The Music And The Dance

_

Artist’s Talk on Our Crosses And Banner

(This brief talk was given by Connie Kirk at our services the weekend of April 9 & 10, 2011)

First let me say something about the Crosses.  The underlying wooden crosses and the base were made by Dennis Doornewerd after which I covered them with embroidery thread to add color and texture. Christ’s cross is in the middle, it looks light and glowing, full of life. The man who mocked Jesus has a dark cross, his life ending in spiritual death. (This is the cross on your right as you look toward the table). And the man who said “remember me when you come into your kingdom”, has a cross that is dark, but growing lighter. He is going into life after death. This light and dark, life and death imagery makes sense to us because the natural world has many metaphors created into it by God. Nothing too complex here—

However, the content of the banners is a bit more complex.

I wanted to have a local image, but did not want beaches, palm trees or even a landscape. So, I took a photograph of the leaf litter in our backyard and used that as a base for painting a 16″ x 24″ watercolor.

I wanted an image that was complex almost to the point of mystery. I hoped that at some level this image would make us feel that we live in a world that is: more than we can say more than we can figure out or more than we can manipulate to our own ends, in part because of its complexity and mystery. And this reality would humble us. Humility is what this image is about.

The text that is printed around the edge of the banners is Philippians 2:6-11. To save time I will let you read that yourself.

Although Connie did not read the text in her talk we will provide it in here. The text is printed around the borders of the banners.

The first banner has Philippians 2:6-8, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!

The second banner has Philippians 2:9-11, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There are two words in the text that tie into the imagery in the banners: they are human and humbled, they relate because this image of the earth shows the beginning of what is called humus.You can hear the similarity of the words. Listen to what these words mean and how they are related:

Humus: is the dark organic material in soils, produced by the decomposition of vegetable or animal matter and essential to the fertility of the earth. (Vietnamese farmers taking soil with them)

Human means: “of or belonging to man” probably related to homo meaning “man” and humus meaning “earth” so the notion is of “earthly beings” as opposed to the gods.

And then there is the word humble, it means literally “on the ground” but the common usage means lowly, of low birth or rank, non-self asserting.

Now listen to this thoughtful explanation of topsoil (humus), by a long time farmer who has thought much about the earth, community and our care for both, Wendell Berry in “The Long-Legged House.” says:

“The most exemplary nature is that of the topsoil. It is very Christ-like in its passivity and beneficence (active kindness), and in the penetrating energy that issues out of its peaceableness. It increases by experience, by the passage of seasons over it, growth rising out of it and returning to it, not by ambition or aggressiveness. It is enriched by all things that die and enter into it. It keeps the past, not as history or as memory, but as richness, new possibility. Its fertility is always building up out of death into promise. Death is the bridge or the tunnel by which its past enters its future.”

These beautiful words take a long look at soil, and show its nature and illustrate a part of Christ’s nature.

The point that seems most important to this context and is most congruent with Philippians 2: 6-11 is that there is promise through Christ’s humility and death. We are made rich through his humble death. So when you see these banners let the images work on you and I think God will bring more things to mind, but realize that God has built many metaphors into our world and even the soil under are feet can remind of us God’s goodness to us.

~ by Larry Kirk on April 10, 2011.

Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: Banners, Humility