Gossip and Gospel

The Gossips, Norman Rockwell

Matthew 16:13-20

Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

If you are keeping score then you know that I have posted on the story of Peter's great confession two times already. The story is featured in Matthew, Mark and Luke (known as the Synoptic gospels for their similarities). This is my third time covering this story and I haven't even covered the Markan version. This will be my second time covering Matthew 16:13-19... and the last time was in June. You may be aware that I structure the posts on this blog on the Lectionary reading cycle (many Christian and Jewish groups do this) and in doing so some readings are repeated. There is an episodic nature to presenting the Gospel from the lectionary cycle. But truth be told, there is an episodic nature to preaching and presenting the Gospel in general. Both of these are just shadows of the fact that the Gospel narratives are episodic themselves. Christ himself was a preacher. The Gospels themselves are elongated sermons. If presenting the gospel/preaching/evangelizing/"sermonizing" is to have any fidelity than it must be messages that are centered around these long form sermons (the gospels) the testify of the life of a preacher named Jesus and his thoughts that were detailed through his own sermons. We are telling the story about the stories of a great storyteller. We are passing on the messages from the original messenger, and one day he will hold us accountable for what we said and did in his name. He will have us give an account for the distortions of his original message. That is the story behind Norman Rockwell's illustration "The Gossips." We see several episodes where a message is passed on and on and on. It is intentionally painted to illustrate the children's game called "telephone." This group game, which Wikipedia refers to as "Chinese whispers", is played by taking a sentence and having one player whisper it in the ear of another player who reciprocates the action to another player and on and on and on. At the end the final player repeats the message to the whole group. It is often warped and changed in hilarious ways. But as Rockwell has illustrated the real life telephone game of doesn't always end well. The bad news of misinformation can lead to destruction and hurt. Christ has called his disciples to spread the good news: information that lead to life and healing. Yet sometimes those who intend to spread the Gospel are unwittingly just spreading the Gossip. A slight misunderstanding of the secret treasures of God can lead to people valuing fool's gold. One seemingly small detail of Jesus' message can cause us to miss the essence of it all. Christian history is full of episodes like the Crusades where believers thought that they were fighting for the Kingdom of God by using the weapons of violence and oppression. There is one key textual difference between my post on Matthew 16:13-19 and today's post. That difference is verse 20. It is the verse that features what William Wrede called the Messianic secret. That one small difference that makes a world of difference. That is why I placed it first today. When you read it you are forced to reread the previous verses in its light. The proclamation of the Gospel must be read in the consideration of this mysterious episode. It must all be understood in the context of Jesus' secret. Why would the Rabbi who called his disciples to spread the message of his Kingdom at the end of Matthew ask them to conceal his kingship in the middle of Matthew? The narrative of Matthew 16:13-20 is based on rumors, confessions and secrets... and it teaches us the difference between the Gospel of Jesus and Gossip about Jesus.

The Party Wire, Norman Rockwell

Rumors

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Norman Rockwell captured the pulse of Americana so well because he often was illustrating for publications that sought to share stories that identified the identity of a people. Before he became famous for his Saturday Evening Post illustrations, Rockwell illustrated covers like the The Party Wire for Leslie's Monthly Magazine...which would rename itself The American Magazine. Rockwell was integral solidifying the look of Americana because he depicted the American people when they were at the beginnings of their self awareness as a historic people. America realized that they were being recorded for posterity, but who would be their scribe? Rockwell would step into the shoes of one compiling a hagiography: documenting this nation in its selected golden age as it transitioned from rural/urban to suburban, manual to electronic and homogeneous to heterogeneous. In The Party Wire, Rockwell the documentarian depicts an older woman (the presumed town gossip) doing a little documentation of her own. A party wire (or line) was a discounted service offered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by telephone companies. The benefit was that several parties could use one line and thereby split up the billing cost. The drawback was that all parties could also listen to each others calls. This new feat of communication was the breeding ground of gossips. When Christ started his ministry to communicate the new covenant he to met gossips. Their were gossips among the Pharisees who spread lies about him and also well meaning gossips who spread partial truths about his message and identity. The harm of a well intentioned half truth is that it is still effectively misinformation. So halfway into his ministerial efforts Jesus calls in his lieutenants for a powwow. He asks them what was being said on the party wire? What was the general consensus about who he was? Now you may critique Jesus for doing a poor branding effort, because how would they know who he was unless he told them? Well Jesus appears to place value on his works themselves as a testimony of his identity. He also believed that Scripture itself was his greatest advertisement. So after assessing the misinformation of those who had heard the gossip about Jesus, he investigated the consensus of those who had been given the Gospel. He asked his disciples who they thought he was.


The Lineman, Norman Rockwell

 Confessions

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

When I was just a young boy growing up in the small Black Baptist churches of the mid-1980's we were still singing a song called "Jesus is on the mainline." We sand it ALL THE TIME! It seems like it was at least two times every church service. It was a message about Jesus deeply embedded in a metaphor from the Norman Rockwell era. Jesus was a telephone operator that would patch your calls to Heaven through. It encapsulated in 20th century imagery our confession that Christ is the mediator between God and Man. He is the great high priest of the book of Hebrews. So that is what the song says and pictures, but it is not what my imagination heard as a kid. Remember, by the 1980's telephone operators largely were not as present in the average telephone conversation. They were largely behind the scenes. So when I heard "mainline" I thought "telephone line": the pole that held the actual circuits that ran into everyone's house and delivered the communication capability. I imagines Jesus to be more of Norman Rockwell's The Lineman than Lily Tomlin's "Ernestine the Operator." I had heard the gospel song about Jesus but didn't understand the image that the lyrics communicated. When Jesus asked his disciples who they said that he was, he was concerned with this very same phenomena. His disciples had heard the song of the Gospel but what had they imagined its words to communicate. When Peter responds by confessing the truth about Christ's messianic identity Jesus responds by confessing what Peter's identity was to be.  If you will allow me to make a Black Baptist preacher point, the text here shares that confession leads to profession. When a follower of Jesus makes a mental assent that Jesus is the Messiah then counters their claim of belief with his belief about them and with a call to action. This entails both definitions of profession: a set of proclaimed beliefs (as in a profession of faith) and a vocation that you are called to (as in a profession that you are employed in). Let us not discount the value of vocation in the ministry of God, since the word literally means a calling or a summons that God gives us. "Faith" is what justifies us before God, but a belief of a certain set of facts about God is just the beginning of what this saving "faith" is. The fullness of faith equals belief, action and love. Faith without works is dead and charity (love) is the foundational gift of God. Jesus celebrated the beginning of Peter's faith and challenged him to fulfill it through the calling that God summoned him to.

Norman Rockwell, Doctor and Doll

Secrets

Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

When we list the advent of telephones as a step in the history of communication devices, we are usually discussing tools that have helped us talk to one another. However, communication is about more than talking. Part of successful communication is listening. Sometimes it is about listening to a communicator that only speaks and we must only listen. In Doctor and Doll, Norman Rockwell focuses on the magic of the stethoscope, the unsung medical device that allows our bodies to communicate. In this painting the doctor listens to the imaginary heart of a doll so that he might win over the metaphorical heart of a little girl. When I use symbolic words like "imaginary" and metaphorical" to describe "heart" I think that many readers may take them to mean that I am downplaying the "realness" of the heart. It is actually the opposite. When we use the word "heart" it is used as a metaphor to describe something realer than the "real" organ that it takes its image from. The heart is the core, the essence of the thing, the center of the will, the soul. The heart of Jesus' message is the heart of his messianic calling. Why did Jesus often keep his messianic identity secret? He kept it secret for a time because those who had the gossip and not the gospel did not understand the heart of his message. If they would be told that he was the Messiah at this point then they would only misunderstand what the job of the messiah was and what the job of the messiah's disciples was. Peter would later show a misunderstanding of the job of the messiah and therefore his job as a disciple of the Messiah. Christ would pull him aside and inform him that the calling of the Messiah was to suffer for the kingdom and likewise Peter's calling would be to suffer to spread the message of the Kingdom. Jesus was wary to quickly associate himself with the title of Messiah/Christ because the public had a faulty understanding of what that even meant. So Jesus would labor for three years to provide the multitudes with a correct perception of what the Messiah actually was. The Messiah was one that would teach about God, love, sacrifice. humility and forgiveness and then suffer a humiliating, sacrificial death so that we might know the forgiveness of sins and the love of God. The secret about the secret is that it had a secret of its own. Jesus sought to make known the secret truth about what it looks like to be the Messiah before he revealed the secret that he was the Messiah.

Models for The Gossips. Gene Pelham

When I was searching for images for The Gossips I came across an item at a Sotheby's auction. It was the original photographs of the Models for The Gossips that Rockwell's right hand man, Gene Pelham, had taken for the artist to use in constructing his painting. Maybe this erases some of the myth of the genius of the artist for some of you. You get to pull back the curtain and see that the wizard of Oz is just a clever man using the advances of technology. The truth is that since the invention of the camera most artists (especially illustrators) use photographs to create (or at least fact check) their paintings. David Hockney  proposes that before the invention of the photograph the Masters used such trick devices as the camera obscura. Both devices (the photographic camera and the camera obscura) are used to make the art faithfully reflect the everyday world around us. That is where we get uncomfortable with the Bible. The literary artworks that we call the four gospels are not just created to document the historical person of Jesus but also to faithfully reflect upon the everyday world around us. When their is a discrepancy between the depictions of Christ's admonitions in Scripture and the lives of contemporary believers it is of no fault of the artist. The error does not lie in the one who was called to write the gospel but rather we who have been called to live the gospel. The gospel is not only spread to the world through our sermons but through our lives. So I ask you: are we spreading misinformation about Christ? In our words? In our deeds? In our lack of love? Can onlookers clearly see Jesus through us? Are we promoters of Gospel of Jesus or perpetuators of the Gossip loosely surrounding Jesus. The second epistle to the Corinthians testifies that we are the actual epistles of Christ. We are a Jesus' living, breathing, walking letters of recommendation. If this is the case then what job would Jesus get with us as his references? Christ is the incarnate Word of God yet he has called us to be word on the street about him. What are we saying about him? Jesus asks us "who do they say that I am?" The answer is probably what we have told them, showed them and neglected to show and tell them. Do they think that Jesus is bigoted? Do they think that Jesus has limits to his love? Do they think that Jesus is the purveyor of Western Imperialism? Do they think that Jesus preached materialism? Do they think that Jesus doesn't care about the sick and the lonely? Because that is what they think about us... because that is what we've told them. If that is your view of the Messiah then please keep that Messiah secret. But let allow me to tell you about my Jesus. Let me tell you about the Christ of Scripture. The Messiah of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The real Messiah is the Jesus who served the stranger as his brother and preached about the faith of the foreigner. The real Messiah reveals that their is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. The real Messiah tells us to eschew violence by turning the other cheek. The real Messiah was homeless yet has a big tent that all humanity can dwell in. The real Messiah constantly calls the hurting and downtrodden to come to him for peace. If that is the Messiah that you believe in then spread that Gospel to all in words, action and love. That is the secret that Jesus is calling you to share.

New Testament Word & Image: Romans 11:33-36 & M.C. Escher

Relativity, M.C. Escher

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Hand with Reflecting Sphere, M.C. Escher

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”

Drawing Hands, M.C. Escher

“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?"

Sky and Water, M.C. Escher

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

 

 

 

 

The Design of a Diptych

Paradise and Hell, Hieronymus Bosch

Matthew 15:21-28

They say that there are always two sides to every story. I guess that is why they (whoever "they" are) invented the diptych. What is a diptych? I'm glad that you asked theoretical blog reader! Too put it simply a Diptych as a narrative tool used to show two parts. Mostly diptychs are used as an artistic narrative tool. In the above posted panel painting, Paradise and Hell by the Dutch oddball Hieronymus Bosch, the diptych is used to show the polar difference of the paradise of the Garden of Eden and torment of Hell: an illustration of communion with God and eternal separation from Him. This image is drastic yet effective. It is also part of a historically evolving tradition in presenting images and ideas through the structure of the diptych. Like Bosch's panels the Diptych has also been used as a theological narrative tool. Most times this has been done without the aid of painted illustration. Scripture is full of diptych ideas where reality is depicted as two options: sheep and goats, wide and narrow roads, elect and heathen, Heaven and Hell and Jews and Gentiles. Matthew 15:21-28 is the narrative of one such diptych. One that starts off as odd as Hieronymus Bosch's name or one of his paintings. The diptych in this story is not just to be appreciated at cursory glance, for it is in analyzing the two that one finds the full truth and beauty of the Creator's masterpiece. Just like Bosch's painting it discusses those who share community with God and those who suffer separation from Him.


One of the consular diptychs of Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”But He answered her not a word.

As creative as Hieronymus Bosch may have been he was still not responsible for the creation of the diptych. It's history predates him by at least a thousand year, although in another form. The diptych started off as a rather ornate carrying case for government documents... a book cover of sorts, or if you rather an elaborate Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper. The two sides of the diptych were a front and back cover in which the official seal of the Roman consul would be enclosed. The ornamentation of the ivory case was to mirror the importance of the consul's authority. Even though the Canaanite woman in today's verse lived in an earlier period of the Roman Empire than this particular use of diptychs, she still lived in a time under the same power of the Roman Consul. In this she understood authority. She even understood where true authority lay in the Roman province if Judea, the land of the Jews. Even as a Gentile, she recognized Jesus' authority over her life and all of life. She may not have been a Jew but she still understood the concept of authority in its larger context. A consul was the highest elected office that one could hold in the Roman empire, second only to the emperor, all that lived under his jurisdiction would bow to his power. Likewise, the Emperor of the Universe (God) had given Jesus power over all things in His rule. Scripture tells us "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."
If this was the case then sure demons would submit to his authority, as they had done so many times before. That is exactly what she needed at that moment as a mother. She needed someone that could free her precious daughter from spiritual torment. It is with that need that she called out to Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David. And Jesus was silent. Jesus didn't move his lips to speak nor his will to act. If you are like me then your soul just exclaimed "He did what? Not my Jesus!" Because this depiction seems far from other depictions of the caring Savior that we have entrusted our life to. So either we can doubt the authenticity of the text or read on and entrusting that it will reveal something deeper about God. Maybe it will answer why God sometimes been silent to some.


Milan Diptych

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The earlier Christian (and contemporary Eastern Orthodox) uses of the diptych were similar to the Roman consular use. They were the outer casing, like the Milan Diptych above, that were decorated with painted icons or ivory reliefs of the scenes from biblical narratives or the lives of the saints. Within the over was housed a document. It was not the regular paper or cloth scroll document that we are familiar with being housed in a codex. No this document was written in wax, so that it could be constantly revised. The document was a two sided list used for the preparation of the Eucharist (communion). Why would Communion need a list (besides a grocery list as a reminder to buy bread and wine)? Well because these particular Christians celebrated what we call a "closed communion." This means that access to partaking in the wine and the bread is not universal but rather restricted to those of the same belief and in good standing (this is where the idea of churches "being in communion" with each other comes from). So on one side of the document were those who were acceptable to receive the bread and wine and on the other side were the names of those who were forbidden from receiving communion. This is a very serious matter if you are of the thinking that the sacraments are "signs of grace, instituted by Christ...by which divine life is dispensed to us." If you are of that theological persuasion (as these believers were) then to be refused communion is tantamount to being outside of the community of God. The same place that the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 found herself. Jesus explained his silence (and his disciples' aversion) to the woman by sharing that he came to save and shepherd the House of Israel. In other words his ministry was a Jewish thing. Oftentimes theologically traditional Christians are criticized for being exclusive in their theological perception of the identity if God's people. Or to put it in a shorter way, "Who is saved." Well the notion the spiritual elect wasn't recently invented by a band of close minded Texas fundamentalist. Christians inherited it from our Jewish forefathers. The Old Testament concept carries over to the New Testament. So you may know that to be Gentile means to be "non-Jewish." But what does it mean to be Jewish? Jews are a multicultural, multinational group with a myriad of different theological conclusions. Since Jewishness is also an ethnicity their are also people who are fully Jewish and non-religious. As a fellow minority I would never disrespect the worldwide Jewish community by acting as if I, as an outsider, have the knowledge or expertise to define them in totality. Every people have the right to self definition. However like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 I do know some things about the history of the Jewish people. The one thing that this diverse group shares universally amongst all if it's members is a connection to Abraham. Abraham was the Old Testament character who is called by God into friendship. Genesis records how he follows God's guidance and God promises His fidelity and blessing to Abraham's offspring. As Scripture goes on over several books we come to realize that Abraham's family are the Jewish people, the House of Israel. So over the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) God continues his friendship to Abraham through his children, grandchildren and so on until they are a nation. Throughout Scripture God's struggle with Israel and His call for them to live in holiness must be understood as one friend reminding the other to act in a way that testifies to their friendship: love. Yet in this epic depiction of the tumultuous yet passionate love between God and Israel, one can get the false impression that God isn't interested in befriending the whole world. But the Hebrew Scriptures themselves tell us that before Abraham was God's friend, Adam was God's sin... and Eve was God's daughter... and the People of the World are the Children of God that He longs to have custody of again. Communion with God is not closed for He longs to share His love with everyone


Jan van Eyck, Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Hieronymus Bosch was not the only, nor the most famous, Dutch painter to approach the use of the diptych. By the time Jan van Eyck painted his famous Crucifixion and Last Judgement the structure of the diptych had both been fully adopted for religious imagery and fully divorced from its book binding function. The narrative purpose of the diptych was now completely operating on the exterior of the panels. Yet the two panels were still connected by a central hinge (which you can see between the two frames on the above posted Jan Van Eyck image). The artist not only shows a connection between Christ's sacrificial death and impending role as universal judge by placing the images near each other, rather he has bound them together with a clasp to show that they are theologically inseparable. The retort of the Canaanite woman highlights that their may just be a hinge between both Jews and Gentiles: a devise that attaches both people to God. When Jesus shares a metaphor with her explaining that He (the Bread of Life) had come to be given to the Children of Israel, she fires back her own metaphor. The Canaanite woman says that even dogs eat the scraps that fall from their Master's table. She declares that even though she is a Gentile she recognizes the God of Israel as her Master. You see the hinge that Jews and Gentiles share is the same thing that children and dogs share: they both rely on the mercy and provision of the One whose house the abide in. This acknowledgement of her reliance on God's mercy and willingness to be His servant is what Jesus admonishes as great faith! It is the same faith that the Gentile, Roman Centurion exhibited earlier in the gospel of Matthew. It is the persistent faith of another Gentile in the book of Genesis named Abram. Abram was a fellow from the modern day country of Iraq, that showed fidelity in his submission to God's will. The book of James says that he "'believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God." Just like Canaanite woman, the Roman Centurion and other Gentiles, his faith is why God communed with him in friendship. If Abram the Gentile sounds a lot like Abraham the Jew it is because they are the same person. St. Paul argues that it was not Abraham's Jewishness that justified him before God (because "Jewishness" didn't exist yet), nor his family lineage (because he started the family that God would love) but it was his faith that made God accept Him...befriend him...love him. Faith is the hinge that connects either side of the diptych to God. Faith is what makes a Jew or a Gentile the spiritual offspring of Abraham. Faith is also what attaches us all to each other as the offspring of God. Though we are different, we are brothers and sisters.      

And then, and then and then and then and then, Takashi Murakami

The contemporary manifestation of the diptych is very different. But that's the beauty of an artistic idea isn't it? The thing that essentially started off as a book cover became a way to address two separate ideas in one image and then someone brought it back to its roots in expressing one idea. That is where the contemporary Japanese Pop Artist Takashi Murakami comes into play. His painting isn't one image repeated on two panels but rather one image that takes two panels to express itself one time. He takes his trademark anime spin on a Mickey Mouse-type character and reinterprets an American import as a Japanese export. Pop culture is an amazing exchange of ideas exported universally that return to us with each quadrant of the universe's reshaping of pop culture: America and British Pop lead to J-Pop, K-Pop, Bollywood and Nollywood. That's also what God's grace does. It is a beautiful and expansive thing that takes two peoples and covers them with the image of God to make them one expression of God's love. All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God called out for Gentile believers. This week I did not post images for the Old Testament reading of Isaiah 56:1-7, the Psalms reading of Psalm 67 and the New Testament (Epistle) reading of Romans 11:13-32 because I wanted to share them all here. I place them here because they all share one common theme: God's persistent love for all people (Jews and Gentiles) throughout history. Sometimes we fail to see the whole picture in the old testament. God may have recognized a diptych in the Old Testament but that was more operational than theological. The showing of His might with Israel was always intended to be seen by the nations around them. God's calling of Israel to holiness was always a work of mission to make visible His grace to the nations. When Jesus commissioned disciples after his resurrection, he commanded the Apostles to make disciples of ALL nations. If we only see God's love in a diptych then we are missing the whole picture. In actuality Hieronymus Bosch's Paradise and Hell is not properly a diptych. The two sides are just the wings to a triptych entitled "The Haywain Triptych." He and Jan van Eyck and all the great Dutch painters probably made mare biblical narrative paintings on triptychs and five and six panel altarpieces than they did diptychs... because God's story of love cannot be contained to just one or two groups. In the blood of Christ God has painted every nation, tribe, people group and any other segment of humanity that you can account for with the beauty of His Grace. Jesus saw the whole picture. 

The Haywain Triptych, Hieronymus Bosch,

Rowboats



John Biglin in a Single Scull, Thomas Eakins

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.


When I first saw John Biglin in a Single Scull by Thomas Eakins it was my favorite painting for some years... or at least I think it was. You see I first viewed the image in an art textbook long before the Internet was the great resource of art history that it is today. So my only contact with this image was to look at it over and over in the book that I owned. I eventually lost that art book and had to try to recreate the image in my mind. The problem was that I couldn't really remember the name or many of the features. So when the Internet became a reliable source for finding and enjoying art I had a hard time finding this watercolor painting. I just remembered that Thomas Eakins had a picture with a guy in a rowboat, with strong compositional structure that made me happy. Googling "  Thomas Eakins had a picture with a guy in a rowboat, with strong compositional structure that made me happy" doesn't yield helpful results. And when I looked up Thomas Eakins' Wikipedia article it featured another rowboat (or should I say "sculling") picture: Max Schmitt in a single scull. I was fairly sure that this wasn't the one that I fell in love with some years ago. But this led to my discovering that Thomas Eakins did several boating pictures. Some were from a series about the Biglin Brothers, who were famous professional athletes when rowing was one of America's favorite sports (think of a Reconstruction Era NASCAR or a future that the Winklevoss twins long for). Other paintings were about other athletic rowers and some were just about fishermen who used row boats. The Gospels have a similar predicament because one of Jesus' most famous miracles is about fishermen who use a rowboat. Matthew 14:22-33 tells the story of Jesus' fisherman disciples (Peter, Andrew, James and John), along with the other non-fishing disciples, in a rowboat when they see Jesus crossing the water on foot. Like many other stories, this image is repeated several times in other Gospels (Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:15-21) but with different details highlighted. Now I remember dealing with the subject of repetition in the Gospels in my post about John 1:29-34 and Andy Warhol but I think that this post will allow us to do a bit more textual analysis of lining up the Gospel narratives next to each other. In this post I will be more heavy on the sharing of the text of Scripture. Jesus walking on water is one of the most famous stories in the Bible and the several different forms of this story may seem contradictory to some but I think that something different is going on with the differences...something intentional. Why do the Gospel writers repeat stories this miracle? Why did Eakins paint boat scenes so much? I think the answers to both of these questions may be the same.


The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake-Boat, Thomas Eakins

 Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Then those who were in the boat came and^[c] worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

"The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake-Boat" is also known as "Turning the Stake." I prefer this title because it is a title that gets to theme of the picture...or should I say the objective of those pictured. The Biglin Brothers were engaged in a race and the "stake"is the wooden pole in the foreground that denoted the finishing line or a point of progress. If they are "turning the stake" then it denotes the point at which they should turn around and make another lap. Either way the focal point of their journey, the fulfillment of their hope was something outside of the boat and in the water, yet something that they were to pursue. In Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus tells his Disciples to boat to the other side of the water while he dismissed the crowds (after the miracle of feeding the five thousand). As they went off on the water a-rowing, He went off in the mountains a-praying. Even though they were engaged in two different activities, they were simultaneously pursuing the same goal: obeying the will of their Master. Later when the midst of a turbulent sea (lake) they see Jesus walking on the water. When Jesus affirms that he is not a ghost he allowed Peter to come to him (likewise walking on the water). It worked out for him for a little bit, but then Peter lost faith and focus and began to sink. He called out to Jesus to save him and Jesus was faithful to save him. After they both entered the boat the Disciples worshiped Jesus as the Son of God. The message that the writer of Matthew is communicating is the same that Thomas Eakins painted: focal point of their journey, the fulfillment of their hope was something outside of the boat and in the water, yet something that they were to pursue. The Disciples always realized that Jesus was their Master (Rabbi, teacher) but this episode allowed them to understand it in a deeper way. He was the Master of the Sea, he was the Savior of Peter's Life and he was the Son of God. Jesus is the stake that turns around their theological perspective of God and Jesus becomes the finish line in their pursuit of God.  

The Biglin Brothers Racing, Thomas Eakins

Mark 6:45-52

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

In the "The Biglin Brothers Racing", Thomas Eakins creates a similar image to "The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake-Boat." It has the same two main characters at the same point in the midground engaging in the same activity. Yet their is less detail and a different perspective... but somehow the power of this image is not lessened. Mark 6:45-52 has the same main characters at the same point in the Gospel narrative engaging in the same general activity as Matthew 14:22-33. Yet their is less detail and a different perspective... but somehow the power of the story is not lessened. With the painting and the Gospel story we could judge the second ones by what they have missing from the first ones that I shared: Mark's story has no account of Peter walking on the water and it doesn't feature the Disciples worshiping Jesus as the Son of God, while Thomas Eakins' "The Biglin Brothers Racing" has no stake in the foreground). One might also take into account that both of these works are believed to have been created prior to the former two and doubt the historical veracity of Matthew and "The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake-Boat." Then there is the approach that one not judge these works by what they lack but rather for what they include. Uninterrupted by any major foreground elements "The Biglin Brothers Racing" Eakins has chosen to highlight (literally) those the boatmen. In like fashion, Mark allows us to focus more keenly on the Disciples when he includes "And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened." This insight into their spiritual ignorance is coupled with their hardship "straining at rowing, for the wind was against them." The storm that they struggled through was not a symbol for a man's occasional hard times and misfortunes but rather Man's hardship in seeking God and pursuing the Law. After all didn't the Lord (Jesus) speak the words that started them on this taskful journey? It highlighted their need for him and surely he was the only one who could lift this burden. Jesus was the one who had criticized the Pharisees for burdening their own disciples with odious tasks and requirements in their reading of the Law, yet they were unwilling to help them lift those burdens. So Jesus stepped into the boat and the wind ceased, the rowing got easier and his Disciples' burdens were lifted. The storm stopped because of Jesus' act of grace. Grace happens when Jesus stepped into Mankind's boat.



Shad Fishing at Gloucester on the Delaware River, Thomas Eakins

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone—  however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

"Shad Fishing at Gloucester on the Delaware River" is a totally different type of painting than Eakin's other sculling paintings and the Gospel of John differs about this much from the other three Gospels. But as we learned form the previous Gospel narrative and painting, we should weigh a work by its own merits. It is different because it has something new to tell us: it has a fresh insight to give us. "Shad Fishing at Gloucester on the Delaware River" is not about boating as a sport at all. It is about boating as a way of life... or rather a way to get food. The boatmen are seen by the perspective of the onlookers on the coast who are in the foreground. John 6:15-33 is not just a story about what happened to the disciples and Jesus in the middle of the water but rather what happened to them in relation to those who stayed on the coast and looked on. In the beginning of the story Jesus has just miraculously fed the five thousand, like the other Gospels. He also goes into the mountains to pray and his disciples leave by boat without him, like the other Gospels. All three narratives fill in the "what" they did but John explains the "why" they did it. John reveals that they were escaping the crowds that wanted to make Jesus a king by force. The John similar details of the walking on the water story that Mark 6:45-52 gave. But the end of this scene ends with different details, it is less of a "what" happened and more of a "when." The Gospel of John shares that "immediately the boat was at the land where they were going." With that literary device the Gospel author brings us back to the overall perspective of the story: relating to those on the shore. On the following day Jesus is asked by those from the other shore how he crossed over the water, since they knew that he had not travelled in their own boats or the disciples' boat. Jesus in return questions the motive of their questions. He says that they seek him for miracles that give food (like the feeding of the five thousand) when they should be seeking/laboring the food that gives eternal life. They respond by asking how they can labor for the works of God? I am not sure if they meant good deeds or the power to miraculously create food (miracles being a "work of God). Jesus seems to have taken them to mean the later. He responds that the work of God/labor/miracle that they should pursue is "that you believe in Him whom He sent.” The kingdom of God that we are to pursue is not the blessings or any other "things" of God .The kingdom of God is Jesus. Eternal life is Jesus. God is Jesus. If we believe in Jesus we will have the kingdom of God, eternal life and God Himself. This is the theme of  John 6:15-33 and the whole book of John, since it closes out with these lines "Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."




Oarsmen on the Schuylkill (The Pennsylvania Barge Four), Thomas Eakins

Wikipedia shares the following comparison of the three gospel accounts under their article about "Jesus walking on water."

Matthew 14:22-34	Mark 6:45-53	John 6:15-21
22 ¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.	45 ¶ And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.	15 ¶ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
---	47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.	16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.	48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them:	18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.	and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.	19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship:
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.	49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled.	and they were afraid.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.	And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.	20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?	---	---
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.	51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased:	21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. ¶ 34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.	52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.	---

 As you can see only three Gospels feature the walking on water miracle and they share different details. There are many such cases like this with other stories in the four Gospels. Yet the "holes" in their stories should not be compared to holes in a boat. They are not a point of weakness but rather a point of strength. Maybe another Thomas Eakins comparison will shed light. Oarsmen on the Schuylkill (The Pennsylvania Barge Four) is a simple yet beautiful painting. The strength lies in the monotony of repeated vertical compositional lines broken up by the power of a single strong diagonal element. That powerful diagonal is four figures (all different) that move one vehicle to one unified location. It is a picture of the Gospel. By "the Gospel" I do not mean one of the four narratives about Jesus, but rather the unifying truth that they all illustrate: that God came to earth in the form of a man to die a sacrificial death for the salvation of Mankind. This Gospel message is the good news that is given to us by four different rowers, with different vantage points and different communities that they are preaching to. Yet in spite of their differences they all are headed to the same theological place: the Kingdom of God is in Christ. It is this Gospel message that saves us from the monotonous daily life of vertical living. Life is not just about life and death, start and stop, the left side of the canvas and the right. No, the Gospel is what interjects a strong diagonal compositional element into our story. The Gospel changes our degree little by little, removing each sin and creating every good work. Eventually those oarsmen that decided to chart a new path, to go diagonal, have rowed them selves into the horizon. They are no longer subject to the confines to the assumptions of the picture frame. That is what God has invited you and me to do? He has not allowed us to miraculously walk on water like Peter but He has promised to get in the boat with us. He has promised to remove the burden of the wind and the waves. He will no longer produce for us miracles of multiplied bread but He will be our bread. Why did the Gospel writers repeat stories this miracle? Why did Eakins paint boat scenes so much? It is only with repeating an image that it becomes normal to us...believable to us...beautiful to us...repeatable to us. The Gospel writers and Eakins depicted the heroic: Disciples, athletes, fishermen. But they did not show us images of the great so that we can stand on the side and admire or critique them but rather so that we can see something of ourselves in them. They inspire us to get in the boat and row. They inspire us to walk with faith in God.

New Testament Word & Image: Romans 9:1-5 & Maurycy Gottlieb

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, Maurycy Gottlieb

Romans 9:1-5

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,  that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

Old Testament Word & Image: 1 Kings 19:9-13 & the Cappadocian Cave Churches

Hacli Kilise (Church with the cross), Cappadocia, Turkey

1 Kings 19:9-13

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”


Hacli Kilise interior (Church with the cross)

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;


Hacli Kilise (Church with the cross)

and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire;


Hacli Kilise (Church with the cross)

and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Hacli Kilise (Church with the cross)

New Testament Word & Image: Romans 8:35-39 & the Berlin Wall Art

Berlin Wall

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

I'm an 80's baby. And being one I clearly remember being fully aware of what was going on globally in that final era of the Cold War. An image that clearly sticks out in my mind from that era was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Even though I could appreciate its significance it probably meant more to my parents, who are Baby Boomers. They were born in the years following World War II and saw the escalating tensions between two former wartime allies, the United States and the Soviet Union. They were just children when the distinction between the occupied East Germany of the Warsaw Pact powers  became more distinct from the occupied West Germany of the NATO member nations. They were just teenagers in 1961 when the television informed them that the Soviet backed Communists of East Germany had constructed a wall to portion off their half of Berlin. And just like my parents, the world watched as half of a major world city's population was held captive. The Berlin Wall was a realized metaphor. It was no proverbial Iron Curtain but rather an actual concrete wall that separated freedom from tyranny. Those within were deprived from enjoying the freedoms afforded to their fellow citizens across the barrier, but greater than that they were deprived from enjoying community with their fellow citizens across the barrier...many of who were not just their neighbors but their family. But for 28 years the people rebelled. They illegally emigrated. They protested. They disobeyed the oppressive state. They created art. 

Germans celebrate the opeing of the Berlin Wall. Tom Stoddart / Hulton Archive / Getty

The thing that stood out to me the most as a child was all of the graffiti on the Berlin Wall. Germany is home to some of the most prolific taggers, graffiti and street artists. The genesis of this can be found with the Berlin Wall. Art is not just a tool to beautify and document life but also a instrument of protest. When the East Berlin authorities constructed mile plus long concrete wall across the city they unknowingly unfurled a mile plus long canvas for the discontented and creative youth of the city. They had given the resistance movement a mile plus long billboard to advertise their protests.  

Berlin Wall art, East Side Gallery

Even decades after the fall of the wall their are still sections that remain intact as a testament to history. A large illustrated section is referred to as the East Side Gallery. This length of wall is an evolving public art space. .   



Graffiti by Lellobot, East Side Gallery Berlin

Many of the wall murals remember the horrors of the Nazi regime (like an artist's portrait of Anne Frank) or the East German communist era, while others colorfully celebrate the artistic present and promise of the German people. This art remembers the destruction of a dark past and directs the viewer to engage in the healing

 

The Wall on Wilshire, piece of the Berlin Wall on Wishire Blvd painted by Kent Twitchell

I moved out to Los Angeles about five years ago. While investigating the city's major museums I noticed a strange thing across the street from the Los Angels County Museum of Art (LACMA). Right there on the side of Wilshire Blvd, thousands of miles away from German soil, were large sections of the Berlin Wall. They had been painted by various American artists, extending the tradition started in Berlin and erected as a testament to the American involvement in the destruction of the wall. This was especially noticeable in the center which featured Kent Twitchell's portraits of President John F. Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan. Both had visited Berlin and spoke memorable speeches protesting the wall. Both portraits feature the text of the most famous soundbites from their speeches. In his unfortunately phrased German, President Kennedy announced "Ich bin ein Berliner." Which translates to something like "I am a small pastry." What he meant to say was that "I too am a citizen of Berlin", conveying how this crisis had made the people of the world relate to the sufferings of the people of Berlin. President Reagan was a little more wary then to tread in the unfamiliar turf of a foreign language. He asked the Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!" This art acts as a commemoration stone of a struggle of a single people but a victory shared by two nations...and all the people of the world who love freedom. 

I don't wear a cross as jewelry. I am not against it, I just don't own one. However, my wife is Roman Catholic so we have a cross of crucifix hanging in half of the rooms of our house. Crosses and crucifixes as jewelry and ornamentation are a lot like sections of the Berlin Wall as art. It may seem strange to some outsiders to take aesthetic pleasure in a symbol of state oppression (the Berlin Wall) or state execution (the Crucifixion). They seem to symbolize tragedy and loss. Yet to the one who can perceive the beauty in them they represent the opposite: victory over tragedy and gain from loss. I am not saying that the cross of Jesus Christ is the same as the Berlin Wall. I am saying that the cross of Jesus is a symbol of the demolished Berlin Wall. And that is what St. Paul was saying in Romans 8:35-39, for far too long Man had been separated from His love by the wall of Sin. Not only Sin but a barrier of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword and all manner of evils stood between Man enjoying the love, peace and rest of His Creator. Life before Christ was filled with attempts to create a tolerable life...to create beauty in the midst of anguish...to paint the wall that separated God the Father from His children. Christ came to not only to beautify the wall of oppression and separation from God but to protest its injustice and die for its destruction. In his life he related to sinners like President Kennedy related to Berliners. In his death he took upon his punishment and shame. In his preaching he demanded like President Reagan that this wall that separates be torn down. In his sacrificial blood he bought the freedom from all that had been alienated from God their Father. In his love we find unity with God and remission from sins. The book of Revelation calls believers in Christ Jesus the New Jerusalem. A city, just like Berlin. A city that is no longer a victim to an oppressive wall. Their is no barrier, no wall, no sin that separates us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.