Archives for March 2015

The “Crucifixion” illumination from Luke will be featured in Visio Divina sessions on Wednesday, April 1, at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:00 p.m. (60 minutes) in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. This Lenten prayer opportunity is sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Garaventa Center. Campus Ministry’s Interactive Lenten Calendar provides this commentary:

Rendered in raised and burnished gold, the crucified figure of Christ dominates this composition. The use of gold conveys the idea of God manifesting himself in his divine love for humanity, represented by the crowd below. Luke’s Gospel recounts that darkness covered the earth for three hours, indicated here by the night sky, and that the curtain of the temple, shown as shreds of purple, was torn in two. The contrast of pain with the glory of gold relates this image to current theological discussions concerning the meaning of the Crucifixion in the contemporary world.
The delicate gray border was printed with English lace, contributing to the recurring theme of textiles in The Saint John’s Bible illuminations.

Throughout The Saint John’s Bible, gold leaf represents the divine. This illumination is awash in it, representing Christians’ belief that Jesus is God. The customary outline of the crucified figure is barely visible. Breaking through the dazzling gilt, we see other elements of the story: on either side the two crosses representing the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus; on the left the moon and stars representing the hours of darkness over the land that coincided with the event; on the right a file of people representing the procession with the cross to Golgotha.

On the facing page in the Bible you will see a scene from the story of the road to Emmaus (right), in which Jesus appeared to two of his disciples.

The “Raising of Lazarus” illumination from John 11 will be featured in Visio Divina sessions on Wednesday, March 25, at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:00 p.m. (60 minutes) in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. This Lenten prayer opportunity is sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Garaventa Center.

In this illumination the viewer is in the tomb with Lazarus, among the death’s-head moths and golden angels, and the lace of Lazarus’ shroud (created from prints of actual lace). We look out as if through a tunnel of light (perhaps representing descriptions of near-death experiences), where Jesus awaits. Lazarus is upright, appearing to begin to rise and exit. Dominating the illumination are the words, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

In The Art of The Saint John’s Bible, vol. 1, p. 96, Susan Sink says

It is this miracle that will start Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and the crucifixion, the real triumph of light over darkness, life over death. But here we stand with Lazarus poised on the edge of death and life and contemplate our own faith.

The “Demands of Social Justice” illumination from Amos 4 will be featured in Visio Divina sessions on Wednesday, March 18, at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:00 p.m. (60 minutes) in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. This Lenten prayer opportunity is sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Garaventa Center.

Commenting on this illumination, local (Vashon Island, WA) artist Suzanne Moore has said, “it is about choice, the alternatives of light and dark, obedience and disobedience…human responsibility for our own destiny as we respond to God’s promises.” (quoted by Susan Sink in The Art of The Saint John’s Bible, vol. 2, p. 83)

In this passage in Amos, says Sink, God laments that despite all He has done to try to draw Israel back into His blessings, Israel does not return. Those attempts are listed: famine; drought; blight, mildew, and locusts; pestilence, war, and defeat. The refrain is the same each time: “Yet you did not return to me.” This refrain unites the seven pieces of the illumination, seven pieces as in the Creation but fragmented and chaotic, not bountiful and organized. “This is a reminder,” says Sink,

…that God did not just try to turn the people’s hearts with plagues and punishments, but first tried to draw them close with all the beauty, order and fruitfulness of the Garden. It is the people’s choice not to follow God that has made creation this way. (p. 84)

On the right-hand side of the page, a vaguely menacing creature (a locust?) hovers over the text.

The Transfiguration illumination from Mark 9 will be featured in Visio Divina sessions on Wednesday, March 4, at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:00 p.m. (60 minutes) in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. This Lenten prayer opportunity is sponsored by Campus Ministry and the Garaventa Center. Campus Ministry’s Interactive Lenten Calendar provided this prompt in 2014:

[…]As we read in today’s Gospel, Jesus is transfigured as a sign of his divine origin. The apostles Peter, James, and John are witnesses to it. Peter, in his zeal, seeks to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but before he knows it, the vision vanishes. In our lives, too, we have glimpses of the Lord. We experience great consolations. We see the love of God at work in the world, in our lives, in prayer, and, most profoundly, in relationships. At times, we see God’s presence most palpably in these contexts. Just as the disciples, however, we are sent down the mountain. As much as we would enjoy staying in the vision to enjoy God’s presence, we are sent back to the valley. We are sent back among others.[…]

As with the Life in Community illumination, iconographer Aidan Hart created the images of Elijah and Moses. Drawing on iconographic tradition, Hart gives Moses two tablets to hold as a symbol of his identity. His and Elijah’s ordinary garments contrast with Jesus’ vestments and serve as pieces of a frame, along with the mottled blue sky and purple earth. The “dazzling white” of the passage is rendered here by a swarm of white crosses, setting Jesus apart from his companions. Likewise, Elijah and Moses’ detailed facial features identify them as men, while Jesus is both present and not present in his incomplete appearance. The gold cross behind him recalls the illumination illustrating his birth, as well as his crucifixion.