Blessed Are The
Llama Momma asked me to share about my experiences with the on-line bible study I'm doing.
The group is currently exploring the Sermon on the Mount, which I've heard so many times that I've lost a sense of its richness... until I did my salt pictures (see below and on my other blog) and the picture above as part of my response. Some members of the group wanted to know what the illustration means.
So, here's how I explained it...
The right side of the picture is "our world," full of all the things we want...with people adoring and serving us.
The left side of the picture is a trail of loss... the crown and apparel, the fallen Q's (our right-to-rule), as we climb the mount to meet Jesus... who waits in his loving sacrifice, to teach us how to live a life of true color.
I had fun changing the queen from a diamonds person to a queen of hearts. And though I didn't draw the queen of hearts, I implied that the heart would be her ultimate suit of destiny, as signified by the heart near the cross.
If you had to draw your response to the Sermon on the Mount, what might you draw? (see Matthew 5-7)
Illustration by L.L. Barkat.
posted by L.L. Barkat at 9:18 PM
20 Comments:
Wow, first up. I'm not sure this qualifies as a response but I would draw a face with a tear with a hand wiping the tear away.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. (Matt 5:4)
It reminds me of other places in the Bible like Isaiah 25 and Revelation 21 where God promises to wipe away our tears forever.
Wow. Thank you L.L. for sharing a bit of what you're learning in this group. Powerful.
In my picture, I see children from all over the world. The poor and forgotten; the orphan, the disabled. They are gathered around Jesus. The privileged children are there too, worshiping Christ, their riches placed at HIs feet.
You see... this is why I didn't pursue a career as a professional artist. You brought up the idea of coming up with a drawing, and it will probably come to me, but not soon, not easily, and it will never come out the way I imagined it.
Our men's group has been discussing the beattitudes for the last 8 sessions. Why can't I think of something?!
Your drawing looks great, though.
Andre... yes, of course it qualifies... would the hand be the hand of someone else, or of the person crying?
Llama... so, you see togetherness... I consider that the Sermon on the Mount was given to a group of people, all gathered round, too. You're definitely welcome (for the sharing); thanks for asking!
Craver... no professional mind needed here. We accept all kinds. (Oops, was that the royal "We"? I was supposed to be losing that on the way up the mountain.)
LL,
Like craver, I'm no artist but the hand of someone else...the hand would be noticeably scarred from piercing.
The comfort of our Savior - it's something to look forward to.
Wait Andre-- I am an artist. It's just that I'm so bad I'd starve if that's how I tried to put food on the table. The way I see it, we're all artists.
Your tear idea, for example... good stuff, Monsieur.
I can not see the picture but the subject and descriojn stir my imagination
This is beautiful, LL! Did you draw all of it yourself? You are quite the talented sketch artist. I, on the other hand, am stuck with stick figures and cartoonish heads. :)
My picture is somewhat along the themes of the others: us as our child-like selves, bowing down around His throne in peace, while He looks down on us with great love and attendance to our hearts.
Love your drawing! Seeing this makes me more anxious to actually participate! My turn will come, my turn will come! Thanks for sharing, they are beautiful!
hmm...i'll have to think about that and respond later, after re-reading the passage. i really like your sketch and the analogy....
hmmm...i'll have to reread the passage and respond later...my brain is in low-gear right now. i really like your sketch and analogy...
(i might have posted twice, i couldn't tell if the first comment took)
Wow. I can't draw, so I wouldn't.
I posted something today about a new blog thing--the Open Window. It's a chance to showcase art--writing, poetry, pictures that you share on your blog. You should definitely check it out.
Andre... I'm glad you came back to answer this... what a beautiful image. I hadn't pictured it like that. The One who has suffered is more able to comfort, don't you think?
Craver... you are an artist with words! (and jokes, definitely those too)
Lloyd... is it my picture you can't see? I wonder why that's happening...
Christianne... yeah, by myself. But I use a trick that all the Masters always did... copy pieces from other places! A figure here, a shape there. The guys bending towards the queen, for instance, were from an Egyptian relief. The queen of hearts from a deck of cards. The castle idea from a book on medieval times. I think you might be able to do this too, at least a little.
Blue... low gear is good, especially when going up hills. (This is the Sermon on the Mount, after all.)
Jennifer... thanks for the tip. I'll go check it out.
L.L., Nice artistry and symbollism there. The best art somehow brings out the real world, and at the same time is somehow symbollic, I would guess.
If I had to draw something, maybe it would include a good number of girls and boys, women and men- bringing the love and light of Christ into the world in very practical, "down to earth" ways. Maybe something like that. Your idea is a great one in showing the true heart of servanthood in Jesus.
Of course, you know I love these drawings! I'm getting ready to create my own response to the Sermon, and right now what comes to mind is a pair of laser beams shooting from Jesus' eyes and targeting both my head and my heart.
That is not nearly as peaceful as everyone else's responses here, but I truly have been seeing the (loving) confrontation of Christ in this Sermon. The Jews, God's elect, and esp. the Pharisees had gotten so far out in left field by the time Jesus was preaching these things that their laws, their redemptive presence in the world, and their religious ways were hardly even relevant. They were becoming totally and completely unto themselves, satisfied and self-reliant.
I have seen so much of the Pharisees in my own heart.
Jesus' gaze has been impossible for me to duck in this study!
I wasn't quite prepared for it. :S
And I'm glad he started out saying blessed are the meek, the poor, the mourning... because after looking him in the eye, I'm beginning to feel my poverty, my sin, and my humility. Whew! The grace that accompanies his laser eyes is not to be missed.
Did you do this drawing? wow! what a clever little sausage you are!!
For now... and when your turn comes, I will delight to see how you take it.
Ted... thanks. I like symbolism in art, but I know that some people prefer realism. For that, I guess they'll have to go to somebody else's blog. The symbolic is fun for me, rather like poetry.
Erin... the Terminator Jesus. Now there's a vision that upsets all (much like the Sermon first upset all! Go, girl!)
Martin... you've been missed. Thanks for stopping by to see the drawings... there'll be more soon. I'm really loving the chance to sit down and draw. I guess I am an "occasional" artist, just as I am an "occasional" writer. In other words, I rarely do these things for my own pleasure, but delight to do them for the pleasure of others (though, Erin's response probably wasn't exactly a 10 on the pleasure scale, yes?)
craver,
sorry for calling your artistic abilities into question... I'm certain compared to me, you're Picasso.
So now you're calling me a cubist? You're cold as ice; I'm crushed.
Heh, heh.
Hey Andre, I was thinking about your tear idea last night and got ready to draw something like it with my smaller son, but ended up on a home-repair spree, instead.
Shalom, friend.
I tried it! Sitting down with my youngest on Friday, we each drew our own thing. For me, this sermon on the mount idea was still ruminating, so I drew a landscape, turned it upside-down and then drew the people. I hope you can link to it here.
In it, I'm suggesting that what Jesus taught at this famous sermon, turned the world upside-down.
Post a Comment
<< Home