. Scripture uses water as an agent of judgment and repentance. In the first book of the Old Testament we find the story of Noah where God sees Man's sinfulness and sends the Flood as judgment. In the first book of the New Testament we find the story of John the Baptist where God sees Man's sinfulness and provides baptism in the Jordan River as a sign of repentance from sin. This act of acknowledgment of sin and simultaneous submission to God is what makes way for God's salvation. In like manner John the Baptist's ministry of repentance was the precursor of Jesus' ministry of salvation. So the water of baptism doesn't save anyone in itself. It is an outward sign of an inward change. It shows the world that you have recognized your sin, repented and submitted to God. If this repentance is authentic then God saves you and creates good works through the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist is even shown in scripture discouraging inauthentic baptisms. If it is inauthentic then it is just another counterfeit: it may look like the real thing but it actually holds no value. Adolf Hitler was baptized but he is not known for producing acts of righteousness but rather acts of horrendous evil. Baptism isn't a magic bath. Of course Christians will still deal with sin in their lives once they have been baptized, but the Holy Spirit acts as a continual reminder to repent and lead a life that displays holiness, mercy, love and justice. The water represents repentance from sinfulness, selfishness and hatred: this repentance isn't just an act but a continual lifestyle. The water of repentance continually displays the dirt of sin in our life and asks us to continually scrub.
 |
| Mille Fiore, Dale Chihuly |
...And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; ...
So the question that you may be asking yourself is Why is Jesus getting baptized? Isn't Baptism an acknowledgment of sin? Isn't Jesus sinless?" Great question. John the Baptist seems to have had the same question. He prevented the baptism of certain unrepentant Pharisees and Sadducees and he also attempted to prevent the baptism of the Son of God who needed no repentance. Why is God being baptized by a man? Is it because Jesus is also fully a man (in addition to being fully God)? Jesus' answer seems perplexing too: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” There may be several answers as to what this means and what exactly Jesus was doing, but one of the better explanations that I've heard ties in his reasoning for his death on the cross. When Christ was crucified he took the punishment for all Mankind's sins: though he was personally sinless. He was a scapegoat, a sacrificial substitute. In consciously doing this he identified with sinners. Christ befriended sinners, submitted in an act of repentance like sinners, was punished for the acts of sinners and in doing so bought our salvation. Now he can freely offer forgiveness for sinners and freedom from sin and judgment. His obedience to baptism publicly certified God's approval of John the Baptist's ministry of baptism and God's acceptance of believer's repentance through baptism. It was God saying that he accepts our apology. Christ also set the precedent of his followers using this act as a means of initial repentance. God accepts our repentance through baptism because in it we identify with His Son.
 |
| Persian Loop, Dale Chihuly |
The Mystery
...and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
So what is the nature of the relationship between Jesus and God? Why do we refer to Jesus as being God yet simultaneously treat Him as separate (the whole "Father and Son" thing). You may heard of God's nature discussed as being the Trinity: the ol' three in one. This is what Christianity has understood God to be like for millennia: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Sometimes you may encounter suspicions on the biblical basis of the Trinity since it was formally recognized at the Council of Nicaea hundreds of years later. However this seems less to do with the idea being new and more to due with the fact that Christianity had not been forced to be as formal and declaratory on this fact in the past. It was just something that most understood. Even though the Bible may not explicitly state "trinity" the triune nature of God is understood in the New Testament community. This passage in Matthew actually is a good example of how they understood it. At this baptism God is shown in all three "persons": active and complimentary. The complimentary nature of these actions show a unity of being. The Father shows His love, intention and design. The Holy Spirit shows its inspirational, illuminating and empowering activity. The Son shows his commitment to teaching, saving and identifying with the cause of humanity. The Trinity is a mystery like water and a Chihuly sculpture: It is beautiful and life giving and somewhat elusive to the intellect while yet being able to be possessed... due to God's desire to possess us and be possessed by us in love. This is the greater mystery of community.
 |
| Salute Chandelier, Dale Chihuly |
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
- Psalm 8:4-8
This Psalmists inquiry starts with wonder of God's love for us and ends with water. Our inquiry starts with wonder of God's love for us, is grown stronger through baptismal water and continues through our acts of worship and thanksgiving to Him and forgiveness and kindness to others. This mystery and beauty is love. Love that starts with our recognition of our need for love (repentance) and need to show love to others. It is a love that responds to our every need. It is a love that is mysterious and hard to understand but beautiful to behold.
No comments:
Post a Comment