COURAGE
We call it a masterpiece when a lion’s share of critics ascertain credence in a finished product. Last September, as I wandered through the opening night of Autumn and Art, a lingering crowd surrounded Ernest Vincent Wood’s latest delivery. Finally getting a peek, I too was awestruck, but not surprised his latest piece claimed ‘best of show.’
Art tells a story. Better yet, it unites the senses. When I laid eyes on Wood’s rendition of Mary Magdalen, I heard it. With every glance, the same song rang through my head. Another artist had joined his brushstrokes. My eyes could see Wood’s masterpiece, but my ears welcomed Pink and the lyrics of her song – ‘Courage.’ How could it be? Two artists were telling me a story in unison.
In the painting, Mary Magdalen’s reservation is evident in the posturing of her body. Hands, partially open, partially withdrawn, shoulders elevated, elbow held back. A motion perfectly captured in the pause. Clumped on the ground, close to her familiar, the indecision reflected by the stanza in Courage, “closer to light, closer to me”, reverberates.
Pink’s words, layered with emotion, express both a yearning to pull herself up, yet a realization there is a greater force at hand than mere wishes. Repetitive lexes, “Rain, it’s pouring on me, the rain it falls, the rain it falls, sowing the seeds of love and hope, love and hope, we don’t have to stay, stuck in the weeds.” Subsequently, the duplicated verses that echo the loudest, “Have I the courage to change? Have I the courage to change? Have I the courage to change today?”
Change requires courage. It is uncomfortable to leave that which we are accustomed to, even if it is the lowest form we can imagine. The quandary lies with our willingness to deny the familiar and change.
Art speaks. Great art screams. It moves the deepest part of our soul and places our personal emotions into the hands of the artist. This is where I believe the Holy Spirit uses the gifts given to individuals as instruments in order to speak to us.
Yes, some of you are saying “How dare she speak of such a gifted man as Vincent Wood who gives us inspirational, holy art and a secular pop artist such as Pink in the same sentence?” Masters of art in all forms cause us to think, whether consciously or subconsciously. Vincent has accepted his brush often works with the Holy Spirit. But what about Pink? When I listen to her song I feel as if I am hearing the cries of an uncompleted psalm.
In the painting, Mary’s face follows faith and love, yet her body reflects apprehension. Could this lack of full embrace be modeling a common fear of acceptance? Is her pause reflective of something we all struggle with – unworthiness and shame? Isn’t that the same as fear of being judged?
Living in the world as it is today, I have to contemplate what our reaction would be to the Mary Magdalens in our presence. Being rescued is not a one and done thing, it requires support. Jesus cleansed her, but He also put her in the care of His mother and the apostles. How often have we witnessed friends or relatives in the struggle of change, only to fall backward? How many times have we wrestled with our own battles and just needed a little encouragement?
Scripture is full of accounts regarding diametrically opposed persons that Jesus gathered as his initial followers, his apostles. He spent nearly the entirety of his three years evangelizing how and why we love one another as He has loved us. In true acceptance and forgiveness. Then, the woman who replaced her shame with gratitude and Christ’s love, free of the judgment of others, was chosen as the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior. To me, it says a lot about how we should try to live our lives.
The appearance of Jesus’ extended hand and his feet approaching Mary Magdalen reminds me of a quote by St Teresa of Avila that implies the responsibility we bear. “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.”
The narrative in art is often much deeper than first seen. On one side of Ernest Vincent Wood’s painting is a skull representing mortality. On the other is life eternal, Jesus. The artist has captured the crucial moment most of us face at one time or another in our lives. In leaning away from death towards life, all of us must make a choice. Are we willing to leave the comfort of familiarity and welcome the stranger? Do we have the courage to change and be a rescuer for a person who longs to know God?
