Yesterday I dedicated 'The Baptism of Jesus', a painting by Rosalind Hore which my family have donated to St Edmund's Tyesley in memory of my Dad, Phil Evens, and the time that he spent there as Vicar. This is what I had to in the dedication section of the service:
The painting that is to be dedicated today has come to be here through commission4mission, a Christian Arts organization which aims to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a means of fundraising for charities and as a mission opportunity for the churches involved. commission4mission promotes the purchase of works of art by churches through donations given in memory of loved ones. This painting has been donated by our family in memory of the Revd. Phil Evens, in remembrance of his ministry here as your Vicar.
The artist who created this painting, Rosalind Hore, is a sculptor and painter of Christian subjects – Christ figures, nativity sets, Ecce Homo, Stations of the Cross etc. She works in clay, plaster, concrete (figures can also be bronze cast at the foundry). Her paintings are mostly in acrylic of the events in the life of Christ. She has been an art teacher throughout her working life, has taken part in the Cambridge Open Studios (creating a sculpture garden and art gallery at her home) and has led art groups and projects in the parishes where she has lived. She has a sculpture in the Bible Garden at St Mary's Goring-by-Sea and another currently displayed at St Laurence Upminister, where her husband is Rector.
Rosalind’s painting of ‘The Baptism of Jesus’ sees water, fish, cross, crown, dove, fire and light – all the signs and symbols of Jesus’ future ministry – swept up together to coalesce around the baptised Jesus. Vigorous movement and vibrant colour combine to depict the glory of the Son who is here commissioned by the Father and empowered by the Spirit.
I would like us to reflect for a while on those two aspects of Jesus’ baptism – the Father’s call and the Spirit’s empowering – using thoughts and prayers from material that my Dad used with you when he was here. Let us pray …
Father God, you fulfilled your promise coming to our world so that every person, including us, can see you through Jesus Christ. Helpless God, as child and crucified, laid in a cradle and cradled on a cross. Help us to see in your submission, not weakness, but your passionate work of love for us here today. May the light and wonder of your living Holy Spirit come on us that we might all hunger and thirst to see your love and justice prevail in our world and in this community. Amen.
The call of God is firstly to explore new areas of ourselves and the world around us. This is the choice that God is always placing before us as a way to extend ourselves and our vision; to get off the old familiar track, break with old habits and experience the excitement of new ground and new vistas. Every now and again our eyes are opened and we see beyond the narrowness of our day to day vision into new spiritual dimensions of awareness and experience. In quite unexpected and even joyful ways showing us a world we never dreamed was there but which was with us all the time! It is not a new world that has been born rather that we have woken from a sleep to behold new things and new opportunities.
The call that God is giving us is also to see the wounds and become aware of the hurt of the people, their despair, their sin, the violent fear. To feel the brittleness, the defeat, the spirit of hopelessness in others. To share frustrations, griefs, and the loneliness of the deprived when surrounded by plenty; the anger, when expected to grin and cope with it, by the wealthy, the powerful, the protected. This is a heavy burden, particularly as we realise too our own ordinariness and the feebleness of our own personal nature to be any influence. We need God’s anointing and authority to respond to this call.
Eddie Askew (one of those like David Adam that Dad regularly quoted in his sermons) has stated it very clearly:
"Lord, they're not easy,
the demands you make.
You come into my life
bringing joy and freedom and peace.
And it feels good.
But that's only the beginning.
Because along with that
you ask for commitment.
For loyalty. Discipline.
For all my time and energy.
My abilities, to be used in your work.
I'm no longer my own, but yours ..."
Being fully committed to the Jesus life means for Eddie Askew that he "never knows what will happen next!"
"I never know what will happen next
On the road you've shaped for me.
I only know that you make demands.
For some it's martyrdom. Suffering.
For some it's publicity. Or politics.
Maybe that's a kind of martyrdom
for those who do it honestly.
For most of us
it's just the struggle to keep our balance
as we walk along the footpath of faith."
The earthly situations of our everyday lives, our families, our work, our time should be filled with the Presence, life and power of the Holy Spirit. Not just when we come to a Church service!
The reality is that the abundant life in Jesus means that we do become poor in the eyes of the world around us. Yet, we become spiritually rich in our new found freedom in Christ because, through His Spirit, He shares with us the Presence of God; gives us gifts with which to serve Him; and the power we need. So, His Spirit, through the death, the crucifixion of our worldly nature, allows us to be resurrected and to grow into the stature of an adopted Son or Daughter of God Himself. We do die to ourselves, but in doing that rediscover our true life and identity as followers of Jesus Christ.
So, let us pray: May the Spirit of Jesus come upon us afresh today as His people here. May it be His presence within that makes us fervent for Him, and committed to living out the Good News. Your Spirit, Lord, is like the wind. We are conscious of Your Presence, but equally the Holy Spirit comes and goes where it will in today's world. Thank you Lord, that we do not control your movement or your will. We are not gods. We are, in faith, your adopted children. Help us to discern Your will and seek Your hand for our daily walk.
May we hear Your call. May Your hand clasp ours as we move each day along life's pilgrimage seeking to be close to You, close to Your Holy Spirit's incarnation among the people for whom Christ died. Renew us in Your love, and re-create that vision for people and their neighbours which reflects your longings for justice for the poor. Lord, may Your will be increasingly powerful in our land today.
And as we pray, we thank you for the vision of you which we see in this painting. We pray that, as we see it week in, week out here in St Edmunds, it may inspire us to respond to the call of God on our lives and to pray to be filled with the Spirit in order that we live out that call in our daily lives. We thank you for Rosalind Hore and for her response to you which created this painting. We thank you too for Phil Evens, in whose memory it is given to this church, and for his example of following your call in his life. Lord Jesus, we dedicate this painting of your baptism to you and your glory in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Finally, a prayer of David Adam:
Jesus the Saviour, save us from sin.
Jesus the Way, watch, warn, walk with us.
Jesus the Truth, teach, tell, transfigure us.
Jesus the Life, lead, lighten, love us.
Jesus the Shepherd, seek, strengthen, save us.
Jesus the Door, direct, draw, deliver us.
Jesus my Peace, pity, pardon, purify us.
Jesus Risen, revive, recreate, renew us. Amen.
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John Mellencamp - A Ride Back Home (Hey Jesus).
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