London, 2025
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazing Blondel - Anthem.
Sunday, 5 October 2025
Faith as small as a mustard seed
Here's the sermon that I shared at St Gabriel’s Pitsea this morning:
Brother Lawrence was a member of the Carmelite Order in France during the 17th Century. He spent most of his life in the kitchen or mending shoes, but became a great spiritual guide. He saw God in the mundane tasks he carried out in the priory kitchen. Daily life for him was an ongoing conversation with God. He wrote: 'we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment.'
Brother Lawrence also said that ‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.' The Parable of the Mustard Seed is an illustration of this truth. In that brief parable a small action, the sowing of a small seed, leads to the growth of a large plant. Jesus says that, in a similar way, the kingdom of God has small beginnings but grows to become something much larger. In today’s passage (Luke 17:5-10), Jesus says we only need a small amount of faith – faith as small as a mustard seed – to accomplish great things, like moving a tree to the sea. As a result, we should, like Brother Lawrence says, in no wise despise small actions.
The phrase a ‘mustard seed’ has entered our language as a little idea that grows into something bigger and that is of course literally what happened with the Jesus movement itself. It was a relatively small grouping of obscure people that died when its founder, Jesus died, but which, following his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost grew to become the largest religion in history and also within the world currently.
We also see this illustrated in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. Long centuries have come and gone but all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
The Early Church reveals the same pattern to us. Paul writes to the Christians at Corinth and says, “think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” He says in this letter that, in the eyes of the world, Christians are foolish and the message of the cross is foolish.
The same words could actually be applied to us: none of us are major intellectuals or academics; none of us have major influence or power in terms of work or politics; none of us, so far as I know, were born into the aristocracy. The reality is that wonderful as each of us are, we are not major players on the world stage and that makes us, in human terms, one among millions of other human beings around the world. When we think of ourselves in those terms it easy to see ourselves and what we do as being small and insignificant.
We may not like to think of ourselves as being foolish, as well as insignificant, but that is how Paul describes the Corinthian Christians from the perspective of those considered wise in their culture. It is no different today, Richard Dawkins wrote in The God Delusion that God is a “psychotic delinquent” invented by mad, deluded people and our faith in God is a “process of non-thinking,” “blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence.”
BUT what Jesus demonstrates through his life, death and resurrection and what Paul states in his letter to the Corinthians is that “the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” The Message, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, puts it like this:
“Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.”
So, the kingdom of God is a place of multiplication. The kingdom of God is a place of exponential growth. The kingdom of God is a place where the tiniest seed can become the biggest plant. The kingdom of God is where faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain. The kingdom of God is a place where a grain of yeast can make a whole batch of dough rise. The kingdom of God is a place where a child’s lunch can feed 5,000. The kingdom of God is a place where the salt of our behaviour can flavour the community in which we live. The kingdom of God is a place where the little we can offer can be used to the praise and glory of God.
Just as in the parable of the mustard seed, our small inputs can have a big effect and, just as with Jesus’ words about faith here, the influence that one person can have can move a mountain. We could respond to this by thinking what small thing can I do today that will have a big effect but the reality is that we are rarely able to accurately predict future effects. Instead, we can learn, like Brother Lawrence, to value small, mundane actions in the knowledge that, if well done for the love of God, these actions can have significantly larger impacts.
And, because we know of this process or pattern or plan of the small, the insignificant, the foolish, being used by God to achieve great change, we can trust that our lives also have meaning and significance as we put our faith into practice in small acts of compassion here and little words of witness there; at home, in church and in the community. We don’t know what God will cause to grow from these actions and words but we trust that they will take root and grow because that is the pattern that we, and Christians throughout Church history, have observed in practice. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
Brother Lawrence was a member of the Carmelite Order in France during the 17th Century. He spent most of his life in the kitchen or mending shoes, but became a great spiritual guide. He saw God in the mundane tasks he carried out in the priory kitchen. Daily life for him was an ongoing conversation with God. He wrote: 'we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment.'
Brother Lawrence also said that ‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.' The Parable of the Mustard Seed is an illustration of this truth. In that brief parable a small action, the sowing of a small seed, leads to the growth of a large plant. Jesus says that, in a similar way, the kingdom of God has small beginnings but grows to become something much larger. In today’s passage (Luke 17:5-10), Jesus says we only need a small amount of faith – faith as small as a mustard seed – to accomplish great things, like moving a tree to the sea. As a result, we should, like Brother Lawrence says, in no wise despise small actions.
The phrase a ‘mustard seed’ has entered our language as a little idea that grows into something bigger and that is of course literally what happened with the Jesus movement itself. It was a relatively small grouping of obscure people that died when its founder, Jesus died, but which, following his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost grew to become the largest religion in history and also within the world currently.
We also see this illustrated in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. Long centuries have come and gone but all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
The Early Church reveals the same pattern to us. Paul writes to the Christians at Corinth and says, “think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” He says in this letter that, in the eyes of the world, Christians are foolish and the message of the cross is foolish.
The same words could actually be applied to us: none of us are major intellectuals or academics; none of us have major influence or power in terms of work or politics; none of us, so far as I know, were born into the aristocracy. The reality is that wonderful as each of us are, we are not major players on the world stage and that makes us, in human terms, one among millions of other human beings around the world. When we think of ourselves in those terms it easy to see ourselves and what we do as being small and insignificant.
We may not like to think of ourselves as being foolish, as well as insignificant, but that is how Paul describes the Corinthian Christians from the perspective of those considered wise in their culture. It is no different today, Richard Dawkins wrote in The God Delusion that God is a “psychotic delinquent” invented by mad, deluded people and our faith in God is a “process of non-thinking,” “blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence.”
BUT what Jesus demonstrates through his life, death and resurrection and what Paul states in his letter to the Corinthians is that “the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” The Message, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, puts it like this:
“Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.”
So, the kingdom of God is a place of multiplication. The kingdom of God is a place of exponential growth. The kingdom of God is a place where the tiniest seed can become the biggest plant. The kingdom of God is where faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain. The kingdom of God is a place where a grain of yeast can make a whole batch of dough rise. The kingdom of God is a place where a child’s lunch can feed 5,000. The kingdom of God is a place where the salt of our behaviour can flavour the community in which we live. The kingdom of God is a place where the little we can offer can be used to the praise and glory of God.
Just as in the parable of the mustard seed, our small inputs can have a big effect and, just as with Jesus’ words about faith here, the influence that one person can have can move a mountain. We could respond to this by thinking what small thing can I do today that will have a big effect but the reality is that we are rarely able to accurately predict future effects. Instead, we can learn, like Brother Lawrence, to value small, mundane actions in the knowledge that, if well done for the love of God, these actions can have significantly larger impacts.
And, because we know of this process or pattern or plan of the small, the insignificant, the foolish, being used by God to achieve great change, we can trust that our lives also have meaning and significance as we put our faith into practice in small acts of compassion here and little words of witness there; at home, in church and in the community. We don’t know what God will cause to grow from these actions and words but we trust that they will take root and grow because that is the pattern that we, and Christians throughout Church history, have observed in practice. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Randy Stonehill - Strong Hand Of Love.
God's presence in the everyday
Here's the sermon that I shared at St Catherine's and St Andrew's this morning:
God calls us, in prayer and contemplation, to see his presence in the everyday, our everyday lives, tasks, activities, and the people and things we see around us. With spiritual insight we will see Christ in all these things. In Philippians 4.4-9 we read: whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. We are, therefore, encouraged to go through life looking for God and the good in all that is around us.
Today, therefore, we are going to pay attention to one of our Harvest donations. This humble jar of Branston Pickle. I wonder what we can see of God in this jar when we spend time with it and think about it. How might we see something of Christ in a jar of Branston Pickle?
Does anyone know what is in Branston Pickle? Branston Pickle is made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions and cauliflower pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and spices. Reflecting on this aspect of its manufacture can lead us to give thanks to God for the wide variety of vegetables he has made and for those farmers who grow them.
Does anyone know where the recipe for Branston Pickle was created? We can give thanks, too, for the human creativity – another gift from God – that resulted in the recipe for Branston Pickle, which was first made in 1922 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, by Crosse & Blackwell.
For those who like it, Branston Pickle enhances certain meals by adding zest and flavour. Giving thanks to God for tasty and nutritious meals is what we do when we say Grace. We can certainly do this in relation to enjoyment of Branston Pickle. A partly consumed jar, as this now is, is a reminder to us of the many occasions and people who have enjoyed this food to date. Each of them has received something good from God for which we can give thanks.
There’s a part-used jar of Branston Pickle in the art installation we currently have in church. Usually, we might simply toss a part-used jar of Branston Pickle way without a further thought, however, in this Season of Creation we are specifically thinking of how we can reuse waste items. Including everyday items like this jar in this installation provides us with the opportunity to stop, to look, to think and to pray about humble, everyday items. If we are open to that possibility, there is much for which we can be thankful as a result of contemplating such an object.
Jesus encouraged us to be like salt in our everyday lives (Matthew 5.13). Salt is an ordinary, everyday object which is used sparingly to flavour and preserve food. A little salt has a significant effect. Just like salt, Branston Pickle enhances and flavours meals. Perhaps, if he were teaching today, Jesus might have taken a jar of Branston Pickle as his illustration to encourage us to be people that provide zest and flavour to the lives of others and to our community.
Today’s New Testament reading from Philippians encourages to look for good in everything around us. To pay attention to the things we see and to contemplate them. In this way, we can have a Harvest Festival every day of the year by celebrating the good things we see around us and remembering that they are all good gifts from God for which we should give thanks.
Just as we have done with this jar of Branston Pickle, why not go through your cupboards or rooms at home on a regular basis to reflect on what you can see of God in the everyday objects you have around you. If you do then you will be putting today’s reading into practice and will see the ordinary things around you in new ways as a result. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Mayer - Everything Is Holy Now.
Friday, 3 October 2025
Visual Commentary on Scripture: Bible and Art Daily
The Visual Commentary on Scripture is launching a brand new daily email exploring the Bible through art. Through concise but vivid day-by-day encounters, Bible and Art Daily will take you on a series of journeys through the world of Scripture and the history of art.
The VCS have spent the last year bringing together experts in theology and art history to carefully curate a treasury of week-long series, each exploring a particular theme, an artistic medium, or a biblical character. Find out more and subscribe here.
The VCS have spent the last year bringing together experts in theology and art history to carefully curate a treasury of week-long series, each exploring a particular theme, an artistic medium, or a biblical character. Find out more and subscribe here.
The VCS is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art. It helps its users to (re)discover the Bible in new ways through the illuminating interaction of artworks, scriptural texts, and commissioned commentaries. The virtual exhibitions of the VCS aim to facilitate new possibilities of seeing and reading so that the biblical text and the selected works of art come alive in new and vivid ways.
Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three art works, and their associated commentaries. The curators of each exhibition select artworks that they consider will open up the biblical texts for interpretation, and/or offer new perspectives on themes the texts address. The commentaries explain and interpret the relationships between the works of art and the scriptural text.
Find out more about the VCS, its exhibitions and other resources through a short series of HeartEdge workshops introducing the VCS as a whole and exploring particular exhibitions with their curators. These workshops can be viewed here, here, here and here.
My first exhibition for the VCS was 'Back from the Brink' on Daniel 4: 'Immediately the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men, and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.' (Daniel 4:33). In the exhibition I explore this chapter with William Blake's 'Nebuchadnezzar', 1795–c.1805, Arthur Boyd's 'Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Tree', 1969, and Peter Howson's 'The Third Step', 2001.
My second exhibition was 'A Question of Faith' and explored Hebrews 11 through the paintings of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon. McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Over 45 years, his work encompassed many themes, subjects and styles, from landscape to figuration to abstraction and an innovative use of painted text. His adaption of aspects of modernist painting to a specific local situation and his intense engagement with spiritual matters, mark him out as a distinctive figure in twentieth-century art.
My third exhibition was 'Fishers of People'. This exhibition uses Damien Hirst's 'Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding (Left) and (Right)', John Bellany's 'Kinlochbervie', and Paul Thek's 'Fishman in Excelsis Table' to discuss Matthew 4:12-22 and Mark 1:14-20. These artworks give us what is essentially a collage of the kingdom whereby we are invited to imagine the kingdom of God as a body of water in which Christians are immersed and through which they are raised.
Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three art works, and their associated commentaries. The curators of each exhibition select artworks that they consider will open up the biblical texts for interpretation, and/or offer new perspectives on themes the texts address. The commentaries explain and interpret the relationships between the works of art and the scriptural text.
Find out more about the VCS, its exhibitions and other resources through a short series of HeartEdge workshops introducing the VCS as a whole and exploring particular exhibitions with their curators. These workshops can be viewed here, here, here and here.
My second exhibition was 'A Question of Faith' and explored Hebrews 11 through the paintings of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon. McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Over 45 years, his work encompassed many themes, subjects and styles, from landscape to figuration to abstraction and an innovative use of painted text. His adaption of aspects of modernist painting to a specific local situation and his intense engagement with spiritual matters, mark him out as a distinctive figure in twentieth-century art.
My third exhibition was 'Fishers of People'. This exhibition uses Damien Hirst's 'Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding (Left) and (Right)', John Bellany's 'Kinlochbervie', and Paul Thek's 'Fishman in Excelsis Table' to discuss Matthew 4:12-22 and Mark 1:14-20. These artworks give us what is essentially a collage of the kingdom whereby we are invited to imagine the kingdom of God as a body of water in which Christians are immersed and through which they are raised.
The fourth exhibition I curated for the VCS was 'Before the Deluge', a series of climate-focused commentaries on Genesis 6 looking at 'The Flood' by Norman Adams, 'Noah in the Ark and a Church' by Albert Herbert, and 'Noah's Ark' by Sadao Watanabe.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ocean Blue - Sublime.
Thursday, 2 October 2025
Launch event: What Music Means to Me
Great to be at the launch today, at local care home The Grange, of Cathy Sahadevan's 'What Music Means to Me'.
Cathy shared that: “Through the choir, residents developed confidence, built friendships, and enjoyed unforgettable opportunities, including meeting Tim Howar from Mike and the Mechanics, and forming a connection with national treasure Tony Christie. I was inspired to write the book because I wanted to share my story and bring the power of music to people living with dementia.”
Cathy decided to share her story in book form, with encouragement and support from the choir members themselves. She hopes her journey will show others that you don’t need formal music training to make a difference, just passion, enthusiasm, and the belief that music can reach people when words cannot.
"This book is a heart warming memoir that celebrates a tale of success and the spirit of giving it a go. It's an inspirational tale that shows the joy that music can bring to the hearts and minds of people living with dementia."- Tony Christie.
The choir’s journey has created a vibrant culture both within and beyond the The Grange Care Home, earning awards, supporting charity work, and attracting the backing of organisations such as Music for Dementia. The choir continues to evolve, spreading happiness and creating magical moments wherever they perform.
Peyton Miles, Foundation Manager at Music for Dementia, praised Cathy’s work, saying: “What happens when one person decides to ‘give it a go’? In this touching GIAG story, a care home is transformed through music, as a once nervous choir blossoms into a source of pride, purpose, and joy for residents and staff alike.”
The choir’s journey has created a vibrant culture both within and beyond the The Grange Care Home, earning awards, supporting charity work, and attracting the backing of organisations such as Music for Dementia. The choir continues to evolve, spreading happiness and creating magical moments wherever they perform.
Peyton Miles, Foundation Manager at Music for Dementia, praised Cathy’s work, saying: “What happens when one person decides to ‘give it a go’? In this touching GIAG story, a care home is transformed through music, as a once nervous choir blossoms into a source of pride, purpose, and joy for residents and staff alike.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Voice Choir - You Raise Me Up.
Wednesday, 1 October 2025
God comes first
Here's the sermon that I shared at St Andrew’s Wickford this morning:
Recently, we got an urgent call in the early hours of the morning as my mother-in-law was being taken to A&E as the paramedics thought her heart was failing. We had to get up and go to be with her and everything else that had been planned for that day had to be rearranged.
Thankfully, she has rallied somewhat and, while still being frail, is on the mend. Our experience of having to drop everything and go was similar to Jesus' response to potential disciples, which was one of absolute immediacy and urgency (Luke 9. 51 – end). In this passage Jesus challenges his actual disciples and his would-be disciples about what it means to follow him and be a disciple.
In speaking to would-be disciples Jesus is emphatic that God comes first. Before commitments to home and to family, God comes first. This is the practical implication and application of Jesus’ summary of the Law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul; and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’”
As one example, “The obligation to bury one’s father was regarded by many Jews of Jesus’ time as the most holy and binding duty of a son; but Jesus says that that is secondary to the call to follow him and announce God’s kingdom.” Jesus’ call cuts across family life and our traditional understandings of family. Here, even saying goodbye to your family before you leave seems to be criticised by Jesus!
Jesus is talking here to people who were wanting to be part of his itinerant ministry but, as we heard a couple of weeks ago, he also had followers who stayed in their homes and workplaces and who provided support for the team of disciples who were on the road. So, these words of Jesus don’t mean that every Christian should leave home and family in order to follow him but they do mean that wherever we are we must put God first in our lives.
Despite that I wonder how we might inject a similar sense of urgency into our service of God? Jesus knew that his time was short and that there was much to do in that short space of time. We follow God throughout our lives and therefore don't have that same sense of immediacy and urgency.
In the back of our minds we know that time is short and that we never know what lies around the corner. Often, we don't like to contemplate that reality but much of Jesus' teaching takes us into that space.
Jesus' call is that we put God first and make God central to our lives and our ministry. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This passage asks us what we will leave, what we will drop in order to do that. Some things are too important to put off any longer.
There is no point pretending that any of this is easy. What Jesus says to his would-be disciples still strikes us today as extreme but he is doing is making clear the real choice for us; between putting God first or putting ourselves, our needs and commitments first. That is the choice and dilemma that faces us each day. If we are to be followers of Jesus, then we need to continually say to ourselves WWJD; What would Jesus do. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
Recently, we got an urgent call in the early hours of the morning as my mother-in-law was being taken to A&E as the paramedics thought her heart was failing. We had to get up and go to be with her and everything else that had been planned for that day had to be rearranged.
Thankfully, she has rallied somewhat and, while still being frail, is on the mend. Our experience of having to drop everything and go was similar to Jesus' response to potential disciples, which was one of absolute immediacy and urgency (Luke 9. 51 – end). In this passage Jesus challenges his actual disciples and his would-be disciples about what it means to follow him and be a disciple.
In speaking to would-be disciples Jesus is emphatic that God comes first. Before commitments to home and to family, God comes first. This is the practical implication and application of Jesus’ summary of the Law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul; and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’”
As one example, “The obligation to bury one’s father was regarded by many Jews of Jesus’ time as the most holy and binding duty of a son; but Jesus says that that is secondary to the call to follow him and announce God’s kingdom.” Jesus’ call cuts across family life and our traditional understandings of family. Here, even saying goodbye to your family before you leave seems to be criticised by Jesus!
Jesus is talking here to people who were wanting to be part of his itinerant ministry but, as we heard a couple of weeks ago, he also had followers who stayed in their homes and workplaces and who provided support for the team of disciples who were on the road. So, these words of Jesus don’t mean that every Christian should leave home and family in order to follow him but they do mean that wherever we are we must put God first in our lives.
Despite that I wonder how we might inject a similar sense of urgency into our service of God? Jesus knew that his time was short and that there was much to do in that short space of time. We follow God throughout our lives and therefore don't have that same sense of immediacy and urgency.
In the back of our minds we know that time is short and that we never know what lies around the corner. Often, we don't like to contemplate that reality but much of Jesus' teaching takes us into that space.
Jesus' call is that we put God first and make God central to our lives and our ministry. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This passage asks us what we will leave, what we will drop in order to do that. Some things are too important to put off any longer.
There is no point pretending that any of this is easy. What Jesus says to his would-be disciples still strikes us today as extreme but he is doing is making clear the real choice for us; between putting God first or putting ourselves, our needs and commitments first. That is the choice and dilemma that faces us each day. If we are to be followers of Jesus, then we need to continually say to ourselves WWJD; What would Jesus do. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ocean Blue - Love Doesn't Make It Easy On Us.
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Artlyst - The Art Diary October 2025
My latest Art Diary for Artlyst features exhibitions by several artists whose work I have championed through essays and exhibitions, as well as solo and group shows that explore environmental, social, and spiritual concerns. Read on for news of exhibitions by Michael Landy, Ana Maria Pacheco, Robert Smithson, and Suzanne Treister, among others, together with shows at Compton Verney, Firstsite, Pallant House, and the Engelundsamlingen in Vrå:
'‘Everyday Wonder to Revelation’ at Clare Hall, Cambridge, is an exhibition providing a rare opportunity to see paintings by Caine. These paintings delve into the core Neo-Platonist idea of the oneness of the world, the nodus mundi. We see this in his depictions of everyday objects, such as rugs, mopheads, carpets, and bundles of cloth. Although his subject matter is humble, the intricate depth of his draughtsmanship reveals unity and cohesion. We see it too in his expansive and luminous landscapes. When Caine blends his perceptions of space and shimmering light in the landscape with his exploration of the core in everyday things, he presents us with a vision of worlds beyond. His images invite us to step through a veil into barely imagined possibilities. Through his exploration of the small, the infinite beckons; through his exploration of the wonder of the everyday, revelation becomes possible.
In the essay I wrote for the exhibition catalogue, I note that: “Without reference to standard religious iconography and with a primary focus on landscape, still life, and portraits, Caine imbued and infused his work with spiritual reflection and with spirituality itself. That he did so in ways that allow those who do not share his beliefs to enthusiastically embrace and appreciate his work for their many other compelling qualities is a testament both to Caine’s skill as an artist and the subtlety of his understanding of the connection between earth and heaven.”'
My other pieces for Artlyst are:
Interviews -
In the essay I wrote for the exhibition catalogue, I note that: “Without reference to standard religious iconography and with a primary focus on landscape, still life, and portraits, Caine imbued and infused his work with spiritual reflection and with spirituality itself. That he did so in ways that allow those who do not share his beliefs to enthusiastically embrace and appreciate his work for their many other compelling qualities is a testament both to Caine’s skill as an artist and the subtlety of his understanding of the connection between earth and heaven.”'
My other pieces for Artlyst are:
Interviews -
- Michael Petry Discusses In League With Devils with Revd Jonathan Evens
- Sean Scully A Humility Towards Nature
- Winslow Homer: American Passage An Interview With Biographer Bill Cross
- Grayson Perry Tapestries On Show At Salisbury Cathedral
- Sidney Nolan’s Africa: Interview With Andrew Turley
- Ilona Bossanyi: Tate’s Ervin Bossanyi Stained Glass Window Mothballed After 2011 Redevelopment
- Louis Carreon: Sampling Art History
- Modus Operandi - What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed
- Genesis Tramaine: A Queer Devotional Painter
- Lakwena Maciver: Review-Interview Hastings Contemporary
- Nicola Ravenscroft - Sculpture With A Peaceful Stillness
- Artist Hannah Rose Thomas – Tears of Gold – Interview
- Marcus Lyon: Human Atlas Explorations
- Elizabeth Kwant Interview
- Helaine Blumenfeld: Undulating Structures
- National Gallery Explores ‘Sin’ In New Exhibition – Interview Dr Joost Joustra Curator
- Betty Spackman: Posthumanism Debates
- Christopher Clack: Connecting The Material And Immaterial
- Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
- Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
- Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
- Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
- Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
- Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
- Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
- Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
- Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields
- Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar
- The August/September Art Diary
- The July Art Diary
- The June Art Diary 2025
- The May Art Diary 2025
- The April Art Diary 2025
- The Art Diary March 2025
- The Art Diary February 2025
- The Art Diary January 2025
- The Art Diary December 2024
- The Art Diary November 2024
- The Art Diary October 2024
- The Art Diary September 2024
- The Art Diary August 2024
- The Art Diary July 2024
- The Art Diary June 2024
- The Art Diary May 2024
- The Art Diary April 2024
- The Art Diary March 2024
- The Art Diary February 2024
- The Art Diary January 2024
- The Art Diary December 2023
- The Art Diary November 2023
- The Art Diary October 2023
- The Art Diary September 2023
- Jeremy Deller In Rennes And Brittany Post-Impressionism – August Diary
- The Art Diary July 2023
- The Art Diary June 2023
- The Art Diary May 2023
- The Art Diary April 2023
- The Art Diary March 2023
- The Art Diary February 2023
- Surveying New Exhibitions With A Spiritual Twist January 2023 Art Diary
- Christmas: The Art Of Faith December 2022 Diary
- Soulages And Strange Clay November 2022 Art Diary
- Alexander de Cadenet And Michael Forbes October 2022 Diary
- Spiritual Joseph Beuys Plus More: September Diary
- Holiday Snaps – End Of Summer Art Diary
- Art Search: August 2022 Diary
- Re-imagining Essex July 2022 Diary
- Art Illuminating spirituality June 2022 Diary
- Venice To London May 2022 Diary
- Jacob Epstein, Louis Carreon, Titus Kaphar, Betty Spackman – April 2022 Diary
- Audrey Flack Carlo Crivelli And Robert Indiana – March Diary
- My Art Diary And Other Thoughts February 2022
- And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021
- International Autumn Art Exhibition Reviews
- And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021
Articles/Reviews -
- Millet Life on the Land National Gallery
- Lubaina Himid With Magda Stawarska Kettle’s Yard
- Arpita Singh Social Observations Serpentine North
- Siena: The Creative Achievement Of Christendom
- An Uncommon Thread Hauser & Wirth Somerset
- Michelangelo Leonardo Raphael At The Royal Academy Review
- Modern Art Oxford Reopens After £2million Redesign
- Leonora Carrington Still Relevant Firstsite Colchester
- Ken Currie, Kehinde Wiley, Susie Hamilton Three Exhibitions About Communities
- The Victorian Radicals And Other Related Exhibitions
- Cedric Morris And Arthur Lett-Haines Gainsborough House
- Lunar Lullabies, David Lock and Concrete Dreams Three Shows To See At Firstsite
- Tate Expressionists Exhibition Reveals Spirituality and Past Gender Disparity
- The Last Caravaggio National Gallery
- Issam Kourbaj Kettle’s Yard And Heong Gallery Cambridge
- Li Yuan-chia And Friends Kettles Yard Cambridge
- Antony Gormley Explores Self Awareness White Cube Bermondsey
- Holbein: Politics Religion And Draughtsmanship – The Queen’s Gallery
- R B Kitaj And Philip Guston: Figurative Painting Celebrated
- Paula Rego And Lord Harries Respond To Art And Religion
- A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography Tate Modern
- Chris Ofili Exploring Sin At Victoria Miro
- Ai Weiwei - The Artist of Resistance - The Design Museum
- Saint Francis of Assisi A Timely Exhibition - National Gallery
- Why Critics Have A Problem With The Pre-Raphaelites?
- Religion and Spirituality in Post Impressionism National Gallery
- Black Artists From The American South Royal Academy
- Donatello: The Divine Fused With The Human V&A
- Lucian Freud And His Circle Surveyed In Two London Exhibitions
- A Question Of Clay: Strange Clay – Hayward Gallery
- William Kentridge: Merging Politics With Aesthetics – RA
- Winslow Homer: Beyond The Sea – National Gallery
- Hidden Depths: The Woman in the Window – Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Heavenly Visions: Churches As Spaces For Contemporary Art
- In The Black Fantastic London’s Best Summer Exhibition
- Hew Locke And The Christian Roots Of Carnival – Tate BritainLes Lalanne, Schütte And Gursky London Spring Exhibition Highlights
- Sensuous Sickert and Philpot Two Major UK Solo Exhibitions
- Raphael The Human And Divine – National Gallery
- Damien Hirst The Visceral Reality Of Death
- Ali Cherri: Artist in Residence National Gallery
- Surrealism Outside The Usual Story – Tate Modern
- Marcus Lyon Creates Fields of Vision At St Martin-in-the-Fields London
- Van Gogh Self Portraits The Infinite And The Ordinary
- Marvellous Icons: The London Jesuit Centre
- Albrecht Dürer Travels Of A Renaissance Artist – National Gallery London
- Diasporan Identities: Life Between Islands Caribbean British Art – Tate Britain
- Isamu Noguchi: Socially Engaged Art – Barbican Centre
- Pablo Bronstein: A This-World Vision Of Hell
- Bosco Sodi: In The Beginning Of Wisdom
- George Condo Lockdown Works Hauser & Wirth
- Theaster Gates Clay As A Profound Metaphor
- Mark Rothko: Mesmerising And Intimate Works On Paper
- Roger Cecil: A Once In A Generation Welsh Painter
- Tino Sehgal: Location, Nature And Pandemic – Blenheim Palace
- Michael Armitage And The Power Of Art – Royal Academy
- Marie Raymond And Post-War Avant Garde Painting In Paris
- Rachel Kneebone: A Complex Tableau Of Organic And Geometric Forms
- Rodin: Suffering And Conflict – Tate Modern
- Barbara Hepworth: Symbols Of Art & Life – Hepworth Wakefield
- 20th Century Women Artists Challenging Conventions In Britain
- Chaiya Art Awards 2021 Gallery OXO
- Marc Chagall’s Exquisite Stained Glass Window Commissions
- George Gittoes Equal parts artist and warrior
- Keith Haring: Personal Spiritual Imagery
- Sean Scully: Philosophical Poetic Pastoral The 12 / Dark Windows
- Arthur Jafa: The Art Of Cutting And Pasting
- Blackpentecostal Breath: Spirit-Led Movement Jumps From Music To Visual Art
- Made in USA Ed Ruscha An American Perspective
- Robert Smithson: The Archetypal Nature Of Things
- If Jesus Is A Man Of Colour Why Did We Make Him Aryan?
- Cosmic Patches And Quilts Five Exhibitions
- Everyday Heroes: Southbank Exhibition Celebrates Low-paid Key Workers
- Entwining Spiritualism And Art – Three Shows
- Of Church And The Visual Arts
- Has The Word Master Reached Its Sell-By Date?
- The People Behind Community Is Kindness Billboard Campaign
- André Daughtry: Art, Rebellion And Racial Justice
- Salisbury Cathedral 800 Years Of Art And Spirit
- Home Alone Together Twenty Five Artists
- Botanical Mind Online: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree
- Salvador Dalí The Enigma of Faith
- Art And Faith A Time For Seeing
- Andy Warhol: Catholicism His Work, Faith And Legacy
- Kiki Smith: Embodied Art
- Art and Christianity Awards A Positive New Millennium Legacy
- Arnulf Rainer: 90th Birthday Exhibition Celebrated At Albertina Museum
- A Belonging Project And Exiles Loss and Displacement
- Robert Polidori: Fra Angelico Opus Operantis
- Art, Faith, Church Patronage and Modernity
- Contemplating the Spiritual in Contemporary Art
- Mat Collishaw Challenges Faith Perspectives With Ushaw Installation
- Waterloo Festival Launches At St. John’s Waterloo
- John Bellany Alan Davie Spiritual Joy and Magic
- RIFT Unites 17 Art and Science MA Graduates At Central St Martins
- Visionary Cities: Michael Takeo Magruder – British Library
- Van Gogh’s Religious Journey Around London
- William Congdon Holy Sites And The Kettle’s Yard Connection
- Mark Dean Premieres Pastiche Mass At Banqueting Hall Chelsea College of Arts
- John Kirby: The Torment
- Underlying The Civilised Facade
- Curating Spiritual Sensibilities In Changing Times
- Homeless Highlighted: New Beau Exhibition At St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Ken Currie: Protest Defeat And Victory
- Bosco Sodi: A Moment Of Genesis
- Bill Viola And The Art Of Contemplation
- Art In Churches 2018: Spiritual Combinations Explored
- Sister Wendy Beckett – A Reminiscence
- Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
- Peter Howson: The play is over – Flowers Gallery
- Camille Henrot: Scientific History And Creation Story Mash Up
- Nicola Green Explores Recent And Contemporary Religious Leaders – St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Art And The Consequences Of War Explored In Two Exhibitions
- Helaine Blumenfeld Translating Her Vision
- Sam Ivin: Physically Scratched Portraits Of Asylum Seekers Exhibited
- Sacred Noise: Explores Religion, Faith And Divinity
- Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
- The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
- Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
- Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
- Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
- Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
- Can Art Transform Society?
- Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
- Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
- The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
- Polish Art In Britain: Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
- Refugee Artists: Learning from The Lives Of Others
- The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg
- The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement
- Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition
- Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation
- The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields
- Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Morby - O Behold.
ArtWay: "Hands Touching Hands" – Jonathan Evens reflects on ‘Touching the Void’ by Alexander de Cadenet
"Hands Touching Hands" is my latest article for ArtWay which reflects on ‘Touching the Void’ by Alexander de Cadenet.
I have been collaborating recently with de Cadenet, a visual artist who has been exhibiting his artworks internationally for the past twenty years. His work reveals an exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions such as the meaning of life and death, the nature of human achievement and the sacredness of art itself. He has said that “Art is way of exploring what gives life a deeper meaning and evolves in relation to my own life journey.”
'Touching the Void', the installation on which we have been collaborating, is an installation de Cadenet has created in response to the death of his father. Its central image is of father and son reaching towards each other created using actual X-rays of each other's hands. The work explores the extent to which contact one with the other continues following death.
I have been collaborating recently with de Cadenet, a visual artist who has been exhibiting his artworks internationally for the past twenty years. His work reveals an exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions such as the meaning of life and death, the nature of human achievement and the sacredness of art itself. He has said that “Art is way of exploring what gives life a deeper meaning and evolves in relation to my own life journey.”
'Touching the Void', the installation on which we have been collaborating, is an installation de Cadenet has created in response to the death of his father. Its central image is of father and son reaching towards each other created using actual X-rays of each other's hands. The work explores the extent to which contact one with the other continues following death.
For more on Alexander de Cadenet see my Artlyst interview, a conference report, a visual meditation for ArtWay, and three exhibition previews here, here and here.
My other writing for ArtWay can be found at https://www.artway.eu/authors/jonathan-evens. This includes church reports, interviews, reviews and visual meditations.
ArtWay.eu has been hailed "a jewel in the crown of work in Christianity and the arts," and having come under the custodianship of the Kirby Laing Centre, the much-loved publication has entered an exciting new chapter in its story following the launch of a new website in September 2024.
Since its founding, ArtWay has published a rich library of materials and resources for scholars, artists, art enthusiasts and congregations concerned about linking art and faith. Founded by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker in 2009, ArtWay's significance is reflected in its designation as UNESCO digital heritage material in the Netherlands.
In 2018, I interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker for Artlyst on the legacy of ArtWay itself.
ArtWay.eu has been hailed "a jewel in the crown of work in Christianity and the arts," and having come under the custodianship of the Kirby Laing Centre, the much-loved publication has entered an exciting new chapter in its story following the launch of a new website in September 2024.
Since its founding, ArtWay has published a rich library of materials and resources for scholars, artists, art enthusiasts and congregations concerned about linking art and faith. Founded by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker in 2009, ArtWay's significance is reflected in its designation as UNESCO digital heritage material in the Netherlands.
In 2018, I interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker for Artlyst on the legacy of ArtWay itself.
In the video above, the ArtWay team recounts the history of this much-loved resource and looks ahead to an exciting future for ArtWay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Dylan - Man In The Long Black Cloak.
Monday, 29 September 2025
Mark Cazalet: The Tree of Life
This evening I was at Chelmsford Cathedral for an event with Mark Cazalet celebrating his remarkable painting The Tree of Life. Mark shared insights into the inspirations for and creation of The Tree of Life while exploring some of its key themes with the audience. This event also marked the closing of an exhibition featuring work by local artists from the Artists in the Meadows group. Inspired by Mark’s The Tree of Life, they have created their own collective interpretations, which were on display.
The lighting in the Cathedral was very different from the church Mark had painted the mural in and he spent several weeks on a cherry picker, changing the colour and bringing the panels to life. His favourite part is Judas resurrected and the idea of the possibility of Judas being resurrected and spending a long time (hence the sandwiches and thermos) at the top of the tree and in turn that we too can be fully forgiven.
I wrote about The Tree of Life, Mark's image of St Cedd, and other artwork in the Cathedral (which includes the sculpture of St Peter holding the key to heaven by Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones on the exterior - see photos above) during my sabbatical art pilgrimage - see here. As part of my sabbatical, I also visited St Alban's Romford which has a ceiling painted by Mark - see here. In the area covered by the Diocese of Chelmsford, works by Mark can also be seen at Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls in Romford and Our Lady of Lourdes, Wanstead.
Click here to read my Seen & Unseen article on the tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds which includes Mark Cazalet, Thomas Denny, Richard Kenton Webb, Nicholas Mynheer, and Roger Wagner. In his talk, Mark mentioned stained glass windows at St Mary's Iffley by John Piper and Roger Wagner - see here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Trees Community - Jesus He Knows.
Quiet Day - Lancelot Andrewes
On Saturday we held a Quiet Day that enabled those present to discover the influence and example of Lancelot Andrewes, whose family lived in Rawreth and who helped define Anglican doctrine, translate the Bible, and shape the liturgy. The day was co-led by Revd Steve Lissenden and held at St Nicholas Rawreth.
Lancelot Andrewes (1555 – 25 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the Authorized Version (or King James Version) of the Bible. In the Church of England he is commemorated on 25 September with a Lesser Festival.
Andrewes' family lived at Chichester Hall, now in the Parish of Rawreth. Once a year Andrewes would spend a month with his parents, and during this vacation, he would find a master from whom he would learn a language of which he had no previous knowledge. In this way, after a few years, he acquired most of the modern languages of Europe.
Andrewes was a towering figure in the formative years of the Church of England. Averse to the puritanical spirit of the age, he helped to create a distinctive Anglican theology, moderate in outlook and catholic in tone. He believed that theology should be built on sound learning, he held a high doctrine of the Eucharist and he emphasised dignity and order in worship. His influence defines Anglicanism to this day.
His best-known work is the Manual of Private Devotions, edited by Alexander Whyte (1900), which has widespread appeal. Andrewes's other works occupy eight volumes in the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology (1841–1854). Ninety-six of his sermons were published in 1631 by command of King Charles I. The Incarnation was to him an essential dogma and he preached many significant sermons on the Nativity, the best known of which was used by T.S. Eliot for his poem 'The Journey of the Magi'.
We reflected on his prayers through Practising Prayer with Lancelot Andrewes, a seven-day devotional by Nicola Eggertsen, and his writings through sermon extracts on the theme of the incarnation. The current owners of Chichester Hall loaned a copy of the book of Andrewes' sermons that King Charles I had published after Andrewes' death.
During the day, I compiled the following poem, based on his Ninth Sermon of the Nativity, preached upon Christmas Day, before King James, at Whitehall, on Sunday, the Twenty-fifth of December, A. D. MDCXIV’ (1614):
Incarnation
The virgin shall conceive and bear a son
and she shall call his name Immanuel.
If the child be 'Immanuel, God with us',
then, without this child, we be without God.
If it be not Immanuel, then it will be Immanu-Hell.
Without him this we are and this our share will be.
Yet, if we know him, and God by him, we need no
more. He is Immanu-all, he is with us and
we from him never can be parted. All that we desire
is to be with him, with God and he with us.
With him all is well, for he is all in all.
For more on the King James Bible, see the film I helped script for James Payne's Great Books Explained series.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Tallis - If Ye Love Me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)