Saint John's Bible

Archives for December 2013

Messianic Predictions. Artist: Thomas Ingmire.

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Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.

“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us…” (Isaiah 9:6)

According to the publishers of The Saint John’s Bible, “The most important messianic verses are Isaiah 7:14-17, Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7 and Isaiah 11:1-9. From the earliest of times, Christians have seen these messianic verses as having a direct reference to Christ. Isaiah’s prophecies have had an enduring influence on Western Civilization. The Christmas carol, Lo How a Rose ere Blooming, was inspired by Isaiah 11:1-3. Handel used Isaiah 9:6-7 for one of the great choral sections of the Messiah.

“Artist Thomas Ingmire fills this text treatment with explosive energy, color and radiating gold. Familiar gilded phrases burst out of the foundational text: Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Everlasting Peace, Immanuel God is With Us, For Unto Us a Child is Born, Halleluiah!—all prophesying the coming of our savior. Blues, greens and yellows suggest Marian connections since devotion to the “Blessed Virgin Mother” finds part of its scriptural basis in Isaiah 7.”

Returning to the connection with Handel’s Messiah, Susan Sink says, “This illumination is crowned with Hallelujahs! You can almost see the trumpets raised and blasting with the announcement.” (The Art of The Saint John’s Bible, vol. 2, p. 62) Note also the intricate gold stamp, which we have seen in many recent display illuminations, adding to the celebratory effect.

Abraham and Sarah. Artist: Donald Jackson.

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The Jewish “Festival of Lights,” Hanukkah, ends tomorrow night (Thursday, Dec. 5). A menorah (although not the type pictured here) figures prominently in Hanukkah celebrations, and so the library has chosen this illumination for our next display. It illustrates the story of God’s covenant with Abraham, in which God promises that Abraham and Sarah’s descendents will number as the stars. The menorahs become family trees, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel among the branches at the top of the page and Abraham and Sarah’s names at the bottom.

In the night sky behind the family tree / menorahs, we see flashes of gold as the stars come out. You might also recognize the delicate lacy mandalas that accompanied night stars in another recent image: the Birth of Christ. So connections are made from one Saint John’s Bible image to another, and to all religions using mandalas in their worship.

Writer Susan Sink calls our attention to the black and grey figure to the bottom-right of the largest menorah, seeing in it “the sacrificial ram” which substitutes for Isaac, Abraham and Sarah’s son, whom God commanded Abraham to sacrifice in a test of his obedience. (Art of The Saint John’s Bible, Vol. 1, p. 24)

A note about the menorahs: Hanukkah celebrates a period in which a small amount of lantern oil lasted for 8 nights, much longer than expected. Hanukkah menorahs therefore hold a candle for each of those nights, with a ninth central candle used to light the others.

Birth of Christ. Artist: Donald Jackson.

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Advent began on Sunday Dec. 1. Christmas is coming, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus. UP’s Office of Campus Ministry is holding a Visio Divina prayer service on Wednesday Dec. 4 from 7:15 to 8:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher, at which the Birth of Christ illumination will be displayed to inspire a “prayerful entry into the Advent season.”

In The Art of The Saint John’s Bible, Susan Sink says “The revelation of the divine is seen in the shaft of gold coming from the manger, into which peer Mary, shepherds, and one of the kings. [They have] expressions of awe and wonder, and […Mary has a] wise smile.” (Vol. 1, p. 76)

She further notes ties to other illuminations; for example, the angels come from the Jacob’s Ladder illumination. Together with the vertical shaft of light, they make the figure of the cross, reminding us that the crucifixion is tied to the birth.

Turn your attention to the large ox. Modeled on the Neolithic cave paintings of great aurochs at Lascaux, France, it ties the illumination to traditional Christian art. Sink says, “Medieval manuscripts are often stamped or illustrated with these figures…Luke [is] an ox.” In Illuminating the Word: The Making of The Saint John’s Bible, Donald Jackson adds “The bull expresses the vitality and power of earthly life, as well as the humble circumstances of Christ’s birth. It contrasts with the ethereal wonder of the flying angels and heavenly light descending into the world.”