#39 Good Friday through the Eyes of Great Artists

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Good Friday is a very Holy Day in Christian belief, and I sought out a service.  Avondale Presbyterian Church had one at noon.   I had been there before, but only to the child care center as a consultant.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Avondale Presbyterian  is the pretty white church on the hill where Park Road meets Kenilworth.  Parking at noon was not a problem and dress was church casual.

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD

The mood was very friendly for such a somber service.  Several people introduced themselves and asked my name.  I saw an "old friend" from the child care center and the Pastor directed me from the breezeway to the Sanctuary.

MUSIC

There was no music as this midday service, but it was based on great pieces of art which were projected on a screen in the chancel.

MESSAGE

Liturgical art has been around since the early Christians drew fish in the sand to identify each other, but I have encountered more use of it this year than ever before in my visit to 50 churches.  My first encounter was the nature artist at the Universalist Church, and then the painter painting the Lenten sermons in Leesburg Virginia. Dr. John Earl used great art spanning from 1470 to a striking contemporary painting of Jesus to help us contemplate the last Seven Words of Christ.  After each reading a moment of silence was observed for us to contemplate the art and our own prayers followed by a special Passion Prayer.  I was able to find all but one of the works of art on the internet.  He ended the service with a letter by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross written for Good Friday.

#1  Farther, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:24).  In this prayer, he asked that we emulate Christ's humility and choose love over evil.

Calvary by Signorelli, 1505

#2 "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43)  In this prayer he asked that we may be like Christ and welcome the repentant sinner and pardon the guilty.  Granting grace as God grants it abundantly to us

The Three Crosses" by Rembrandt, 1653

#3 "Woman, Here is your Son... Here is your Mother." (John 19: 26-27)  In this prayer we recognized that Jesus loves us like kin and that we should extend familial love to all.

"The Crucifixion of Jesus" by Dali, 1985

I found this to be the most compelling of the 7 images.

#4  "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)  In this prayer we recognize the vileness of our own sin and ask to be united with Christ.

 "The Crucifixion: by Cossa, 1470

Peter and John are depicted on either side.

#5  "I thirst" (John 19:28)  In this prayer we ask that we may find delight in Christ and recognize his humanity and ours as we thirst for Christ and grace.

"The Small Crucifixion" by Grunewald, 1510

#6  "It is Finished" (John 19:30)  In this prayer we asked that God find nothing wanting in our service.

"Descent from the Cross" by Rembrandt, 1651

#7  "Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit..." (Luke 23:46)  This painting was not credited but was a compelling contemporary artist's painting of the bloodied head of Christ.

In Kubler-Ross' Good Friday letter she describes how we must raise the next generation to not be afraid of grief and dying.  For without Good Friday, there would be no Resurrection. If we truly believe that, then dying will be our greatest pleasure.  

We must raise the next generation on unconditional love, not on the "sins of our Fathers". Abusers will raise more abusers.  We cannot pass this on to the next generation!  Instead go back 2000 years to Christ's command to Love your Neighbor as Yourself.  We need to teach children that anger is natural, but we must not dwell on rage and hate, but take a deep breath and reject anger, turning away with a "no thank you."  Grief allows us to grasp loss.  Do not be ashamed to cry.  Those children who are afraid to cry for fear of being spanked result in adults who wallow in self pity and shame.

Encourage children with unconditional love tempered with discipline.  When we say "no we won't tie your shoe" we are telling the child, "I trust that you can learn to do it yourself."  

And above all, Kubler-Ross tells us that we must learn these lessons ourselves, because we cannot pass them on, if we do not first love ourselves and recognize and receive God's unconditional love and discipline, getting rid of our "unfinished business."

OUTREACH AND OBSERVATIONS

• Avondale has one of the just a few labyrinths in the city.
• It was really nice to connect again with Zatrice, a preschool teacher I first met at Bank of America.  I'm glad she has "landed" at Avondale and is still teaching.  We need more teachers like her in early childhood.
• One outreach mentioned on their website was a community garden that raises vegetables for Friendship Trays.  I saw folks working in the garden when I drove in, and it is visible from Park Road.

TODAY'S EXTRA

My daughter posted this on Facebook....