About van Gogh : By the summer of 1876, van Gogh realized that he was deeply attracted to the Christian faith.  He began to think in terms of ordination.  At this time he was teaching at a school run by a Congregationalist minister, and exercising a modest pastoral ministry.  Nothing much came of van Gogh’s hopes for ordination.  He pursued theological studies in Amsterdam in 1877, unsuccessfully, before moving to Belgium to begin a ministry to its coalminers (perhaps this idea was ahead of its time as this outreach wasn’t well received by the church).  By the end of 1879 he had become convinced that he was a failure in his ministry aspirations and decided to become a professional artist instead.   He settled in the south of France in 1888.  The beauty of the Provence countryside proved an inspiration, as did the activities associated with it—such as sowing seeds. 

The Painting:  Painted in November 1888, Sower with Setting Sun is often considered the most beautiful of van Gogh’s series of sower paintings.  The sower’s features are in shadow as he strides away from the setting sun.  The late autumn landscape is already showing signs of the approaching winter.  Yet the very act of sowing seed is itself a promise of the spring that is to come.   

Picture the sower, walking up and down the fields, sowing the seed.  See in your mind the seed falling on the ground—on the hard, dry path alongside the field; on shallow soil; into the midst of a patch of thorns, and finally on to good deep soil.  The main point that the parable makes so superbly is that it is the same seed that is sown in every case.  The outcome depends upon the ground into which it falls.

 This picture reminds us of the insights of Brother Lawrence in The Practice of the Presence of God.  Lawrence tells of an insight he gained at the age of sixteen, which remained with him throughout his life.  He found himself contemplating a tree in the depths of winter, stripped bare of its leaves.  Yet he knew that, with the coming of spring, ‘the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit appear’.  He could trust that renewal would come in its own good time.  In the same way, he argues that we should have a settled trust in God, which sustains us in times of spiritual dryness.  As Lawrence puts it, we should use both our minds and imaginations to ‘establish ourselves in the presence of God’.  Is this promise also hinted at by van Gogh?

At times I have felt that my body has betrayed the spirit of who I am.  A number of years ago, I experienced a crisis in faith that came close to destroying all my confidence in Him.  I believe that not only was my body worn down, but also my thinking and feelings became disoriented.

My prayers were lamenting in nature until finally I was simply quiet.  I had expressed everything I could say to God.  He knew all and had heard all.  There was nothing more to say.  I stood in silence.  I could not sense His presence in my life.  My thoughts told me that this could not be, but my feelings and body had no evidence of this.  I could only pray that He would guard my heart – the very core of me – while I went through this wrenching time.  It was like a cloud of pain enveloped my body and mind that prevented me from experiencing the light of His presence.  Psalm 42: 5 was my cry:  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God,” but I was unable to feel any hope that my condition would ever change.  Even my will to hope was flagging. 

Today I am in a new place.  I have moved from disorientation to a new orientation.  It happened gradually.  Many factors contributed to this new place within and without, the primary being God’s “fullness of time.”  “Waiting” was the spiritual discipline that I practiced.  Sometimes I waited patiently, sometimes impatiently; and in this time of waiting perseverance of character grew in my soul.

This life had become a casket of sorts for me with all its disappointments.  Through holy reading, meditation, and a visit with my 93 year old mother my vision for life began to extend from now into eternity.  “Someone” kicked the end out of my casket, and I flew out into the vast expanse of the eternal.  In time, I gained a new vision for my life as a whole.  What was happening to me here was a small part of what God has for me.  It is, however, not unimportant. 

Another factor of change was starting a small dose of anti-depressant.  I could not distinguish between my thyroid ups and downs, the chemical depletion that may have developed over the years of physical “hits” to my body, and the spiritual condition of my soul.  As I began this medicine, the weight on my mind began to ease.  Not only through a new vision of life, but also through medicine, God led me by His Spirit to a new place.

Finally, another influence on my soul during this waiting time was the opportunity to speak to a group of women about intimacy with Christ.  How was I ever going to be able to do that given the state of my own lack of feeling intimate with the Lord?  The friend who invited me to speak knows me well.  She believed for me that God would use me in this time, in spite of my emptiness.  So I went allowing God to use even my emptiness. I spoke of the truth of waiting at the well for Jesus to help us fill my jar with living water.  That experience of being a cracked vessel that God used in the lives of others was a great reassurance that I was not abandoned by Him.

Through that time, my body and my mind were transformed into a closer image of Christ. I now live with a larger eternal perspective; I have a deeper sense of peace as I face continued difficult circumstances in life; I am more hopeful about the good work within me that is to come; and I am joyful – not laughing out loud kind of joyful -- but a quiet anticipation of all that is and will be.  My soul is at peace.

Psalm 145: 14 & 15 “The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.  The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.  You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.”  How true this has been of my life!

In the days ahead more body issues will more than likely be a part of my existence here on this earth, but through His Spirit dwelling in my body, I pray the glory of God will be revealed.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: See, I have called by name Bezalel…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works…Exodus 31:1-5

Bezalel is the artist from the book of Exodus who designed the tabernacle and executed it with the help of talented assistants. The tabernacle was a large mobile tent, the place where God wanted to meet with his people. It was a well thought-out and beautifully designed work of art, that initially travelled with the Israelites and afterwards was accorded a prominent place in the Promised Land. The temple that Solomon commissioned to be built in Jerusalem more than four hundred years later was closely derived from the tabernacle’s design. Ultimately the Israelites used the design of Bezalel for 1500 years and we still study its construction, objects, and rituals to discover how God wants to be with us today.

 In his drawing Marc Chagall pictures Bezalel with many striking details. The artist is shown seated, which means that he is working from a position of rest. He is resting in God’s grace. He keeps his face averted from his work of art, likely because he wants to be connected to God while he is working. That idea is enhanced by the gold-yellow ribbon going from lower left across the whole picture to the upper right-hand corner. The yellow expresses the heavenly spheres, where the mind of the artist dwells. That is why you see a second (spiritual) eye outside of his body that along with the ribbon of light looks upwards. Bezalel is aware of his calling, because the heavenly glow touches his heart and raised right hand, which he offers in service.

On the other side, in the left upper corner of the drawing, another yellow area has been added. In this area a crowned bird flies with flaming wings towards Bezalel. The artist has turned his right ear towards the animal. He catches the secrets that the heavenly messenger whistles into his ear. It is the Holy Spirit, who connects heaven and earth.

Parallel with and underneath the yellow ribbon runs a blue ribbon. It touches the instruments the artist holds in his left hand. Bezalel is holding them loosely, so that they still can be moved by the blue, i.e. by the Holy Spirit who is flowing from the artist's interior.

Below the yellow and blue ribbon Chagall has painted a green ribbon, which symbolizes the earth and earthly life.

In the left half of the lithograph we see a large candleholder. It has five arms: the number of God’s grace. They are supplied with candles that spread God’s eternal light.

Above the candle flames we see two lions with human heads, a male and a female who incline towards each other. The two lions are connected by one crown. Above them we see hands spread out in blessing. Whenever the High Priest had met God in the Most Holy Place, he would come outside to bless the gathered crowd and confirm the covenant between God and his people. The holy tent of the covenant is rendered as a choepa, the canopy under which the Jewish marriage covenant is contracted. A man and a woman are joined to each other in the place where God unites himself with his people. The curtain around the hands is gathered in the tent’s roof into a pineapple as an image of fruitfulness.

In the middle of the top part of the lithograph we see an enormous sun. This vivid red form draws most of the attention in the representation. The sun symbolizes God’s eternal covenant of love with humanity. A star of David is drawn inside it. It did not yet exist in the time of the tabernacle, but Chagall, being Jewish, liked to bring it into his work. This symbol with the two triangles again shows the connection between heaven and earth, the theme that governs this whole work. On the star are painted the twelve precious stones of the twelve tribes of Israel, that were brought before God on the breastplate of the High Priest. They make clear that God’s care is for everybody, no exceptions. Inside the star is written God’s name: JHWH, meaning 'I am' – or rather more actively: 'I shall be there.' 

And that is precisely the heart of Bezalel’s work: he creates a meeting place for God and humans. Whoever knows how to capture that into a structure of such enduring power, must be a great artist. Bezalel was the first to make visible the source and aim of artistry in his work. For that reason I consider him the greatest of all artists.