The Ascension of Christ - by Pietro Perugino
Musée Municipal des Beaux-Arts, Lyon
Image from Web Gallery of Art
Preface of the Ascension
Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Luke 24:50-53
The Ascension of Jesus
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Jesus left the earth with his resurrected body, but he promised to ask his Father to send the Spirit to teach us all the truths we need to know. I trust that the Spirit teaches us today if we open our minds and hearts to learn the lessons. Jesus promised to love us always and, with the Father and the Spirit, to make his home with us.
Thanks be to God.
I love the brilliant colors in the painting and the beautiful balance in the arrangement of the figures. I love the sweep of the folds in the garments and the movement of the streamers. Perugino stands among the best of the Italian Renaissance artists.
No Sandals?
ReplyDelete;=)
Göran, no sandals. And do you notice how gracefully all of the feet in the painting are placed?
ReplyDeleteNo, not really... I'm not into feet :-(
ReplyDeleteBut I came across this idea of sandals left behind (wink, wink, nod, nod) preparing for yesterday's sermon ;=)
Made me giggle - but then the interesting thing is that there is almost nothing said about the Ascension itself in the gospels.
No "facts"...
Luke (may have been a lady) which is the original story (Mark's is an addition - and the Acts version is later) didn't even say, originally, all of what it says now.
The "...was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him..." is not in the eldest witnesses, which, incidentally is the Western tradition.
So this disappearance in the middle of the road was so overwhelming that they didn't actually try to convey it in an comprehensible form until much later...
(... just as the differing stories on the open grave shows something really happened ;=)
Göran, I had not noticed the graceful pose of the feet until you called my attention to the missing sandals, so I blame you for my apparent foot fetish.
ReplyDeleteToday's Lectionary includes the account of the Transfiguration from Luke. It struck me that the Transfiguration prefigures the Ascension, in that, for a few moments, Jesus enters that other realm, where he converses with Moses and Elijah. Perhaps, he was preparing the three disciples who accompanied him for his eventual bodily departure from the earth.
As I was writing the post, I noted how very little is actually written about the Ascension in the Bible.
Yes, I was thinking of the Transfiguration as well. Read it first in fact, befor coming to the "real" subject matter.
ReplyDeleteBut I would say that the Transfiguration, as a kind of vision, is easier to get to grips with, than someone just disappearing into thin air.
Nor did they have cell-phones those day, so they could'n even take a photo of it ;=)
Much more reachable to have someone you love butchered on a cross or seeing an empty tomb. Dead is dead and empty is empty.
But vanished?
I think we often overlook how difficult and un-understandable most if not all of this must have been to the poor disciples.
ReplyDeleteAlso they were very young - remember how they are frightened during the storm.
Experienced fishermen know how dangerous a storm is, but they to not get afraid; they do what they must do.
But these little fellas were scared stiff.