Evil for Evil

Among the exhortations in Romans 12:9-21 is the encouragement to "not repay anyone evil for evil" (v. 17). This phrase was chosen by Alphonse Mucha as a subtitle for one of the panels of his masterwork "The Slav Epic."

Alphonse Mucha is best known as an Art Nouveau poster artist working in Paris. His posters usually included a female figure along with natural elements and the lettering typical of the Art Nouveau style. As much as he is associated with Paris, though, Mucha was in fact a Czech, born in what was then Moravia. He decorated the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion at the 1900 Exposition Universelle and collaborated on the Austrian Pavilion. While researching the culture, history and traditions of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mucha developed the idea of an epic for all Slavic people - what would become The Slav Epic. These twenty large-scale canvases illustrate twenty episodes in Slavic history, some specifically Czech history and others from the history of various Slavonic regions. Mucha's purpose for the epic was "to unite all the Slavs through their common history and their mutual reverence for peace and learning" and then to "inspire them to work for humanity using their experience and virtue" (Mucha Foundation). The twelfth painting is titled "Petr of Chelcicky at Vodnany: Do Not Repay Evil for Evil."

http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic/object/223

In this scene Chelcicky (also spelled Chelcice) walks among the dying, wounded and displaced citizens from the village of Vodnany, which found itself in the crossfire between the Hussites and the Germanic forces during the Hussite Wars. In the background, large plumes of smoke rise from burning homes while in the foreground Chelcicky, holding a Bible, encourages the people not to seek vengeance or retribution. The rejection of violence is a hallmark of Chelcicky's teaching.

The work, which shows not the battle itself but rather the aftermath of battle, was completed in 1918, probably not coincidentally the year that World War I ended. Though the clothes in the painting may be that of 15th-century Czech peasants, the overall scene of destruction, injuries, death and humans pushed almost beyond endurance is repeated in images from around our world today.  

Mucha seated in front of panels from the Epic.

For a full exploration of The Slav Epic see: http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic

Rocks, Arks, Baskets and Water

On this rock I will build the church. That's what Jesus tells Peter (Matthew 16:18). The baptismal font at Coventry Cathedral (England) takes that statement literally, building the church of Jesus Christ one baptism at a time using a rock baptismal font. Though almost completely destroyed by Nazi bombs on 14 November 1940, the cathedral was rebuilt, merging the ruins of the old cathedral with a contemporary expression of the cathedral form in an effort to give physical presence to the ideas of hope for the future and reconciliation.  

For Coventry Cathedral: http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/

The rock, a boulder from near Bethlehem, has a basin on top in the form of a scallop shell on the top. Ralph Beyer, a German-born letter-cutter, sculptor and teacher, designed and carved the shell. Beyer's family left Germany in 1932, but his mother, who was Jewish, returned to Germany during World War II, was incarcerated at Auschwitz and died there in 1945. Among many other commissions, Beyer carved Paul Tillich's gravestone in New Harmony, IN.

This font ties together the texts for Proper 16A/Ordinary 21A/Pentecost+11 remembering that in baptism the community remembers other stories of God's salvation expressed through water:

In the time of Noah, you destroyed evil by the waters of the flood, 

giving righteousness a new beginning.

You led Israel out of slavery, through the waters of the sea,

 into the freedom of the promised land.

Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church (USA)

The idea comes full circle in the Hebrew word for "ark" (תֵּבָה - tbh - tebah). This same word is used to describe the "basket" woven by Moses mother when she put him in the water to save him from Pharaoh's decree. Moses is saved when he is put in an "ark" on the waters of the Nile.

For a contemporary take on the reading from Hebrew scripture alone, click here.

For an old/new hymn that might be a good addition for this week's worship, see Art&Faith Matters on Facebook. 

Joseph, His Brothers (and Tissot) in Egypt

God meant it for good. That's what Joseph tells his brothers in Egypt. They came by different routes, of course, and set off on the journey from different impulses. Joseph has traveled there with the caravan of traders to whom his brothers sold him. The brothers have traveled to Egypt at the direction of their father in hopes of buying grain. The Bible says it's Egypt, but artists have, at times, seemed unable to help themselves. Their "Egypt" looks remarkably like France or Flanders or a Greco-Roman temple. For those artists, every Biblical subject was painted in their own time, using their own architecture and their own clothing styles.

At the other end of the spectrum is French artist Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902). Tissot traveled to the Near East several times between 1877 and 1902, when his energy was consumed with paintings for, first, a Life of Christ and then with illustrating the Hebrew Bible. Criticized as being "too photographic", Tissot did indeed photograph settings, buildings and landscapes, documenting the places and details he would need when he was back in his studio painting.

For the painting, see: http://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/26324-joseph-and-his-brethren-welcomed-by-pharaoh

While his work is by no means fully authentic, elements of Tissot's paintings can be identified with places in Egypt. In "Joseph and His Brothers Welcomed by Pharaoh" (above, right), the clerestory windows in the painting are direct quotations from the Karnak Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple complex (above, left).

The Jewish Museum, NYC, has a collection of Tissot paintings, including his version of the episode where Joseph announces his identity to his brothers. Under Tissot's brush, Egypt is vividly colored and patterned, distinctly different from the more subdued garments worn by Joseph's brothers. No doubt the brothers felt somewhat out of place even before Joseph makes the grand gesture in this painting. Though the architectural setting has not been specifically identified, the repetition of columns, windows and panels provides a geometric background for the organic forms of Jacob's sons. 

http://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/26323-joseph-maketh-himself-known-to-his-brethren

The columns seem more slender than most Egyptian columns (refer to the drawing above), but they echo the rather willowy figure of Joseph whose brothers do, in this moment, bow down to him as he dreamed long ago.

For a surprising expression of Egypt in church architecture, see the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/artfaithmatters