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 ...

Decentered Interconnectedness

My picture ‘Decentred Interconnectedness’  is based on ‘Academic with an Open Book’ - a picture developed by Gert Swart and Zak Benjamin  - see below -  on the front cover of 'Renewing Biblical Interpretation' (Ed Criag Bartholomew). 


'Decentred Interconnectedness'   has the central image of a person - the student/ thinker with one hand on a open book and the other by the bottom of a spiral staircase.  He is surrounded by words : 

• 'Thinking' and 'Biblical' in blue above the window  - the quest for an intelligent open evenglicalism ; 
• 'Father, Son, Spirit' in yellow as light from the window -  a Trinitarian revelation, emenating from the Sun/son - illuminating all knowledge and mediated by the cross of the window.
• 'Knowledge, hermeneutic, light, truth' to the right of the spiral staircase - are all part of the struggle and goal of theology.   
• The words at his feet 'Decentred Interconnectedness' were the title of a course at Redcliffe and represent the interconnected, networked, post-modern world of today which is no longer centred geographically on the West or philosophically on a single meta narrative.   
• The writing on the overall is arabesque (it reminded my of the orange jumpsuits worn by prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Dentention centre)  The arabic/urdu style of writing was a representation of my engagement with Islam and Inter-faith dialogue - one of my (many) areas of interest ...... and further study is the opportunity to re-examine a host of such issues..... 

Rembrant's 'Philosopher in meditation' (1632)

..in the Rembrant there is a distict feeling of Yin and Yang - the tail of one half starting from the top of the stairs to the pool of lighincorporating the window and the philosophers head. The tail of the other half starts from the light at the feet of the philosopher, and goes up the stairs to a 'pool of darkness', completing the Yin-Yang motif, In Chinese Philosophy Yin and Yan are opposing principles omplementing each other, but in the Rembrant the tension between them in focused i the person of the philosopher with his 'light' head and 'dark' lower body'

   

The Rembrant is full of contrasts that express the tensions in the painting between: 

• light and darkness 
• the known seen lower stairs and the mysterious forbidding unseen upper stairs 
• ascent and descent  along the stairway (to heaven or to forbidden knowledge?)  
• the open book and the closed, meditative philosopher 
• The male philiosopher sitting in the illuminated light of the sun radiating through the window, the hidden, excluded woman working (cooking?) in the dim light of a fire hearth - outside the circle,  on the margins...    

There is also a circularity, mandala, a striving for wholeness. The excluded woman stoking the fire is significant - outside fo the circle in 17rth century Europe. The philosopher's book is open but the philosopher seems closed adn diosconnected fromt he book, the world outside and whatever lies at the top of the staircase! The philosopher is at the centre of the unresolved tensions in the context of a light-darkness struggle for wholeness'   

‘Academic with an Open Book’ -  Gert Swart & Zak Benjamin

'in the Swart-Benjamin reworking the content has been compressed into a square that creates a feeling of stability. Within the square there is a n obvious circular feeling whic speaks of resolution and completness. Bith the square and the circularity speak of whleess. The fugure of the academic has been flattened and opened up to create a sense of urgency and hope. The ethos of the 'Academic with an Open Book' is thus radically different from the Rembrant' 

Thus, in a variety of ways, 'Academic with an Open Book'  represents ‘the possibilities and challenges of academics working with the Bible as Scripture. The reworking alerts us to the potential and significance of an open Book – the open Book mediates resolution and potential wholeness into our brokenness. But that very possibility calls for urgent re-examination of a host of issues…’ (Bartholomew et al., 2000 p xxi) 

Or going back to my picture  A new 'decentred, interconnected' world  is literally at the student/academic's feet!  

my soul is quiet within me

This is a painting I did (based on one I saw on google images) inspired by the Lectio Divina experience I mentioned previously. It is based on Psalm 131 'as a child lies quiet in its mother's arms so my soul is quiet within me' There is something about 'divine reading' that has the effect of stilling the soul. It is about resting. I wrote a blog before about Lectio Divina as the ladder of monks - and the sense of ascending into God's presence.

The following are some of the materials we used in our sacred:space evening

"Lectio divina is an authentic source of Christian spirituality recommended by our Rule. We therefore practice it every day, so that we may develop a deep and genuine love for it, and so that we may grow in the surpassing knowledge of Christ. In this way we shall put into practice the Apostle Paul’s commandment, which is mentioned in our Rule: “Let the sword of the spirit, the Word of God, live abundantly in your mouth and in your hearts; and whatever you must do, do it in the name of the Lord.” Carmelite Constitutions (No. 82)

"Lectio Divina", a Latin term, means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio Divina. There are various ways of practicing Lectio Divina either individually or in groups but Guigo's description remains fundamental.

He said that the first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within.

"To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches." John Chrysostom, 347-407
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Lectio Divina: the ladder of Monks

The painting is a version I did of Jacob's dream (based on a pic I saw on the net). It can be seen as an analogy of a spiritual journey and has been used as a metaphor to describe Lectio Divina.... based on the story in Gen 28:12 when Jacob dreamt of a 'stairway to heaven' Read more about Lectio Divina as a ladder with 4 rungs: The ladder of Monks by Guigo the Carthusian

I mentioned sacred:space and my encounter with Psalm 131 through Lectio Divina in a previous post Caroline complied the following instructions - Try them out with one of the suggested passages. The suggestions come from a website soul shepherding

Genesis 18: 1-15; Psalm 23; Psalm 27: 1-6; Psalm 42: 1-8; Psalm 46:1-10; Psalm 63: 1-8; Psalm 84: 1-10; Psalm 131; Isaiah 43: 1-4; Isaiah 53: 4-8; Ezekiel 34: 11-16; Song of Songs 2: 10-14; Matthew 5: 3-12; Luke 6: 37-42; John 1: 1-5; John 14: 9-20; John 15: 1-10; Romans 8: 31-39; 1 Corinthians 13: 4-13; Galatians 5: 22-26; Ephesians 3: 14-21; Revelation 7: 14-17; Revelation 21: 1-7

Firstly, prepare yourself. Get comfortable and allow yourself to become calm and silent. Perhaps focus on your breathing for a few minutes. Submit yourself and the exercise to God.

1) Read the passage through slowly, several times. Be attentive for any words or phrases which particularly connect with you; which seem to be for you today. If you wish, underline or write down the words which have caught your attention

2) Take the word or phrase into yourself. Memorize it and slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories and ideas. Notice any thoughts or feelings which arise during this process.

3) Speak to God. Whether you use words or ideas or images or all three is not important. Offer to Him whatever thoughts, feelings or memories the passage has stirred up in you. This may involve confessing a sin, confronting a struggle or a past hurt, or recognising a longing within yourself.

Allow God’s Spirit and His Word to dialogue with you about the matters you have raised, bringing His acceptance, forgiveness, comfort and healing. Allow Him to inform and transform your ideas and memories.

4) Simply rest in God’s presence, experiencing His love and grace, His joy and peace. You are tasting His goodness. You may have no need for words. You may wish to return to the words of the passage, or to note a particular invitation or affirmation which you sense God is giving you.

Do not worry about assessing the quality of your lectio divina as if you were “performing” or seeking some goal. Lectio divina has no goal other than that of being in the presence of God by praying the Scriptures

CROSS+WORDS

These are the images I will be using for the 3 hour Good Friday Meditation as part of sacred:space. They are by Dutch artist Huub Bogaers. I like them a lot. They add meaning and context to the seven last words of Jesus.

A version of these images is available here: Crosswords Anyone using them is asked to let the artist know and make a donation to Mission. (contact details on the website)

1. THE WORD OF FORGIVENESS

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)

2. THE WORD OF ASSURANCE

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43)

3. THE WORD OF COMFORT

“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:26-27)

4. THE WORD OF DESOLATION

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over a# the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46).

5. THE WORD OF SUFFERING

“After this, Jesus knowing that a# things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst” (John 19:28).

6. THE WORD OF TRIUMPH

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished” (John 19:30)

7. THE WORD OF COMMITTAL

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father into your hands – I commend my spirit; and having said that, he gave up his spirit” (Luke 23:46)

Codex Sinaiticus online

Nothing to do with a new tablet for a naval passage blockage - that would be 'codeine sinusitus' - but everything to do with the oldest version of the Bible in existence. Now available online. Worth just having a look at the text even if (like me) you can't read the 1600 year old greek. No worries there as a translation running aloongside the photographed parchment  

Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint, that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.  The significance of Codex Sinaiticus for the reconstruction of the Christian Bible's original text, the history of the Bible and the history of Western book-making is immense.

I read about it in the Church of England Newspaper CEN  in an article by Toby Cohen  'World's oldest Bible gets new lease of life' 

Professor David Parker from the University of Birmingham’s Department of Theology, said: “The transcription includes pages of the Codex which were found in a blocked-off room at the Monaster y of St Catherine in 1975, some of which were in poor condition. This is the first time that they have been published.

“The digital images of the virtual manuscript show the beauty of the original and readers are even able to see the difference in handwriting between the different scribes who copied the text. We have even devised a unique alignment system that allows users to link the images with the transcription. This project has made a wonderful book accessible to a global audience.”

 The British Library is running an exhibition form 6 July to 7 September called 'from Parchment to Pixel' 

      have a look at the online gallery