Above are a number of artisitc representations of the baby Jesus, his family, and the scene of his birth. Which ones draw your attention or resonate with you?
Here are two artistic images of the story in Luke 15:11-32 that we read and reflected on together. The first (unattributed) is like much artwork inspired by this story, focusing on the reconciliation of the Father and the Younger Son . This parable has most often been referred to as The Parable of the Prodigal Son. But Rembrandt's treatment of the story (the second image) includes the Older Son. In class we sought to identify with all three main characters in the story. The Older Son is an indispensable character in this powerful teaching story. Many people identify much more readily with the Older Son than with the Younger one, often protesting that the Father's excessive graciousness and celebration with the Younger Son is "unfair." Yes, we all need some reconcilation, don't we?
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us"--Luke 24:32 The story of the Road to Emmaus is an important one. It focuses not just on what God's resurrection power does with Jesus, but what God's power for new life does in us. The setting is the afternoon of Easter Day. Two of Jesus' disciples are leaving Jerusalem and heading to Emmaus, about seven miles away. In spite of the news of the empty tomb, they remain traumatized by the awful events of Good Friday and their fear that death has had the last word. They are overcome with sadness, and lament that Jesus is not who they had hoped he would be. The risen Christ meets the men on the road, drawing close and coming alongside of them, but they don't recognize him. "But their eyes were kept from recognizing him, " Luke writes. This is a way of saying that we don't always see Jesus' presence in our lives b...
Jacopo Bassano's The Miraculous Draught of Fishes , completed in 1545, is a favorite. It vividly recalls the scene in Luke's gospel (Luke 5:1-11) where Jesus calls his first disciples. Very early in Jesus' ministry he is beginning to draw large crowds of people eager hear the fresh, living Word of God. Many of them have previously been on the "outside" of religious life. Jesus is bringing a message that goes deep in their very own life experience. People are hungry and thirsty for God's nourishment. On this day Jesus is teaching on the lakeshore. The crowd is pressing in on him as they seek to hear every word carefully. Sitting nearby are two fishing boats. They are empty; the fishermen are washing their nets after a fruitless overnight shift where they have caught nothing. Jesus climbs into the boat belonging to Simon, and asks him to put out a little way from the shore, so that Jesus can teach from the boat. When Jesus ...
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