The Story of Two Brothers



Graves of Vincent and Theo van Gogh at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise

Matthew 21:28-32

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him."

If you are a repeat reader of this blog then you have probably gathered that I write in the traditional five paragraph essay format (which is the same as a three point sermon structure). Even when I have more than five paragraphs, I still have five "sections." I start with an introductory paragraph, followed by three body paragraphs that illustrate different "points" and then I finish with a concluding paragraph. This week's post will be different. I will still use the five paragraph format but I will begin with the conclusion. By "conclusion" I not only mean the denouement of my argument about the biblical text, but also the conclusion that we all must come to in our lives: The grave. Actually there are two graves that I will discuss... and two lives. It should be noted that tombstones and grave markers are a type of art.  Rightfully so, since they are illustrations for a story. Tombstones picture the lives of those that lay six feet below them. They give us a glimpse into the deceased's biography, the legend that the community constructed around them or maybe even the fantasy that the departed would like you to believe. With only a shape, a name, a date and a sentence, the corpse communicates with you from beyond the grave. It strives to share its story. Maybe it's a cross shaped grave marker that reads "Shirley Grant, 1967-1996, Here lies a soldier, wife and mother of two." Or maybe it's like the graves pictured above, with only a "ici repose" (meaning "here lies"), followed by the deceased's name and lifespan. Since there is no is no story listed on these two graves, I will share it. They were the two brothers of the House of Van Gogh. One was named Vincent and the other was named Theo. One of these brothers is world famous. The other brother is only known because of his relationship to his famous brother. One of these brothers is known to history as a madman. The other one was a mild mannered businessman. One of these brothers was known to have a tumultuous relationship with a prostitute as his live-in girlfriend. The other brother was a married family man. These two brothers lived divergent lives yet both ended up in this same burial plot within six months of each other. There were also two brothers in the house of Jesus' parable. They also had stark differences between them. One brother was repentant. The other brother was self-righteous. Yet the underlying and unstated truth of Jesus' parable is that just like the Van Gogh brothers in the end they share a commonality. If you consider Jesus' parable in the overall context of Matthew 21 then you will find that the house of the two brothers in Jesus' parable is really about the House of Israel. It is a stinging indictment of the current state of God's House in first century Palestine. There were two brothers in the House of Israel. One brother was a symbol for the tax collectors and harlots. The second brother was a representation of the chief priests and the elders of the people. The commonality that these two brothers shared was that they were both sinners. Jesus shares how two people with the same problem (disobeying the Father) create divergent paths by dealing with it in starkly different ways.



Self-Portrait, Vincent van Gogh

 The First Brother

"Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise."

I have written about Vincent Van Gogh before on this blog. Vincent was many things in his life. He was a preacher and a missionary long before he was a painter. He was a bit too extreme in his ministry methods and was ushered out of that vocation. At this point he entered into the profession of painting as a second career and a spiritual vocation. However, I am not sure if we can fully call his painting a profession. He never was financially successful at it. All of these parts of his life were punctuated with erratic episodes brought on by his mental instability.  Van Gogh is as famous for his mental struggles as he is for his painting. Vincent Van Gogh's "constant" in life was inconsistency. Or was this his strength? Vincent van Gogh was given to change. The reason that we value his paintings was that he helped birth the post-impressionist era of expressionistic painting. He changed painting. Vincent was able to learn from historic European art, contemporary European art and fuse its painterly expression with the vibrant flat tonality of the East Asian prints that had come into fashion in his time. Vincent van Gogh was given to change and development and in doing so he changed Western Art. There is a value to those who are given to change. The Old Testament is full of stories of God choosing the inconsistent, wild and undeserving ones. God chose Jacob the liar over his brother Esau. He chose Joseph the dreamer over his other brothers. God also chose David the humble shepherd over his warrior brothers. In the New Testament Jesus continues this tradition by choosing the tax collectors, harlots and various other ragtag scalawags to be his followers. Why does God do this? Not because they were sinless. On the contrary, Jesus literally chose professional sinners. God chose this assortment of characters because their inconsistency showed that they were given to change. They changed from following their sin to following the Savior. If you are willing to allow God to change you, your past of sin does not matter.


Portrait of Theo van Gogh

The Second Brother

"Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go." 

While Vincent Van Gogh was painting and starving in Arles, his brother Theo was running a successful business as an art dealer in Paris. Before this post he had previously worked in Brussels and London. All of this was accomplished before the age of thirty three. Theo excelled at business and family, while exercising prudent decision making at a young age. These are usually three factors that we praise an individual for. They are the criteria used to judge one as consistent. Yet, we don't celebrate Theo Van Gogh, do we? We celebrate the passion and ingenuity of his brother even though that greatness came with many a demon to wrestle with. It is very peculiar that the more stable brother is not the one that society champions. It is almost as if we punish him post-mortem because he was not given to change. Interestingly enough that is the same way that Jesus treats the second brother in the parable. The second brother showed no change... or as John the Baptist called it "repentance." The concept of repentance is simple as that: change. It is turning 180 degrees from sin and returning to God. The most important part of that last sentence was the "returning to God" part. God knows that we wrestle with sin...we are born into it. When one attempts to deal with sin outside of acknowledging their need for God they miss the big picture. Sin exists because we are absent from God's presence. The solution is to return to Him by following His Messiah that guides us back to Him. This missing element is the faith that the tax collectors and harlots possessed but the chief priests and the elders of the people lacked. The religious leadership of this time focused keenly on turning away from what they perceived as sin and uncleanness but failed to return to the God of mercy. Their turn was not 180 degrees but rather 360 degrees...which placed them right back at facing sin. Their greatest sin was a lack of mercy. Therefore they could not understand Jesus' ministry and message of mercy. Like the second brother, the chief priests and the elders of the people gave lip service to the Father (God) but did not do what he required. Entering the kingdom of heaven requires repentance. If you are not willing to allow God to change you, your past record of sacrifice and following the rules does not matter.


   Letter from Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Etten, mid-September 1881

The Father's Will

"Which of the two did the will of his father?”

Heretofore I have left out a critical detail of the story of Vincent and Theo Van Gogh: their relationship was a good one. Theo Van Gogh was a loving brother to Vincent. He actually financially supported Vincent during his lean years. We have several letters of correspondence between the two, where Theo emotionally supports Vincent and encourages him in his painting. There are also other letters where Vincent takes opportunity to uplift Theo at points of loss and share his creative process. Some even say that Theo died so soon after the death of his older brother Vincent due to his grieving (that and the syphilis). These brothers were far from adversaries, rather they stood beside each other in life just as they lay next to each other in death. We know of their relationship because of their supportive communication to one another. We know of Theo's existence because of his love. There is no comparable support seen between the two brothers in Jesus' parable because the chief priests and the elders of the people gave no comparable support to the tax collectors and harlots. I am not sure if Theo served as Vincent's caretaker due to his father's request but I am certain that God the Father called the chief priests and the elders to be the spiritual caretakers of His people. Christ said that people will know his followers (God's children) by their love. The type of love that we see in the life of Theo van Gogh. The chief priests and the elders were supposed to care for the tax collectors and harlots and call them out of sin through acts of love. They were God's children too and therefore the chief priests and the elders' brothers and sisters. What was the will of the father in the parable? The will that He calls both brothers to? It was to work in his vineyard. It was to care for his creation. It was to tend to his flock. It was to love his people. The religious leadership of Jesus' day was called to be the caretakers of all of God's people, but Jesus' shows that their leadership is lacking. The chief priests and the elders would not repent for their lack of love as John the Baptist had demanded. Therefore they only gave lip service to the Father's commands. You cannot fulfill God's commands or abstain from sin if you do not practice love. The fullness of God's commandments is that we love one another.


Red Vineyards near Arles, Vincent van Gogh

Working the Vineyard Together

"For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him"

It is said that Red Vineyards near Arles was the only painting that Vincent van Gogh sold during his lifetime. The only financial success that this great painter met was while painting workers doing the same activity that the Father in Jesus' parable calls his sons to do. The Father has a vision of the beauty of cooperative labor for his sons. It is a beauty that the master Dutch painter captures and crystalizes two millennia later. The Father in this story (who happens to be our heavenly Father) has two sons that are both sinners. The difference between them is that one of them is honest and repentant and the other is self-righteous and repugnant. Only one of the brothers cooperated with the Father. The brothers' kinship in being sinners also reveals a common salvation to be had in Jesus and a common belief that they are called to possess in the preaching of John the Baptist. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ both shared a central theme to their message: the kingdom of God. John foretold of the coming kingdom of God and it's Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah and established the kingdom of God on earth. This coordination between their messages is not a coincidence but a precept of the kingdom of God. It is the call to cooperation. It is the call that the chief priests and the elders failed to exercise in their relationship with the tax collectors and harlots. They could not fulfill the call because there was no relationship between them. Herein lies the scandal that Jesus was to the religious leaders of his time: he ate and shared friendship with publicans and sinners. Jesus partnered with these sinners to change them. In the end that is what repentance is. We turn from sin and turn to God and form a partnership with Him. We cooperate with God for the changing of our lives and the changing of other lives. God calls us to create beauty with Him. It is a picture of Vincent Van Gogh and Theo Van Gogh. One brother was an artist. The other brother was an art dealer. They worked together to support each other. A partnership to create and distribute the art that changed the Western Art history forever. These two brothers created beauty. This beauty occurred because of the cooperation between change and love. That is the cooperation that God calls us to make with others. That is the partnership that God is making with Mankind. That is the story that God is telling. It is not a story chiseled on a tombstone but the story that creates everlasting life.

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.