A WORD FOR THIS SEASON - Judgement
The season of Lenten reflection and fasting serves as an opportunity for personal repentance and corporate reawakening. The 40 day journey culminates in the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection making Easter Sunday one of the most important days in the Christian calendar marking Jesus’ victory over death on the cross and allowing believers to celebrate his life. Accept this painting from Daniel Bonnell as a gift for you as you prepare for Holy week leading up to Easter.
Daniel Bonnell is a working artist, an author, and a teacher. He is known throughout the United States, England, and Israel as one of the few noted sacred painters of the 21st Century. Bonnell received his BFA degree from the Atlanta College of Art and his MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and his paintings are found in churches around the world, and private collections. If curious, his art may be found at BonnellArt.com. I stumbled upon Daniel Bonnell’s art a few years ago while looking for a creative way to engage gospel narratives in the New Testament and now he serves as a regular ‘go to’ for me when I am anxious to revamp, rekindle, or re-engage my understanding of scripture or my embrace of a significant season in the Church calendar like Lent.
HERE is a link to print one of his current pieces of artwork titled “JUDGEMENT.” Judgement is a word that we have become accustomed to seeing and feeling in our current cultural climate and the painting acknowledges that.The scene is intense. There are themes of discord, mockery, humility, and loneliness. Bonnell captures it all! Interestingly, he chose to paint this event on ‘grocery bag’ paper on purpose because he wanted a medium that was humble, modest and world wide. His three step process was simply to:
Paint the painting.
Ball up the paper.
Flatten with an iron to depict an aged and weathered texture.
What I appreciate about his style of painting is his ability to capture ‘moments’ in scripture. As a stand alone, those moments are intense, transformative, complicated, and telling. They demand the observer to engage, look deeper, pause and think. For that, I am grateful. During this 2021 Lenten season he also seems to catch the ‘corporate moment’ we are all dealing with around the globe surrounding civility, blame, isolation, and disruption. In many ways, this painting shows not only that Jesus is ‘counter cultural’ as so many Biblical historians are apt to point out, but also affirms the common understanding that oftentimes the majority opinion in scripture tends to be wrong.
I don’t know exactly which ‘scene’ in Holy Week Bonnell attempted to highlight for this picture, but it could certainly be the selected passage from LUKE 23: 13-23 below:
Pilate gathered the people together with the high priests and all the religious leaders of the nation and told them, “You have presented this man to me and charged him with stirring a rebellion among the people. But I say to you that I have examined him here in your presence and have put him on trial. My verdict is that none of the charges you have brought against him are true. I find no fault in him. And I sent him to Antipas, son of Herod, who also, after questioning him, has found him not guilty. Since he has done nothing deserving of death, I have decided to punish him with a severe flogging and release him.” For it was Pilate’s custom to honor the Jewish holiday by releasing a prisoner.
When the crowd heard this, they went wild. Erupting with anger, they cried out, “No! Take this one away and release Barabbas!” For Barabbas had been thrown in prison for robbery and murder. Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, tried to convince them it was best to let Jesus go. But they cried out over and over, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
A third time, Pilate asked the crowd, “What evil crime has this man committed that I should have him crucified? I haven’t found one thing that warrants a death sentence! I will have him flogged severely and then release him.”
But the people and the high priests, shouting like a mob, screamed out at the top of their lungs, “No! Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Finally their shouts and screams succeeded. - Luke 23: 13-23
As you enter Holy Week, ponder the following questions surrounding this painting and accompanying scripture:
Q. What character stands out from the painting?
Q. Of the gestures and raised hands etc, what do you notice? How does it make you feel?
Q. What do you glean from the posture of the person of Christ? (both internally and externally)
Q. In the passage above which verse or statement in the scripture seems to be represented by the painting? How?
Q. In what ways do you see ‘JUDGEMENT’ depicted in the painting and the passage. What new perspectives on the word do you have as you prepare to celebrate Easter?
For better or worse, JUDGEMENT may be the word for this Season and the purpose of Holy Week is to reenact, relive, and participate in the passion and punishment of Christ. Judgement by its nature, demands a response and that response is clearly felt in the three days spanning Good Friday to Easter. Perhaps as Spring enters our world we can explore how to be people of peace who are grateful to receive and extend grace in a season of Judgement. Hopefully, GRACE may be the word for the coming Season.
Written by: 5.4 Friday Team