A spirituality of making
The scars on the Ruthwell cross are witness to the troubled relationship Christians have with art. We are physical beings who need a world of sensations, we are also spiritual beings who can sense a realm that is more than simply physical. The Bible is filled with references to God crafting, creating, so how can we draw closer to God through imitating Jesus the craftsman?
We have inherited a suspicion of things created by human hands this from the earliest days of our tradition. The book of Exodus chapters 24 to 32 describe the confirmation of the covenant between God and the Israelites. Most people will remember the journey of Moses up into the mountain to receive the tablets of the law, and the description of God’s anger on finding out that Aaron has cast a Golden calf for the people to worship. The absence of Moses led to a void, and Aaron did the best he could to manage the situation he was left in charge of. When Moses returns he perhaps feels like Jesus did in the garden where his disciples keep falling asleep. Change management has never been easy. This story has been used to support a distrust of visual arts and a preference for texts. However the calf is just one chapter of a story which also contains detailed descriptions of the fabric, vestments, ornaments, rituals and artwork even including the smells to wrap the pace of meeting in and specific names of the artists inspired by God to shape it.
One set of scars on the Ruthwell cross are words from the “Dream of the Rood” In this mystical vision the author describes being aware of the gore on the cross, and also it’s bejewelled beauty and honour. The ability to see things both ways and to be aware of the tension between them is a core human experience. Artistic expression is often a response to this frustration, art is partly an awareness of things that cannot be seen, and a shaping of what can be sensed to reveal it.
“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;
Proverbs 8, 22 NIV
This quote is taken from a long description of Wisdom. She is described as being by Gods side throughout the process of creation.
“Then I was constantly e at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world, and delighting in mankind”
Proverbs 8: 30,31 NIV
These words echo in Colossians where Jesus is described.
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1: 15 – 17
In the action of creating we participate in this creativity. We experience frustration as the material we are working with fails to respond how we expect, we experience pride when when things work, and joy when a process works out better than expected and reveals something new to us.
For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves all who hate me love death.”
Proverbs 8: 35, 36 NIV
Again referring to Wisdom, but Wisdom the artisan, or little child* by the Creators side. Wisdom the childlike antidote to cynicism. Can we make a hunger for Wisdom a lifestyle, and fall in Love.
What do you hear wisdom whisper to you today?
- When do we take time out to worship by praying attention to the colours in a tree preparing for winter?
- To imagine shapes in the clouds, or stare at ashes in the fire?
- To feel water flowing over our skin, and spend time in the presence of the creator. Offering our being in the moment beyond words?
This is not an encouragement to be undisciplined or freeload on others. Inspiration only takes a moment, but skills take a lifetime to learn and talent improves when you spend it in practice. In a world of automated convenience perhaps darning socks is a form of voluntary poverty which would be helpful in understanding brother weaverbird and the incarnation of Jesus.
Mending a pot with gold is perhaps more easily recognised as an artistic statement. Piecing together the broken shards of a stone cross, researching the colours it was painted in and restoring it’s place in the worshiping community might be more easily recognised as religious art. But perhaps learning to recognise the presence of God in the practice of making is the challenge we need to learn if we are to avoid settling for golden calves.
