How Iconography re-"writes" my outlook on life...

Two weeks ago I wrote about painting or "writing" the Archangel Michael. Last week my Iconography class painted Abba Moses of Ethiopia and St. Mary of Egypt. Here's what happens when I paint or  "write" the icon of such saints: I get to know them and I begin to realize who I want to be in Christ.

With every new pattern applied and with every stroke of detail ... especially the fine detail lines of the features ... I remembered or heard new stories of their life and commitment to The Lord and as I meditated on that, my heart gave thanks for their example, repented of my own (or sometimes our own, meaning the Church today) selfishness and sinfulness, and then, sought for God's Kingdom and righteousness to be that present in my own life.

Abba Moses of Ethiopia

For example, here is one story from Abba Moses: A brother in the monastery was caught in a sin (I don't know what one, but it doesn't matter for the point of the story) and all the brothers needed to be present to assign penance. Abba Moses was sent for but did not come. He was sent for again and this time he came carrying a leaking bag of sand on his shoulder. When the brothers asked him what he was doing Abba Moses replied, "My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today I am coming to judge the errors of another." When the brothers heard this they forgave their brother and all left the matter behind them. 

How many times I have wanted to punish another for something he/she has done to me or to another or to the church? Abba Moses reminds me that following Jesus is the way of forgiveness ... in the manner that I have been forgiven. Some would ask, "But, what about correction and accountability?" Yes, I understand that need within the bonds of Christ's love. And yet, I ask myself, "I wonder* how that brother who stood waiting for penance responded when he heard Abba Moses' words and saw the other brothers walk away in forgiveness?" Is there a possibility that he brazenly lived on in that community, thinking he got away with something? Maybe. If so, what was that life really like for him? Did he really get away with something? I don't think so. He would still have been carrying his own bag of sand. I think rather he turned and sought to live more like Abba Moses ... like Jesus ... in humble service to his brothers. 

May we all be strengthened by God's Holy Spirit to live the same.

*Are you Godly Players smiling that I still "wonder" about stories? 

Archangel Michael

Archangel Michael

So, here's what I learned this week:
How I want to "write" this icon next time. Actually, as I was on my pilgrimage through this process this week I thought that I needed to write this icon over and over again... maybe one a week for a month ... so that I could get closer to the result I wanted. Then, it dawned on me. Isn't that what we do as Christians every day? Don't we get up and say our prayers and ask God to help us to be His people and do good in the place we live and love Him more and give thanks to Him and ... ? Don't we do this over and over again to get closer to the result we want? To be less of me and more like Him, Jesus our Lord and Master?

Tomorrow in liturgical services (RCL) we will hear the story of the woman who cries tears of repentance over Jesus feet, washing them and drying them with her hair. She anoints his feet with ointment. (Luke 7) And, she is forgiven of her sins because of her faith, because she loves much ... loves Jesus much ... and breaks open her heart for him. What a precious, wonderful gift that humble heart is when given to our Lord ... given to Him over and over again every day. That is an icon that gives us a window into heaven, that helps us along our journey of knowing God.

The Icon: Pilgrimage of Prayer

Sir Walter Raleigh, a poet-adventurer living during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, wrote:

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,

My staff of faith to walk upon,

My scrip of joy, immortal diet,

My bottle of Salvation,

My gown of glory, hope’s true gage;

And then I take my pilgrimage.

He may have written that about taking pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but when I read it I thought  of writing/painting an icon. We take very little on a pilgrimage while writing an icon. Quiet, faith, joy, salvation, hope ... these things of our immortal diet accompany us and sustain us along the way. This journey into a saint's life in Christ, this meditation of who he/she is and Whose he/she is and what God has done in and through him/her ... it is a pilgrimage of prayer.

Today, St. Michael the Archangel ... archangel of the Almighty God ... began to appear.

His name means "who is like God". He is a fighter, champion, and support for God's people. He lends confidence and courage by his presence. Daniel 12:1 says, "At that times shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people." Other versions say "protects your people", "stands for your people", "stands watch over your people", "the grand defender and guardian of your people". ... As believers in Jesus Christ, I know we have the Holy Spirit within us ... our greatest traveling companion. And, then He gives us St. Michael as well ... walking with us through times of uncertainty, sickness, pain, sadness, grief ... and even in the quiet stillness and peace. Oh how God cares for us...giving his angels to stand watch over us.

Humility, the Best Teacher

In his book, A Brush With God, Peter Pearson says, "As you paint, be prepared to learn some truly significant spiritual lessons that apply to every other aspect of your life. ... the most essential attitude to bring to this adventure is one of humility - a spiritual virtue that's greatly misunderstood. ...humility is grounded in reality. Humility is not self-deprecation but the ability to grasp clearly 'what is' without the excess baggage of ego. The ego - that habitual self-centeredness we all struggle with - takes on many forms. It's subtle and sly and unrelenting. The Gospels challenge iconographers, like all Christians, to abandon themselves to the journey that lies ahead. And this requires humility.... At every step, do the very best you can. Let go of the need to control things. ... Allow yourself to be present. Let all thoughts, ideas, and even feelings go with each moment. Never mind what lies ahead or what has gone before. As you paint, allow God to hold the concerns you carry in your hearts." p. xii-xiii

Well, today subtle, sly ego got in the way.
Let me show you...

RIGHT: I taped the area around the head for painting. Did OK.

BELOW RIGHT: Then, I took my time to layer the various tones and textures for the hair and skin tones. I know...looking at this you might think that this is where I got in the way. No, that is the color for the hair and skin. Although you can begin to see my ego appearing. When I began this layer, I thought to myself, "I can do this! We've done this before and I've learned this lesson. I know what I need to do." Hmmm. Ah, me. It should be much more red and textured. I was a bit too overzealous in my application and lost the mottled kind of texture needed for the base layer.

Now...This is where ego so got in the way...

REALLY BELOW RIGHT: The layers of skin tone are built up slowly using a cross-hatch method using slightly lighter and lighter hues of a color. This is meant to allow the base layer to shine through, giving warmth and life. You can see what happened here. Ego.
I am pretty good with making those small little lines, and  as I was cross-hatching away, I was thinking, "This is going to look really good!" And, then, my mind went to all the things happening right now in my life. My thoughts and my prayer began to focus on ...me... and not St. Michael the Archangel and his power to accomplish God's work on this earth. Sigh. I now have a sort of Ghost Busters portrayal of St. Michael.

My teacher says it is completely redeemable, but my ego stamps its feet and crossing its arms cries, "No! It's ruined!" Hogwash is the word to use in response. Was it a mistake? Yes. But, it needs forgiving and a gentle brush of a warm glaze to restore what is needed for Michael's features. It won't look like the original, but it already doesn't look like the original because I am holding the brush and not my teacher. But, that doesn't mean that at the end of the week, I won't have an icon of St. Michael the Archangel. I will just have one that flowed through my brush, with all my gifts and failings flowing through it. Ego did get in the way, but I hoped I learned a lesson in the process. Let God inspire the brush and He will shine through you. This takes humility. So...

Stay focused on God.

May God be praised. +++

PS...Here is a video about one young woman, Katie Davis founder of Amazina MInistries, whose humility is an example for me. Watch her laugh...joy will well up ...

The Saint Develops

So, take a look at day 2's work ... the progression of the clothing:

I know. Slow going, huh? I looked at my work from today and thought I hadn't done much and then I realized that I have thought this very same thing about my own progress toward spiritual maturity. When slow, consistent steps are taken, it's sometimes hard to see that any steps have been taken at all. But, really, those are the steps that give you the definition of faith in your life. Those are the steps that help you to clothe yourself in godliness. Those are the steps that "develop" your character ... develop your heart into a reflection of the heart of God.

If you look closely at the work I did today, you will see mistakes. In fact, I'm not happy with the robe...too heavy on the red "highlights". But, in the overall view of things, these kind of mistakes are redeemed to complete the work. Isn't that what God does for us and with us on this journey in the Way of His Kingdom? Yes. It is. We are saints in the making, working alongside the Holy Spirit as our lives are "written"... and redeemed for His Names' sake.

Introduction to Iconography

St. Michael is masked off in order
to work on the background.

This is my third Iconography class. And, it is now the third method I'm learning to "write" an icon. Yes, you "write" an icon vs. "paint" an icon. An icon is not meant to be a photograph, a real representation of what the person looked like. It's not a portrait. Every element of an icon - color, gesture, clothing, etc. - contributes to narrate the person, tell you about who they are in the family of God. Everything "written" in the icon points to what is written in Scripture. It is an outward sign of the inward grace ... Grace ... we see in the person spoken about. And, to write an icon ... is to pray.

Today, we began with a blank board - pure white, polished to a wonderfully smooth surface without any defect. Indeed, that surface represents the purity, innocence, and perfection of God. In the method I am learning, this surface will shine through. I thought about that and it struck me ... "I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness." (Isaiah 61.10a) And, who is that righteousness but Jesus Christ our Savior?! " It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption." (1 Corinthians 1:30) His righteousness shines through us for He lives in us.

Then, the halo is masked to apply a glaze.
I put it on a bit heavily and so it doesn't glow as it could.

Today, while writing this icon of St. Michael the Archangel ... as I prayed through the day ... I became more and more aware of Christ's righteousness and the power of His righteousness that lives within us. Indeed, it shines through our individual colors and gestures and daily living (clothing). My walk with Him in this life, our walk with Him, is about the daily revelation (revealing) of His righteousness alive in us.

I am overwhelmed with joy ... joy in the LORD my God!

After the halo, a border is added,
then the name is written in.

Edamame Hummus Anyone?

Those of you who personally know me, know that I am NOT a cook ... or at least not in the true sense of the word. I cook when I NEED to, but for the most part I do the least amount of preparation possible for the best tasting eating. This means a good deal of what I make is raw or fresh or done in foil on the grill (no clean up!). But ... I love edamame hummus. This is love in the range of "I can't get enough of this stuff!" And, we can't find it in our grocery stores. This has forced me into the kitchen.

So, the search is on for the best Edamame Hummus recipe. This is the best one I found so far from "Oh My Veggies" food blog:

"Better-than-Trader-Joe's Edmame Hummus"

ingredients

• 1 c. cooked edamame
• 1/4 c. tahini
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh herbs (optional--I used rosemary, thyme, and basil)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (add more if you like your hummus creamier)
• salt to taste (I used 1/4 tsp.)

instructions

1. Combine edamame, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs in food processor. Process until smooth. Drizzle olive oil through feed tube, continuing to process until oil is fully incorporated. Season with salt to taste and serve.

This is great with fresh cut veggies, on a sandwich, with pita chips, on a spoon. I hope you whip some up, take it out onto your porch or deck or lawn chair and savor its freshness and the joy of green and life and all the good things that come to us through our Father's hands. This is definitely one of them! Happy Day to you.

Surely goodness and mercy shall hunt you down...every single day.

This is straight from Ann Voskamp's blog ... I think from yesterday? The link is in the sidebar: A Holy Experience. I am completely taken by one word: RADAPH. Look for this friend today. Actually, after reading you will see radaph is God himself, God hunting us down with himself ... his goodness and love and mercy and grace and joy and ... I can't take it in. For He does this every moment of every day ... all the days of our lives. AMEN?

From Ann Voskamp:

"I had told my mother that once:

Your whole life can feel like you are running for your very life, like you are trying to out run a tsunami of stress.

Trying to stay ahead of everything that’s nipping hard at your heels. Whole decades can be marked by exhaustion.

The pastor had preached it and I had sat there between the Farmer and the kids and tried to keep my mind focused on the words and not the whirl of to-do lists in my head. He had had us stand and recite Psalm 23. Had us say it right out loud: 

Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue all the days of my life.

He said that you can think goodness and mercy just follow you, but the Hebrew word for ‘follow’ is ‘radaph’ and it means to “to pursue, to run after, to chase” or, quite literally, “to hunt you down”. The word radaph, that one that goodness and mercy is doing in Ps. 23:6, it is first found in Genesis 14, when Abram discovers that his nephew Lot has been kidnapped and Abram gathers an army of 318 men and “pursued them unto Dan” (Genesis 14:14). The word ‘pursued’ there? It’s is ‘radaph’.

I come home from Sunday sermon and write it in white on the blackboard. Radaph!

Chased!

And I can feel it, how when a new week starts to run after me, the goodness and mercy of God isn’t just following after me placidly. The goodness and mercy of God pursues after me passionately. It’s what I keep thinking, picking up lost legos, errant books — like how my mama used to dash off the front porch and run down the lane after me, waving about whatever book I forgot for school — and who else is behind a forgetful, rat-race world but the chasing God?

God is so bent on blessing, He chases.

God’s not out to get you — He’s out to give to you.

And God’s blessings don’t pursue temporarily — but relentlessly. It’s right there in His Word: His goodness and mercy pursue me not just some days — but all the days of my life. When I’m in a wilderness, His mercy and goodness run after me. When I’m hurting, His grace hunts for me. When I’m plagued by problems, His goodness pursues me.

No matter where I go, He has his two blessing men right there in hot pursuit: goodness and mercy, and no shadow of death can overshadow the goodness and mercy that shadows the child of God.

Even the discipline of the Lord can be a grace of the Lord and all the interruptions of a day can be the intercessions of Christ.

I whisper it to myself when it’s noon on the first day of the week and everything is closing in on me and I am already behind:

Whatever is chasing you — no matter what it looks like — it’s grace.

And grace isn’t what makes us feel good: grace is all that makes us more like Jesus.

I can breathe deeper. I could smile. I don’t have feel anything pressing on my chest — I could live relieved. Like I can re-live.

Because the real truth is: God wants to bless more than we want to be to be blessed. So why run from whatever God is giving? It’s only got to be for my ultimate good and His ultimate glory.

We don’t live in pursuit of a better life – it’s the blessed life that’s in pursuit of us.

It’s there on the counter, that open journal where I count gifts, and it may feel like I’m looking for goodness and mercy, but it’s grace and mercy that finds me. No one chases grace — but grace chases everyone.

I feel like a happy fool making lunch in the kitchen, piano notes banging loud in the basement, washing machine humming too, and I am laughing over nothing, over everything, over joy, a love like this. Radaph on the wall, goodness and mercy everywhere —

And nothing can overwhelm me — like grace can overtake me.

No matter when you look over your shoulder, that’s what you find: God’s blessings overtaking you. No matter what a day, a life, looks like, this is what it all stacks up to for every person on the planet: We are all chased by grace.

No matter what is hounding, the Hound of Heaven is closer — His warm breath of blessing right there on the nape of my neck.

And in the kitchen, with the timer beeping — I reach over, kiss a boy smack on the forehead, the world full of His goodness and mercy and Glory —

and I am slowed and I turn right around.

“Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life…”  Ps. 23:6 NLT

“Your beauty and love chase after me …”    Ps. 23:6 MSG

…. that He RADAPHs after us with beauty and love goodness and mercy — chased by grace! more of His endless, One Thousand Gifts … thanks be to God for all of His blessings."