My friend, Gill Henwood, sent me this photograph of what I think is called a parrot Tulip, which is certainly very beautiful and unusual. It encouraged me to write this poem.
Tulip
I bear witness to beauty, joy and loveliness in a world besmirched by ugliness, anger and hatred; a world where words snarl, tear and destroy, blackening the tongue and emptying the heart of light.
I shine with colour, dazzling to overshadow dullness; lives tarnished by pain, emptiness, harshness of spirit. I am painted with the palette of joy: dazzling hues of bright reds, pure white, swirling greens.
Care and fear are marked out in drab grey, muddied rust, blackened dust – shades of brokenness, distress, disease.
Crying out for attention, the uncared for, unloved and unserved lose hope, vainly seeking a vision which eludes them.
But there is still life, still hope, still signs of better ways.
My petals dance and swirl in a gentle breeze, blown from the God who painted me, filled me with capricious creativity and pure, pure love.
Open then souls meant for singing, dancing, loving, serving, sacrificing for others, as air rushes in, filled with renewed light.
Breathe.
Be filled with amazement, purpose, wonder, awesomeness, love. With… ah! God.
Resurrection, one of three paintings on the subject by Indian Christian artist, Jyoti Sahi
During Lent, Holy Week and Easter, our church was challenged to respond to the times. Some of the ministry, outreach and teaching were delivered, along with so many other churches, via Zoom.
The Pandemic has had one side result. Many of us have become more competent at embracing technology and the power it brings to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ in new and often innovative ways.
One of the things we did to meditate and learn about the Passion of Jesus is that once a week we gathered on zoom and looked at aspects of the Passion through the medium of art. Each week, two members of our church community chose a painting which expressed one of the events of Holy Week. Things like anointing Jesus’ feet with costly ointment at Bethany; Jesus in Gethsemane; Peter’s reaction to his own denial and so on.
Whoever was presenting a particular painting introduced the artist and then the painting. They had been asked to present three questions for discussion and the participants were placed in a number of breakout rooms to consider how the painting affected them and then they tackle the questions. The groups were deliberately small in order to encourage participation. After a period the groups reconvened into the main group for a general feedback. Then the second painting was introduced and the sharing continued as before.
A final plenary and a prayer ended the meeting.
We found that zoom was particularly ideal for us all to see the detail in the paintings and to share our insights, learning from both the painting and each other.
There were lots of what I call, ‘God Moments’ !
We found it such an helpful way of considering the Passion story that we have now continued gathering together, this time choosing paintings with the Easter themes in mind. People are finding it an enrichment of their prayer and reflection.
I suppose it’s a modern way of using stained glass windows, though zoom means we don’t have to climb ladders or look at our subject!
I’m sure we are not alone in making use of zoom in this way and we can already see other things we can study together via zoom meetings. We can study images in a much more creative way.
Another advantage we have found is that those who can’t get to church for whatever reason – housebound, looking after children, being unwell etc, can take part. It can be a lifeline in keeping Christian fellowship going.
One of the paintings we looked at this week, can be seen above. It is by an Indian artist, Jyoti Sahi. Jyoti was born in 1944 and is regarded as one of the most important Catholic Christian artists alive today in India, and has been called ‘the theologian with the brush. … He uses his art to create a dialogue between Hinduism and Christianity.
The painting is one of three paintings he did of the Resurrection and it is called Jesus as the Greater Jonah. From the title you might guess what Old Testament theme inspired him! But there are so many images and symbols to discover. In keeping with the way we structured the evening, should you wish to do so, I simply ask you to spend time quietly looking at the painting and let Jyoti speak to you through his art as God speaks to him in his creativity. Then, perhaps consider the questions that Rosemary, who chose the painting, set for us.
Vicarage foxes revisited. Photo | Lynn HurryA second fox has arrived at Latton Vicarge garden because foxes know where a ready welcome awaits. They are not, however the only guests at the Hotel Splendide for the animals in need of love. Below is ‘Mrs Tiggywinkle’ of Beatrix Potter fame, who on arrival reminded the hotel manager, Lynn: (It was 1am in the morning and the Vicar of Latton was crawling along the lawn clutching her camera!) : You know what they say: clean feet make friends, dirty feet make a mess.
Ponder that to your heart’s content!
or think about these words by the American poet, Wendell Berry,
Mr G.
‘The peace of wild things’, is available as a Penguin book. A reviewer has written of it: If you stop and look around you, you’ll start to see.Tall marigolds darkening. A spring wind blowing. The woods awake with sound. On the wooden porch, your love smiling. Dew-wet red berries in a cup. On the hills, the beginnings of green, clover and grass to be pasture. The fowls singing and then settling for the night. Bright, silent, thousands of stars. You come into the peace of simple things.
Joyce wrote about her photo reflection: This Egret also sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ !
Spring is a time of new life; new hope after the darkness of Winter. This is no coincidence. This is God’s plan in creation, even when we don’t feel it. We have to learn to read the signs, of which the Egret is one.
There are all sorts of times in our lives when what we might call coincidences happen. Ways ahead become clear, solutions happen, and there is light at the end of tunnels. Maybe sometimes, when our faith is hard and brittle, something beautiful happens to raise our spirits or we find in a quiet moment that God is there, near us, after all.
My problem with all these ‘coincidences’ is that I don’t believe in coincidences. Everything has a plan and a purpose. When we are ‘surprised’ by something that happens which speaks to our souls then we are having what I call a God Moment. This is the time when God acts in our lives in a surprising or special way.
It’s vitally important to believe in God Moments because it reminds us that we are in God’s hands and whatever we are going through, good or bad, is watched over by God. In Isaiah Chapter 43 v1 we hear God tells His people, I have called you by name, you are mine. It is because of this that there will always by God Moments in our lives – times when something happens which God has planned to happen because we are His. Sometimes, sadly, we don’t believe this to be true. So it’s worthwhile praying the words in Joyce’s reflection from the first letter of John.
God is Light. In him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5b)
Mr G's Ponderings 