Christo Redentor

CRISTO REDENTOR (Lisa Gerrard - Devotion) 

 

I came across this song on YouTube sung by Lisa Gerrard, who sang the hauntingly beautiful songs in Gladiator

 
You, oh Christ, are the Kingdom of Heaven
by Symeon the New Theologian
English version by George A. Maloney, S.J.
Original Language Greek

You, oh Christ, are the Kingdom of Heaven;
You, the land promised to the gentle;
You the grazing lands of paradise;
You, the hall of the celestial banquet;
You, the ineffable marriage chamber;
You the table set for all,
You the bread of life;
You, the unheard of drink;
You, both the urn for the water  and the life-giving water;
You, moreover, the inextinguishable lamp for each one of the saints;
You, the garment and the crown and the one who distributes crowns;
You, the joy and the rest;
You, the delight and glory;
You the gaiety;
You, the mirth;
and Your grace, grace of the Spirit of all sanctity,
will shine like the sun in all the saints;
 and You, inaccessible sun,
 will shine in their midst and all will shine brightly,
to the degree of their faith, their asceticism,
their hope and their love,
their purification and their illumination by Your Spirit...

Leaving Lindisfarne: St Aidan as guide

At the end of our retreat we were invited to 'throw an image out into the future to guide us' (Carl Jung) 

I had been working on a pastel sketch, so this became my image -  St Aidan to guide me (based on the Statue in the grounds of St. Mary the Virgin, next to the Priory)  
I've taken the 4 headings from Ray Simpson's booklet: Give yourself a (Re)treat on Lindisfarne   St Aidan Press 1998) section 2 'figure out St Aidan'

 

1 the face - gentle, humble, winsome, of stature and vision

his personality and character - described by Bede as a man of 'peace and love, purity and humility'
He was called by Bishop Lightfoot of Durham ' The Apostle of England' 

2 the torch - a passion to pass on faith to everyone one meets

He set up schools for court members and freed slaves, trtaininig indigenous priests; mission stations which were local focused and led, scriptorium producing books and churches ....... 

3 the staff - a shepherd's faithfulness
  
he preferred to walk so he was at the same level as ordinary folk and could easily talk to them.  He also used his priestly authority (symbolised by the staff) to check the proud and powerful, he tenderly comforted the sick, he relieved and protected the poor....  
 
4  the cross - a protecting and encircling shield at one's back

The Celtic Cross 'The circle is the world made one in the cross of Christ. The cross is not just for the church but for the whole world'
  
Aidan left behind churches in Essex (St Peters Beadwell-on-sea); Lashingham in N Yorks  and his disciples traveled far and wide : Wilfred to the South Saxons of Sussex, Holland and Belgium; Hilda of Whitby; Chad - bishop of Mercia, Lindsay of Litchfield, Wilfred & the Abbey of Hexham and Rippon 

Leaving Lindisfarne: 
  

'God of our Pilgrimage you have fed us with the bread of heaven. 
Refresh and sustain us as we go forth on our journey'

Leave me alone with God 

as much as may be. 

As the tide draws the waters

 close in upon the shore 

make me an island, set apart, 

alone with you, God , holy to you.

Then with the turning of the tide

prepare me to carry our presence

to the busy world beyond, 

the world that rushes in on me

til the waters come again

and fold me back to you

Prayer of St Aidan of Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne: where heaven & earth are one

 I've just been on retreat with Rachel on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, staying with the Community of St Aidan and St Hilda at the Open Gate Retreat House.  The weekend was all about the Enneagram which is another story. But the place offered the opportunity to step back and reflect.  

The following are bits and pieces, quotes and prayer I copied into my journal (I can't remember where they came from), which spoke to me......

Do all journeys begin with a question? Out here on the sandy flats, deserts of water and sky, everything seemed open to question   

  

I came across this poem/ prayer called Holy Island by David Adams: 

God calls you out from where you are

God calls you from your safety and security

Come!  

Come to the Borderlands where the sea meets sky

Come to the edge where earth meets sea

Come!  

Come where two worlds meet

Come and discover that heaven and earth are one

Come!  

You are children of the way

You have a road to travel

Come!  

You need a Holy Island

A holy place that makes all places holy

Come!  

You have a rendezvous to make

A meeting place to find

Come!  

Listen to the waves and the murmurs of God

Be moved by the wind, ad the calling of God

Come!  

Let walking become your prayer

Let journeying be part of your song

Come!  

You may discover yourself

You may meet your own mysterious being

Come!  

Discover for yourself sacred space

Enter into the time, which is beyond time

Come!  

Then everything will be transformed

Come!  

It is God who calls you to step out

It is God who travels the road with you

Come!  

 "emptiness and an apparent uselessness are necessary conditions for an encounter with truth"

a 'holy wander': a meander past the harbour area and upturned boats, which look like a cross between a Hobbit hole & a garden shed -  to the National Trust Castle, an ancient exterior with an Edwardian interior. Along the coast to the Hide at Lough and the view of a peaceful 'swan' lake and then the obelisk besides the sea at Emmanuel Head - 'where sky meet sea and heaven meets earth';  along the pebbly beach of Sandham bay to the sand dunes; and back along Straight Lannes to the Village.   

'a swan floating by / a reed shaken by the wind / a moment of rest'

Pass on the flame:  

"May Christ be a bright star above us, 

a clear way before us, 

a warm fire within us"

St Aidan of Lindisfarne

Reflections on Mr Bean's Nativity

MR BEAN & THE NATIVITY

This is a scene from Mr Bean's Merry Christmas video when he interacts with a Nativity Set in a department store - it is full of deep theological meaning !  Do watch it and enjoy.....  It is full of exotic imagery and wild imagination........ just like the book of Revelation!

I particularly like the appearance of the 'Dragon' in the form of a Dinosaur. And a 'war in heaven' that is fought over the Nativity scene, represented by the appearance of Tanks and a Dalek,  before the child and holy family are whisked off by an angel / helicopter to a place of safety. Well more likely to have been a 'Wilderness' in Egypt than a comfortable palace/ doll's house.  

There is even an earlier hint when the Dalek attacks the vulnerable lamb and exits laughing, thinking it has won, which clearly is a reference to the cross and 'the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world'  and Satan's apparent victory at Calvary!

Whilst this is all very 'tongue-in-cheek' the Revelation account is a parallel story to the 'normal' nativity scene and show another dimension to the narrative.  Worth thinking about


DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

The picture is from a blog for "nativity scene with dragon," which points out the extra Biblical Nativity Narrative which is not normally read out in Carol services! It seems more appropriate for a Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy game.
'The Birth of Christ was designed to overcome doom and gloom, and the dragon belongs in the Christmas story.'

  1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.  3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.  4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.  5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,  6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back..... (Rev. 12:1-7) 

WAR & PEACE

I received an email which quoted an extract from a Christmas news letter by a Christian worker in Afghanistan: 

"This Christmas, we pray for places of ongoing conflict in the Muslim world, like Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan... Even as we are grieved with the senseless deaths of young children in Connecticut, we also wept over 10 young girls in Eastern Afghanistan who were senselessly killed when a landmine exploded while they were gathering firewood. Across the border in Pakistan suicide attackers killed more people on the same day and vaccination workers were senselessly killed for doing a polio eradication campaign...
The one who wages war on earth, the Great Dragon of Rev. 12 is also part of the Christmas story—although not usually a part of the nativity scene (!)—he is clearly seen in the murderous fury of Herod and his soldiers. In Rev 12, this Dragon is thrown from heaven, that ancient serpent who seeks to destroy the Child and make war on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12: 17)... But his time IS short, and we know how it ends:
"Salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down..." (Rev 12: 10)
In a strange way the "peace on earth" announced by angels at Jesus' birth is mingled with the wrath of the Great Dragon. But our salvation is near and our eternal home is secure. Emmanuel is with us."

Christmas is seen as a time of Peace, but all peace must be fought for, it carries a price.... a laying down of life, a sacrifice.  Hopefully not literally for most of us, but at least involving a struggle, an effort.  ' Indeed we are encouraged to 'strive together for peace' (Heb 12:14)   

So may you strive for and experience that same Peace the Angels proclaimed to the Shepherds (and there are is a lot of emphasis on sheep in Mr Bean's Nativity): 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:13-14  

Thanks, Mr Bean for making it all so clear.......

The Risen Lord and a new (Asian) Dawn

I drew my own very rough, pastel version of a He Qi painting, which started out as a biro sketch during a CMS Core Training Conference. It represents the 'Resurrected Christ' or 'The Risen Lord' and seemed appropriate to post on Easter Sunday......  

A large, transcendent, risen Christ, surrounded by 12 disciples. It looks like a dove has descended from heaven and is resting on his forehead. Echoes of his baptism: 'This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.' 

Now he is surrounded by 12 different disciples - women and men - of Asian, Chinese origin. A new era has dawned. It has been said that the 21st century is the Asian Century of Mission. The Pope. John Paul II even prayed for such on his visit to India:

“The first millennia saw the cross planted in the soil of Europe and the second in America and Africa. May the third millennium witnesses a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent.

And that is my prayer too, as AsiaCMS takes off, based in Asia. That's shy I left my pen and Pastel sketch with a friend in Pakistan. 

Here is He Qi's inspirational original drawing - a much sharper, clearer, more authentic Asian vision, than through my Western eyes!

Stanley Spencer: Christ in the Wilderness (pt 2)

This is the 2nd blog about a series of Paintings by Stanley Spencer, 1891-1959, which are very appropriate for Lent. As I mentioned I  only just discovered them in a book at Offa House Diocesan Retreat Centre.   

They are powerful images of Christ's humanity in his (Lenten) 40 days in the Wilderness.   The text is taken from a brochure produced by the Art Gallery of Western Australia which houses all the painting. Only 8 paintings were ever completed, although here were apparently 16 sketches, all owned by the AGWA.  But Stanley's intention was to create a grid of 40 paintings, one for each day in the wilderness.......

I particularly like these 4 images as they are all interactions with the natural world and show a fascination with, even adoration of creation. 

The foxes have holes 1939 

‘ And Jesus saith unto him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; 

but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.’ Matthew 8:20 

The strong structure of the work is demonstrated by the composition in which the triangle formed by the foxes is interlocked with the triangle of the figure which opposes it. Christ is seen living in complete harmony with nature.

Christ in the wilderness: the hen

‘...how often would I have gathered my children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings...’ .Matthew 23:37
a relaxed Christ encircles and gives shelter to the Hen as she succours and shelters her chicks. 

The scorpion 1939 

‘Behold, I give unto you the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: 

and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’ Luke 10:19 

The undulating surface of the figure relates to the hills seen behind, Christ is made one with the geology. 

Spencer marvelled at the empathy between such dangerous creatures as the scorpion and the power of love.

Consider the lilies 1939 

‘And why take ye thought of raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; 

they toil not neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you , 

that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’ Matthew 6:28-29 

The bulky form of Christ which fills the canvas, is centrally placed amongst wildflowers, which are found in Cookham, Spencer’s home town.

  *********

Stanley Spencer (1891-1959)

A significant and eccentric British artist whose altering circumstances and condition are reflected in his artworks. His strong sense of place during his early years in Cookham and the sense of disorientation during World War II are both demonstrated in his very personal vision of Christ in the wilderness series. These works, which were painted between 1939 and 1954, may appear deceptively simple but on closer observation, they reveal a classical order where shapes and colours achieve a harmony. Spencer’s communication of his religious beliefs often over- rode the accuracy of his highly personal depiction of Christ.

Stanley Spencer: Christ in the Wilderness Pt 1

The series of Paintings by Stanley Spencer  1891-1959 are very appropriate for Lent. I have only just discovered them in a book at Offa House Diocesan Retreat Centre !   I also came across a blog with the images and I have unashamedly taken a lot of these thoughts from there.  But I will deal with them in 2 blogs  of 4 images each.

They are powerful images of Christ's humanity in his (Lenten) 40 days in the Wilderness.   The text is taken from a leaflet produced by the Art Gallery of Western Australia which houses all the paintings.

Driven by the Spirit  into the wilderness (1942)  

And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.’ Mark 1:12 

In 1916, Spencer served with the Field Ambulances in Macedonia.This experience had a profound effect on the artist, the memories of war infiltrated his spirit - the massive figure strides through a bleak and desolate land with the promise of resurrection in the figure of Christ.

Rising from sleep in the morning  (1940)  

‘I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee.’ Luke 15:18

In this work Christ appears like a flower opening, offering itself for pollination in the light of the new day. The circular composition of the figure is continued in the rocky lining of the pit in which Christ kneels.

He Departed to the mountain to pray (1939)

‘And when he had sent them away he departed into a mountain to pray.’ Mark 6:46 

Look at the simple but monumental composition where the enlarged arms and hands encourage the focus on the praying figure which fills the picture plane, pushing out the edges. Notice the similarity of the treatment of the robes and the altar which adds to the unity of the composition.

The Eagles   (1943) 

‘For wheresover the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.’ Matthew 24:28 

There is a definite bitter note in The Eagles where Christ looks away while the scavenging birds peck at the carcases. In the background a broken branch completes the pessimistic atmosphere. It also reflects the artist’s over-riding acceptance and respect for all natural life.

There is something very engaging about the images, Christ's humanity and homeliness, his largess and the way his dominates and fills the square canvas. The attention to detail, the sense of movement, the variety of postures. I think they are wonderful and hope you enjoy them too ...