Lent 4: The Prodigal

The fourth Sunday of Lent is always a bit tricky because it is the traditional date of Mothering Sunday in the UK. This means that the Lenten theme is often supplanted by local plans. I wondered which way to go with the reading this week...

I decided in the end to keep the Mothering Sunday theme in the back of my mind but focus on the lectionary readings. The Gospel reading for the week is Luke 15:1-3, 11b-end - The Prodigal Son.

Colour is important in this image, as it has been for me from the beginning of Lent. I've painted the son, weary and broken - nearly on the point of return. The son is red - which could be good or bad - his fate hangs in the balance... but even before the decision is made, he is surrounded by the loving embrace of the parent. Grace precedes decision.

The embracing arms of love are blue. I've consciously echoed the traditional association of blue with Mary - hopefully indicating the motherhood of God...

Lent 3: Grace

From Isaiah 55:1-9 and Luke 13:1-9

This weeks readings pick up the theme of blessing and curse, life and death, repentance or destruction. The image of the fig tree is a powerful one. The owner wants to dig it up because it hasn't produced fruit, but the farm worker wants to give it one more chance...

I have been struck over the past two weeks by the way I have unconsciously used the same colour to represent contradictory ideas. For example, in week one, I used red to represent love, while in week two, red was used to indicate a threat. This got me thinking about the fine line between ideas or the way contradictions can be held closely together.

In this picture I have attempted to use the same colours on right and left, but on the left they are about death, while on the right the same colours indicate life. Red can be a threatening fire or sign of fruitfulness. Blue can be clear skies or storm clouds; living water or dead soil. Brown can be good soil or desert.

Here are the half images mirrored so you can see the effect of only one colour system:

 

I like to think that this painting says something about the way circumstances can change very rapidly. Despair can be transformed into hope in the flip of an image. I am reminded of the fall of the Berlin Wall or the end of Apartheid. Isaiah says, Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.' (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Lent 1: Temptation

This picture is based on the story of the Temptation in Luke 4:1-13. My starting point was hunger, which is why the focus of the painting is a black hole which is distorting the world around it. The experience of physical hunger is used by the devil as a lure to draw Jesus from his path. Jesus has a hunger for order or wholeness and the devil offers him a 'quick fix' through political, military or economic domination. Satisfying these hungers would produce chaos and then oblivion. The ultimate risk is that love itself, symbolised by the blood-red colour on the left could be sucked into the chaos and disappear. Meanwhile, evil, represented at the top right, is hoping to manipulate all this from the edges, while heaven, on the top left, is standing at a distance, waiting but not interfering...

This was a quick and fun painting to produce and I'm relatively pleased with the end result. My intention is to produce a series of paintings during Lent 2010 based on the lectionary readings for each week. I would like the pictures to work together as a single piece so I may continue to use a semi-abstract approach.

CyberLent

I have decided to give an on-line Lent course a go and will be facilitating a CyberCell Lent Course using material produced by the ministry team, and more...

• CyberCell is an on-line Cell Group. Cells are ways of "doing Church" in a small group which focus on four key elements: Welcome (getting to know each other), Worship (relating to God together), Word (engaging with the Bible together) and Witness (supporting one another in mission).
• The members of the group all have access to a password protected web site which only they can see. The activity of the group takes place through the web site.
• The group is intended to serve the needs of those who find traditional meetings difficult, e.g. commuters, those who work long or irregular hours or the housebound.
• The group has a facilitator who has the responsibility for coordinating their activity. The facilitator will often be the one who posts discussion starters or questions on the forums - or arranges for other people to do so. The facilitator will also deal with issues concerned with the membership of the group.
• New members need to apply to join and will be welcomed in with the agreement of all members of the existing group. A maximum of twelve members are allowed before the group should consider splitting. If this happens the two new groups will each be assigned a new facilitator.
• Members commit to visit the site at least once a week and contribute to the discussions. There are no "observers". Home group meetings usually last two hours so it would be reasonable to expect CyberCell members to commit to spend two hours thinking, praying and commenting.

I'll be advertising the group over the next couple of weeks. Those who want to take part will need to drop me a line and I'll set them up with a password.