The Shepherd is a Lamb is a Gate is a...Human?

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Three of the readings designated for Easter 4A (Psalm 23, I Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10) refer to shepherds and/or sheep. The Lord is our shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus is also the gate through which the sheep enter. Jesus is also the lamb, sacrificed for all of us sheep who have gone astray. It's a tangled skein of yarn.

Recent art conservation added an interesting twist to Christian scripture as an intersection of sheep and humans. The Ghent Altarpiece was created by brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck around 1432. The altarpiece is made up of  twelve panels that can fold in and expand in several combinations to tell several different stories.

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck. Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. 1432. St. Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium.

The heart of the altarpiece is a panel called "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" (above). At the center of the panel, the Lamb of God stands on an altar, a side wound bleeding into into a chalice. Around the lamb are saints and martyrs. Beneath (in front of) the altar is a fountain inscribed with Revelation 22:1, a reference to the river of the water of life. The panel, and the altarpiece as a whole, are rich in symbols and narrative.

The altarpiece is sometimes identified as the most stolen work of art in the world. It's hard to quantify that, but both individual panels and the altarpiece as a whole have been stolen multiple times. It was most famously stolen - and recovered - in the 2014 film The Monuments Men. 

In 2012, the latest round of restoration began on the altarpiece. In this restoration, old varnish was removed along with overpaintings that have been done almost since the altarpiece was first displayed. The final phase of the work was revealed several months ago. One of the most surprising finds was the original state of the face of the lamb. The lamb owed it appearance before restoration to overpainting done probably in the 16th century. When that overpainting was removed, the lamb looked significantly more human. Eyes that had appeared more on the side of the lamb's head were discovered to face fully to the front. One of the Van Eyck brothers had outlined the lamb's eyes and more fully defined the face. With the removal of the 16th-century paint, the lamb gazes much more forcefully at the viewer, and the viewer is more fully confronts the eyes of God's sacrificial lamb. 

Detail. Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Before restoration (left) and after restoration (right).

Reactions and responses to the discovery have been mixed. Words like "cartoonish" and "disturbing" have been used, and one writer characterized the Lamb of God as an "alien creature." Like it or not, this much more humanoid creature seems to be the vision of the 15th-century artists who created it. Perhaps rather than asking whether we like it, we should be asking what it means. What does it mean that the lamb is looking directly at us as it bleeds into a chalice? What does it mean to have a more human face on the Lamb of God? What was happening in the time and place of the creation of this piece that this was the Lamb of God?

The Lord is our shepherd - a good shepherd. But our Lord was also the sheep. And human. Like us. For us.

For further reading about the restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece, see:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/arts/design/mystic-lamb-ghent-altarpiece-van-eyck.html
https://sintbaafskathedraal.be/en/art/the-mystic-lamb.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51205614

For another look at a human/animal portrait mix, see this "recycled" Art&Faith Matters Facebook post. The scripture isn't the same, but the images are in the same vein. 

Luke 15.1-10: Two

Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:1-10) Images that incorporate this text usually show just that. One sheep down in a ravine with a shepherd hovering close by, reaching down with a crooked shepherd's staff ready to crook the handle around the sheep's neck and pull it up to the ledge where the shepherd is waiting. So it is with the two paintings here. Neither moves beyond illustration of the setting of the story: shepherd, staff, sheep, clouds in sky, mountain, reaching.

It is when the two paintings get together that something interesting becomes apparent. What do you see?

(Left) Unable to identify artist or collection of this painting. Please email if you can help. 

(Right) Alford U. Soord. The Lost Sheep. Many different versions (including prints) of this painting exist. 

One version is at the Church of St. Barnabas, Homerton, East London.

Though some things are similar, two differences emerge. One is the depiction of the sheep. In the image on the left, the sheep is black, perpetuating the symbolism of the sinner as a "black sheep." The Soord painting does not include that stereotype.

That one lost sheep...how obvious is that sheep? Does the "lostness" show up on the outside of the animal in addition to the sheep physically being absent? Does the stereotype want us to imagine the shepherd finally finding the lost sheep and exasperatedly saying, "I might have known that you would be the lost one"? 

The second difference is the point of view. In Soord's painting we are looking over the shoulder of the shepherd. We see past the shepherd across the seemingly bottomless valley to the mountains beyond, seeing the bird flying in the the space in between. In the painting on the left, we are parallel not to the shepherd but to the sheep. We are looking up into the face of the shepherd. 

That point of view offers us the thought that perhaps there was another lost sheep. And maybe that other lost sheep...is us.

For thoughts on the lost coins, click here. 
For another look at found sheep, see Art&Faith Matters on Facebook.

Mark 6.30-34, 53-56: Or a Dog

Mark's gospel shows us Jesus who has compassion for the people who need him. Jesus encourages the disciples to get away from work and rest for a little while and then he heals people in the crowd who have followed him from one side of the lake to the other (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56; Proper 11 (16)/Pentecost +8). Jesus has empathy for the people because he knows they are sheep without a shepherd. So he takes on the role of shepherd as he moves through the countryside, caring for those in his flock who are sick or injured.

That's what shepherds do. They care for their flock, providing for food and water, for rest, for health, for safety and security. Humans and animals have been the subject of painting since paleolithic artists drew on cave walls. Certainly shepherds and sheep are part of that tradition, from ancient Greece to modern art.

You might ask of these pictures where the shepherd is in relationship to the sheep. Does the shepherd lead from the front? Bring up the rear? Is the shepherd standing in the middle of the flock? Sitting nearby? No doubt an attentive shepherd would be in all those places depending on the task at hand, the time of year, or the current situation. A quick search online will show art that has the shepherd in all those poses.

Camille Pisarro. Shepherd and Sheep. 1888. Private Collection.

But Jesus' characterization of the people is missing something. He refers to them as sheep without a shepherd. But in many (most?) paintings of shepherds and sheep, the shepherd is assisted in his task by a dog. Search images of the annunciation to the shepherds. Many of those images will show the shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night...with the help of a dog.

Herding dogs help shepherds with their work. Responding to commands they work in partnership with the shepherd to herd sheep, cattle...and even the children of their family. To see the amazing (and sometimes amusing) ability of herding dogs, click here. My favorite herder has always been the rough collie.

Jesus has compassion on the people because they don't have a shepherd...OR a dog.

For thoughts on 2 Samuel 7:1-14, click here.
To find out about a tear-inducing (you've been warned) tale of Jesus and a puppy, go to Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page.

Ezekiel 34.11-16, 20-24: The Persistence of Sheepery

Reign of Christ marks the last Sunday in the lectionary year. The next week we start a new liturgical year and a new lectionary year (B). For this final Sunday in A, the reading from Hebrew scripture returns to the world of...sheep (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24).

Through the year, scripture tells of lost and found sheep, of sheep gone astray, and of sheep in God's pastures. In hundreds of references, sheep have been held up as models and examples. Sometimes good examples, sometimes not so much. Sheep have been stand-ins for the people of God. They have been described as "without blemish". They have been sacrifice and economic source. They have been the means of atonement and the main course at the feast. They have been tithe of the people and practice for future kings. They have been everywhere.

And now the year ends...with sheep. Most folks may think more of bones than of sheep when considering the writings of the prophet Ezekiel, but God's message here is every bit as life-affirming as the moment with the dry bones. The affirmation is possible mostly because the scripture passage isn't so much about the sheep as about the shepherd.

God says: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.

And that is how the liturgical year ends: with the shepherd gathering the flock. Scattered, hungry, lost, the sheep are gathered again, are fed, and are rested by God who is their shepherd. Maybe that is the best way to end a year: remembering that though human beings may perpetually be sheep, God has promised to be our shepherd.

The illustration is by German-born illustrator Michael Sowa. Exact source of the illustration is unknown. Sowa has illustrated Sowa's Ark: An Enchanted Bestiary and illustrated A Bear Called Sunday and The Little King December. His movie credits include Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Amelie. His work is available in posters and card on the internet. 

For thoughts on the Gospel reading for Reign of Christ A, click here.  

For news from the art world (which is related to the themes of the Reign of Christ), click here (which should take you directly to the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page.

John 10.1-10: I Am the Gate

Among the "I am" sayings of Jesus, "gate" may not be among the most frequent answers to a "fill in the blank" question. However, this particular "I am" saying is found in the Gospel reading for Easter 4A (John 10:1-10), along with several other texts that either mention or are centered on sheep.

While many of the "I am" sayings are poetic and lovely - bread of life, resurrection and the life, vine, and more - the "gate" image shows us Jesus not as poetry, but as a necessary, functioning object. Without the gate, the sheepfold (or pen) is useless. Sheep may indeed wander in, but they can just as easily walk right out.

Sometimes the shepherd literally became the gate, lying down in front of the opening of the fold so that no sheep can walk out - and no predator can walk in - without the shepherd being alerted. Caring for the sheep. Abundant life for the sheep. That's the bottom line for Jesus, the Good Shepherd. As sheep, we are blessed.

Photo: Dry stone sheep pen, Scotland.

John 10.11-18: The Hireling Shepherd

The Gospel reading for Easter 4B (John 10:11-18) includes the good, the bad and the ugly of shepherding. It includes the familiar assertion by Jesus that he is the good shepherd who would and does lay down his life for the sheep.

But artists aren't always drawn to the good. Sometimes the bad and/or the ugly are more interesting to draw. In the case of William Holman Hunt, it seems that the bad and the ugly were more prevalent, so that was his focus. His painting is titled "The Hireling Shepherd," and though it is not a direct representation of John 10 (there is no wolf in the painting), it does still capture the message of the text.

William Holman Hunt. The Hireling Shepherd. 1851. Manchester City Galleries, Manchester, England, UK. http://www.manchestergalleries.org/ 

Hunt has shown a shepherd whose mind is clearly not on his sheep. He is fully engaged with the young woman who has wandered by, and slung on his back is a keg for beer or cider, so no doubt he has or will offer to share that with her. But even as he pursues her, he foreshadows the results of his neglect. In his left hand he has a death's head moth with which he is trying to impress her. The moth, whose very name is a reminder of mortality should cast a shadow over the composition. For death is surely what will happen to the sheep.

In the right background, a sheep is about to wander into a wheatfield. Sheep normally forage for green pasture plants like clover and grass. While sheep can (and do) eat grain, eating too much too quickly can lead to digestive and other problems. An unattended sheep, like a kid turned loose in a candy store, will no doubt eat both too much and too quickly. The farmer raising the wheat will probably not be thrilled to have one (or eventually more) sheep trampling his crop. The shepherd does not seem to care about either eventuality.

Closer to the shepherd, at least physically, is the lamb in the lap of the "shepherdess". Less than an arm's length away from the one(s) who should care for it, the lamb is being supplied with a "feast" of green apples. The apples, judging by their size in relation to the shepherd's hands, seem to be unripe. These green, sour apples will not be good for the young creature.

Hunt claimed that the main source for the picture was Shakespeare (King Lear, III.6). But it is hard to discount the gospels as well. Hunt did identify the actions of the clergy of his day as examples of this subject. In a letter from 1897 he wrote:
Shakespeare's song represents a Shepherd who is neglecting his real duty of guarding the sheep: instead of using his voice in truthfully performing his duty, he is using his "minikin mouth" in some idle way. He was a type thus of other muddle headed pastors who instead of performing their services to their flock — which is in constant peril — discuss vain questions of no value to any human soul. My fool has found a death's head moth, and this fills his little mind with forebodings of evil and he takes it to an equally sage counsellor for her opinion. [cited in J.D. Macmillan, "Holman Hunt's Hireling Shepherd: Some Reflections on a Victorian Pastoral," The Art Bulletin, vol. 54, no. 2 (June 1972): 188. 

The careless shepherd in the picture should indeed be more attentive to his flock, and every pastor should take note, especially as the word pastor is, in Latin, the word for shepherd. It is worth remembering, though, that the Reformation doctrine of the priesthood of all believers makes attentive care for God's flock incumbent on all believers, not just clergy.

The Good Shepherd cares for chickens, too. Well, sort of. See more about this catacomb painting on the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page. Click on the link.

For thoughts on Acts 4:5-12, click here.