I pledge allegiance . . . to the slaughtered Lamb

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

This litany of resistance was compiled by Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw, Jim Loney, and Brian Walsh, and is published in the book Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals (Zondervan, 2008).

One:  Today we pledge our ultimate allegiance to the kingdom of God.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To a peace that is not like Rome’s.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the gospel of enemy love.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the kingdom of the poor and broken.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To a king that loves his enemies so much he died for them.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the least of these, with whom Christ dwells.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the transnational church that transcends the artificial borders of nations.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the refugee of Nazareth.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the cross rather than the sword.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the banner of love above any flag.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war horse.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the Way that leads to life.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  To the slaughtered Lamb.
All:  We pledge allegiance.
One:  And together we proclaim his praises, from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power.
All:  Long live the slaughtered Lamb.
One:  Long live the slaughtered Lamb.
All:  Long live the slaughtered Lamb.

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Tee Time: Jesus Bakes

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Jesus bakes cookiesFound at zazzle.com.

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Christian Art in the National Gallery, London: Two Books

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

For about a thousand-year span (from roughly the eighth through seventeenth centuries), images of Jesus dominated Western art. Annunciations, Nativities, Last Suppers, Crucifixions. Preaching Christs, healing Christs, dead Christs, risen Christs. Christ as the Good Shepherd or Pantocrator. Perhaps these sorts of images seem dry and stilted to you; uninspiring, artificial—always the same dead stares, always the same pious poses and gestures. They used to seem that way to me. But when I took an art history course my sophomore year of college, it really opened up my understanding and appreciation of the masterpieces of earlier centuries and enriched my faith as well. I had never realized how much meaning was packed into some of these paintings. That’s because I had never allowed myself the time to get lost in a painting—I never gave the pictures a fair chance to resonate. And I had never learned the language of the artists of each age.

Painting the Word by John DruryThe Art of Worship by Nicholas Holtam

Here are two books that aim to help you sharpen your spiritual perception when it comes to art viewing, each written by an Anglican clergyman, and each confined to paintings from the National Gallery in London: Painting the Word: Christian Pictures and their Meanings by John Drury, former dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and The Art of Worship: Paintings, Prayers, and Readings for Meditation by Nicholas Holtam, former vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. My intention was to read both and then recommend the best one (there is, after all, a lot of overlap in the image selection), but alas, I have to recommend both! They do take different approaches, though, so it depends on what you’re looking for.  Continue reading →

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Upcoming Book Discussions

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

I read a lot of books.  With an hour-long bus ride to and from work every day, there’s plenty of time for reading.  And having a husband at MIT gives me access to books from university libraries all over the country, including Yale Divinity and Harvard Fine Arts, which, believe me, I take excellent advantage of.

There’s a lot of time for reading, yes, but considerably less time for writing.  I have a backlog of at least thirty books that I’d like to write about.  Here are some of them (a post on the first two is forthcoming this weekend):

  • Painting the Word: Christian Pictures and their Meanings by John Drury
  • The Art of Worship: Paintings, Prayers, and Readings for Meditations by the Reverend Nicholas Holtam
  • God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It by Jim Wallis
  • Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
  • The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind—A New Perspective on Christ and His Message by Cynthia Bourgeault
  • Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth by Bart D. Ehrman
  • The Christ Connection: How the World Religions Prepared the Way for the Phenomenon of Jesus by Roy Abraham Varghese
  • The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianityby Philip Jenkins
  • Printing the Word: The Art of Watanabe Sadao, ed. Patricia Pongracz
  • On a Friday Noon: Meditations Under the Cross by Hans-Ruedi Weber

Like Saint Augustine, “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write” (Letters cxliii).  That’s one of the main reasons I started this blog:  to share what I’m learning about Christ, and through that act of sharing, to learn even more.  Writing forces me to consolidate and make sense of all the information I gather throughout the week.  I love the challenge!

If you want to see what books I’m reading at any given time, check out my Shelfari site.  I’m pretty good at keeping it current.  I’ve also started adding information for books with a minimal or nonexistent online presence—mostly out-of-print art books, or books published outside the United States.  I add basic information like contributors and page count, but I also scan in the cover and enter in a list of illustrations.  Two things I like to know before purchasing art books are:  How many illustrations?  And are they in color?  On Shelfari, I specify these two items in the “Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis” field.  Most recently, I’ve been creating records for On a Friday Noon and P. Solomon Raj’s Biblia Pauperum.

Victoria's Shelfari shelf

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Tee Time: Jedi Jesus

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Star Wars JesusMay the force be with you.

Found at threadless.com.

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“The Transfiguration” by Sufjan Stevens

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones
The Transfiguration by Lodovico Carracci

Lodovico Carracci, “The Transfiguration,” 1594-95. Oil on canvas, 438 x 268 cm. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, Italy.

(See below to listen to this song from Sufjan Stevens’s 2004 album Seven Swans.)

“When he took the three disciples
to the mountainside to pray,
his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame.
Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came;
they were at his side.
The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.

Then there came a word
of what he should accomplish on the day.
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place.
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade.
They fell on the ground.
A voice arrived, the voice of God,
the face of God, covered in a cloud.

What he said to them,
the voice of God: the most beloved Son.
Consider what he says to you, consider what’s to come.
The prophecy was put to death,
was put to death, and so will the Son.
And keep your word, disguise the vision till the time has come.

Lost in the cloud, a voice: Have no fear! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Turn your ear!
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Lamb of God! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Son of God!”

 

In this episode from Scripture (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36), the deity of Christ is once again affirmed.  “This is my Son,” God says.  “Listen to him!”  Behold his radiant face.  Look down the pipeline of human history and see how the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) were pointing to him all along.  He is their glorious culmination, their fulfillment.

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Tee Time: PAL Jesus

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Pal Jesus Found at PALcampaign.com.

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Prayer to the Eternal One

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

“Eternal One,
Silence from whom my words come;
Questioner from whom my questions arise;
Lover of whom all my loves are hints;
Disturber in whom alone I find my rest;
Mystery in whose depths I find healing and myself;
enfold me now in your presence;
restore to me your peace;
renew me through your power;
and ground me in your grace.”
—Ted Loder, “Ground Me in Your Grace,” in Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle (San Diego: LuraMedia, 1984), p. 5

Noah

Walter Habdank, “Noah,” 1979. Woodcut. Published by Pattloch in “Die Bibel” in 1995.

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Jesus-Beatles-Lamb Chop Mashup

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

I saw this painting on Matthew Paul Turner’s website and just had to post it here.  It’s called Jesus Broke Out the Lamb Chop Puppet and Hired an Angel to Try and Cheer Up a Clinically Depressed Paul McCartney.

Jesus with Paul McCartney and Lamp Chop

Kata Billups, “Jesus Broke Out the Lamb Chop Puppet and Hired an Angel to Try and Cheer Up a Clinically Depressed Paul McCartney,” 2000. Acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 ft.

Jesus with Paul McCartney and Lamb Chop(That’s Jesus on the left—the one in the black bathrobe and flip-flops.)

Artist Kata Billups describes the painting on its eBay page:  “Jesus likes Paul, so he hired an angel to tidy up his apartment. . . . Jesus’ expression is slightly mischievous. He knows that Paul doesn’t want to communicate directly—so he moves the puppet’s little lambswool mouth and uses a silly falsetto voice in an attempt to cheer Paul up.”

Billups said that she wanted to say something about Jesus that hasn’t been said before.  . . . Mission accomplished, I’d say.  (Read David Shapiro’s interview with Billups on fuse.tv.)  Continue reading →

Posted in Jesus Kitsch, Pop Culture, Western Art | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Tee Time: Martini-Sippin’ Jesus

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Victoria Emily Jones

Martini JesusFound at 6dollarshirts.com.

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