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.”