Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Major Michael Ramsay, 16 July 2023
When I have
been chatting with you over the past few weeks I have been sharing from a
sermon series, ‘Thoughts from France’ about various truths / realities that the
Lord has revealed to me during travels this Spring. We have looked
at various themes and scriptures through a number of different sermons:
·
We looked at John 4, 5 and 7 in our
message titled ‘Lessons from Lourdes’
·
We looked at the Gospels, the Pentateuch
and Revelation 3 in ‘Thoughts from Driving Around France’
·
And last time we spoke, we looked at a
number of other truths in our message entitled ‘Gospel Seine-ry’
Today we are
exploring the scriptures through the theme of the ‘Art of the Gospel’
Mona Lisa and Other Oil
Paintings
Hebrew 12:1-2a Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter
of faith…
When we were
in Paris and the rest of France, we were able to see the Louvre, other museums,
art galleries, and many famous works of Art. We saw the Mona Lisa and other
great oil paintings. One thing that struck me as I looked upon the original
works of art of which I have seen reproductions dozens or even hundreds of
times before in my life, is that the reproductions are never as good as the
original. They can be like the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews but they are not
anywhere near the value and power of the original! A picture of a painting
is not the painting itself: not nearly as vibrant and alive!
This reminds
me of our faith and a temptation for some Christians who maybe even grew up in
the churches. I have met some people – even in seminary - who hadn’t ever
read through their entire Bible even once! There are people who identify as
Christians who look to or through others instead of to God directly for their
faith. They rely on preachers, teachers, parents, authors, musicians, friends,
anyone, instead of relying directly on God.
These maybe are the
folks we hear about who ‘lose their faith’ when they go to
seminary or when they are challenged in any other way by someone who has a
different interpretation or faith perspective than their own. These are the
folks who can’t defend their faith because they don’t know their faith – people
who have only seen reproductions of God or commentaries on His Word, may
never have even met Him or if they did, then they seemingly prefer to read
about Him instead of spending time with Him.
When we read
Christian authors but don’t study the Bible; when we listen to podcasts,
preachers, teachers, and our friends but not to God we only see a reflection of
the truth, a reproduction, a copy… and a copy is not worth nearly as much as
the original. No one is going to try to steal a postcard of the Mona Lisa and
sell it to a museum for millions of dollars! No one is going to hang a
photocopy of Monet’s Waterlilies in the Louvre.
Likewise we
shouldn’t just rely on other people’s copies for our faith in God – especially
when the original Jesus Christ –who is the author and perfecter of our faith -
and the very living Word of God is right here for us to experience anytime we
like.
The Death of Marat
Philippians 1:20-21: I eagerly expect and
hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that
now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
One oil
painting we saw at the Louvre was an oil painting of the 1793 painting by
Jacques-Louis David of his colleague, the murdered French revolutionary leader,
Jean-Paul Marat, entitled ‘Death of Marat’.
Oil paintings
are amazing. You can see them today, centuries later, and they look as vibrant
as if they were painted just yesterday.
What struck me
about the death of Marat however was not the art as much as the subject matter.
Now, I am not a fan of Marat. It really is not a surprise that he was murdered,
in my opinion: he was really quite a nasty fellow. He was a propagandist for
the French revolutionaries; much like Milton was for England’s Cromwell, only
nastier, I think.
Marat is
often held responsible for the September Massacres in which between
1,176 and 1,614 defenceless people were taken prisoner and then murdered. And
then after earning these murderous credentials, Marat went on to sit on the Committee
of General Security where he played his part in what is now called the Reign
of Terror as they chopped the heads of a further 1700 people and
otherwise were directly responsible for the deaths of up to 5000 people. I
would not say he was a ‘good guy’.
What strikes
me about the painting and his death is this; possibly his one noble attribute:
Marat died doing what he loved and what he believed in. He was a propagandist
for the revolution. He was murdered probably writing propaganda for the
revolution and his doing so certainly contributed to his death.
If the ‘bad
guys’ can have so much devotion to their causes, that they die for them and
that they are willing to live for them, how much more should we? We should feel
emboldened and empowered to stand up for our faith. Do we share Christ with the
world and with our friends – Christ, who has saved the world and who can save
your friend – do we stand up for Christ the way others stand up for their
causes and beliefs? Are we willing to die for what we believe in like Marat
did? Are we willing to die, yes, and even more importantly than that, are we
prepared as Paul said, to live for Christ?
Philippians 1:20-21: I eagerly expect and
hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that
now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For
to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Monet’s Gardens
1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see in a
glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know
just as I also am known.
We saw a
Salvador Dali museum in Paris. I have always liked his work – though one may
need a book or a tour guide to understand them fully: the melting clocks and
other items that typify surrealism.
We were also
able to go the Giverny and see Monet’s gardens. I have seen Monet’s paintings before and I admit that I have never been that much of a fan. I once, in
university, for a class had to review some of his work. I ran through
everything I knew about the techniques he used and everything else. My
professor was really impressed and was starting to comment on my analysis
before I had spoken the concluding words of my presentation which were, “and I
don’t like that”.
But then I saw
up front and in person the objects Monet was painting and I understood. French
Impressionism made sense to me in an instant. That which I never used to even
understand, let alone appreciate, when I saw the reality it was
representing with my own eyes, when I was able to see the light on the water,
and smell the flowers in the air, I understood and was impressed by Monet’s
impression.
This reminds
me of 1 Corinthians 13:12 for all of life here and now is just seeing through
the glass darkly. It is like we are looking at an impressionist’s or a
surrealist's paintings: There are many things we don’t understand but in the
end all will be revealed. The mystery and the majesty of the love of God and
Christ, at the end of it all, will be revealed when, like with Monet’s garden
we see and experience God and His new creation with our own nearly re-created
eyes and eternal bodies where there is no more suffering and no more decay but
only the love of God – then and only then will we no longer see through the glass darkly but fully understand His Majesty!
Church Walls
Luke 7:44-47: Then he turned toward the woman
and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not
give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped
them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I
entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but
she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have
been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little
loves little.”
Verse 44-47
are part of the episode we read earlier in the service today. This passage was
very much in my mind when we were in Paris and any other part of France where
we walked into an historic cathedral. The big, ancient Roman Catholic
churches walls are filled with naves, alcoves, altars. Many rooms open exposed
to the main sanctuary. You can see in many of these worship spaces amazing
works of art; grand works of art, worshipful works of art painted right on the
walls of these chapels; some of which are painted by some famous artists, their
contemporaries or their equals. Some of these painted walls in these chapels are
in great condition and some of them are worn away. It is something as you can
see them worn away. At the top the painted walls, they still look mostly
untouched even after a century or centuries of use as an aid in worship – but
near the bottom, in the places where one can reach, you can see where thousands
of people over hundreds of years have beseeched our Lord with their tears
pouring down their faces. Facing the wall, one can see where people in real
need and in real passion they have placed their hands and faces upon the
painted images of God incarnate and scenes of service to Him. You can almost
hear their prayers through their tears; their fervent prayers! Now they are
gone but the testimony of their coming before the Lord is still there. The
power of the miracles they sought, is still there. The image of the Love of God
is still there. Their tears have washed the painted feet of our Lord in the
sanctuary.
May it be the
same with us. May we be like the lady anointing the feet of Jesus with our
tears, may we be like the centuries of people washing away the images in the
churches with our tears; may we come to the Lord with such passion and devotion
that all who see us will have no doubt of our love and zeal for God.
For as we do, we will know we have been forgiven and as we do we will know He has saved us.
It is my hope
that we can all come to the Lord with that true passion and abandon that comes
only from really, truly, and totally turning ourselves over to Him. May we each
do this then and experience the full power of His Salvation for now and
forever!
Let us pray
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