Thursday, November 30, 2017

Luke 2:19 part 3


Detail, Luke 2:19
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017
In the center middle-ground Jesus is shown teaching the crowds. You can take your pick of gospel scenes in which Jesus is teaching or otherwise dealing with crowds of people. The Beatitudes come to mind, as put forth in the gospel of Matthew. In Luke, this is the sermon on the plain, and contains four blessings or beatitudes, and four woes. “Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now; for you shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice; for behold, your reward is great in heaven. But woe to you that are rich: for you have your consolation. Woe to you that are filled: for you shall hunger. Woe to you that now laugh; for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when men shall bless you: for according to these things did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:20-26) People sit in various attitudes of listening; a group is on the move away from the group listening to Jesus. Jesus was always amid the movements of life, but He was not swept up in them. Jesus acted among the people, but only after he had prayed in solitude. Could the group moving away be the disciples who left Jesus during the Bread of Life discourse? It was a teaching that many found too hard to accept; but it is at the root of the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus reiterates multiple times in the face of objections from his disciples that He is literally the Bread of Life, and all but the twelve leave Him. Jesus asked the twelve if they would leave too. Peter’s reply suggests he might leave if there was anywhere else to go – “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) - and that he understands that there isn’t. Is it possible that some of those who left returned later? Recall the Parable of the Two Sons. “A certain man had two sons; and coming to the first he said: Son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went.” (Matthew 21 28-32) Also, one among the twelve who stayed had now set his heart against Jesus.



A figure stands between the departing group and the entrance to the bridge, gesturing toward the bridge and inviting those toward whom he is turned to follow, where Jesus is entering Jerusalem riding on the colt of an ass. The crowds are adoring Him and waving palm fronds. Soldiers lounge, bored, at their duty posts. One leans over a parapet on the left, as if he has spotted someone in the crowd, or maybe he is trying to get a closer look at Jesus. “Is this that Messiah guy? He’s riding a yearling ass. What’s up with that?” A man fishes from the bridge, his glance following Jesus. His friend, with legs dangling over the side, waves a palm frond. Because some people would rather go fishing, even though Jesus has come to Jerusalem. At least they have noticed Him. Where the bridge meets the wall along the river, a man appears to be ecstatic, having to be restrained by his friends from falling. Perhaps he is like the woman that anointed Jesus with oil while He dined with Simon the Pharisee. Jesus said to him, “Her many sins are forgiven; for she loved much; but he to whom little is forgiven loves little.” (Luke 7:47) Or perhaps he is the Prodigal Son, who, welcomed home by his father after squandering his father’s wealth, was also forgiven much.

Detail, Luke 2:19
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017
Continued in the next post.
All scripture quotations from Douay Rheims




Monday, November 27, 2017

Luke 2:19, continued

Luke 2:19, continued


Detail, Luke 2:19
Copyright  Peter Bougie 2017
Mary wears a red veil. My primary reason for using a red veil instead of blue was for the striking effect of the color note. It makes for a strong focal point around Mary and the baby Jesus and commands attention. I have read that in Eastern Catholic and Russian Icon traditions the red veil was typical, and had a name: maphorion. Upon further reading I found there is disagreement about the meaning assigned to the colors blue and red; one for divinity, the other for humanity. In the painting Mary wears both colors.  The painting strives to show Mary’s humanity through her motherhood, so if red is the color of humanity, it is the dominant color here.

Detail, Luke 2:19
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017

Mary’s expression and gestures are intended to be visual indications of her pondering, and of her great love for her son Jesus. I wanted to be sure that Mary’s hands had the look of hands that did manual work. Her hands probably look older than they should, compared to her face. I think this also ties into another theme going on in the painting, of timelessness, intended to represent Mary pondering over her lifetime the words and actions of Jesus, and to refer to God’s view of human events; “But of this one thing do not be ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)



Thorns are symbolic of the Passion. They are intended to provoke a bit of squeamishness in their proximity to the baby Jesus. The thorns depicted are from a wild hawthorn (courtesy of John and Deb’s farm), western Wisconsin, North America. They are not exagerrated, they are really that long, very sturdy and quite sharp.

Detail, Luke 2:19
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017
The roses recall the scripture verse Isaiah 11:1: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.” Roses are associated with apparitions of Mary, such as at Guadalupe, and with many saints, including the Carmelite St. Therese of Lisieux – St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Detail Luke 2:19
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017

The scenes in the middle ground and the background represent the life and public ministry of Jesus, and His teachings, and as such the focus of Mary’s ‘pondering’ throughout her life. Jesus speaks with a Roman centurion. I had several reasons for including a depiction of a centurion. They commanded large groups of men in the Roman army, men who were skilled and experienced in brutal, close quarters combat. Centurions had to be very tough, very smart men – maybe not the type we associate with gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Centurions are present in several scenes in the gospels. A Roman centurion displays faith which amazes Jesus in a story featured in both Matthew and Luke. The centurion asks that Jesus heal his servant, and Jesus agrees to do so and indicates that He will accompany him to the place where the servant lies. But the centurion replies, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” (Matthew 8:8, also Luke 7:6) We repeat these words at every Mass as we prepare to receive the Eucharist, substituting the words ‘my soul’ for ‘my servant.’ The centurion holds a sword, which recalls the prophecy of Simeon to Mary; “And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.” The sword piercing Mary’s heart refers to opposition Jesus met with in many places, and to His Passion. The latter part of the phrase refers to the responses that people had to Jesus; He brought out a response of latent goodness from some, and of hatred from others. People long for justice, for meaning in their lives, and for the truth about their existence; they also are resistant to and harbor bitterness against the very same things. The centurion holds the sword across his breast, as if taking an oath. In fact, the word sacrament – an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual divine grace – comes from the Latin word sacramentum, which refers to an oath taken by Roman soldiers to defend the republic, and later the emperor. The figure of the centurion is also generally representative of the Roman state, which crucified Jesus. In the gospels of Matthew and Mark, the centurion presiding at the execution bears witness to Jesus: “Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed, this was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54, also Mark 15:39)

Continued in the next post.
Scripture quotations from Douay Rheims 

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Luke 2:19

Luke 2:19, Private Collection
Oil on canvas, 36 x 24
Copyright Peter Bougie 2017

Luke Chapter 2
And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. 2This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. 3And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David, 5To be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was with child. 6And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and Angels
8And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flocks. 9And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone around about them; and they feared with a great fear. 10And the angel said to them: “Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; 11For, this day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. 12And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying:
14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.”
15And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another: “Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath shewed to us.” 16And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. 17And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. 18And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
From “The Passion of the Infant Christ”, by Caryll Houselander:
“While Christ remained hidden in Mary, his rest was a tremendous activity; he was making her into himself, making himself from her. From her eyes he was making the eyes that would weep over Jerusalem, that would shine upon the wildflowers, that would close in death and open in the morning of Resurrection. From her hands he was making the hands that would heal and raise the dead and be nailed to the cross. From her heart he was making the heart whose love would redeem the world.”
“But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
The painting shown above takes its title from that scripture verse in Luke’s infancy narrative. Christ is shown as an infant, dependent on His mother Mary for everything required to sustain life. In this fact is revealed the profound love of God for his creation, humankind, and His profound humility, in that He came to live among us as one of us: He “emptied himself [italics added], taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men”. (Phillipians 2:7) God became a zygote; God emptied Himself into the form of an infant in the arms of its mother.
Mary and Jesus are shown resting in a decrepit setting, indicative of the spiritual condition of human beings due to sin. The basic condition for sin is our preference of our own will over God’s. Everything we do is subject to temporal laws of decline and dissolution. God came to live among us in these conditions. He had to grow up from helpless infancy like anybody else, although He is divine. “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27, also Matthew 19:26)

Continued in the next post.
All scripture quotations from Douay Rheims