Seen and Unseen: The Magdalene we rarely see

 

My latest article for Seen and Unseen is about the painting 'Magdalene at the Base of the Cross' by Chris Gollon:

'‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon has been displayed beside the High Altar of Southwark Cathedral for the duration of Lent as an aid to worship. This image sees Mary Magdalene stretched out at the foot of the cross. A cropped but wide depiction of the scene, we see only the base of the cross, the ground, and the Magdalene embracing the cross.'

For more on Chris Gollon see here, here, here, and here.

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

My 14th article was entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explored why society, and churches, need the Arts.

My 15th article was entitled 'The collective effervescence of sport's congregation' and explored some of the ways in which sport and religion have been intimately entwined throughout history

My 16th article was entitled 'Paradise cottage: Milton reimagin’d' and reviewed the ways in which artist Richard Kenton Webb is conversing with the blind poet in his former home (Milton's Cottage, Chalfont St Giles).

My 17th article was entitled 'Controversial art: how can the critic love their neighbour?'. It makes suggestions of what to do when confronted with contentious culture.

My 18th article was an interview entitled 'Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions'. In the interview the digital artist talks about the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

My 19th article was entitled 'Dark, sweet and subtle: recovered music orientates us'. In the article I highlight alt-folk music seeking inspiration from forgotten hymns.

My 20th article was entitled 'Revisiting Amazing Grace inspires new songs'. In the article I highlight folk musicians capturing both the barbaric and the beautiful in the hymn Amazing Grace and Christianity's entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade more generally.

My 21st article was entitled 'James MacMillan’s music of tranquility and discord'. In the article I noted that the composer’s music contends both the secular and sacred.

My 22nd article was a book review on Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch. 'Nobody's Empire: A Novel is the fictionalised account of how ... Murdoch, lead singer of indie band Belle and Sebastian, transfigured his experience of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) through faith and music.'

My 23rd article was entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion'. The article explores how popular music conjures sacred space.

My 24th article was an interview with Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention which explores why the overlooked and everyday capture the creative gaze.

My 25th article was about Stanley Spencer’s seen and unseen world and the artist’s child-like sense of wonder as he saw heaven everywhere.

My 26th article was entitled 'The biblical undercurrent that the Bob Dylan biopics missed' and in it I argue that the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey.

My 27th article was entitled 'Heading Home: a pilgrimage that breaks out beauty along the way' and focuses on a film called 'Heading Home' which explores how we can learn a new language together as we travel.

My 28th article was entitled 'Annie Caldwell: “My family is my band”' and showcased a force of nature voice that comes from the soul.

My 29th article was entitled 'Why sculpt the face of Christ?' and explored how, in Nic Fiddian Green’s work, we feel pain, strength, fear and wisdom.

My 30th article was entitled 'How Mumford and friends explore life's instability' and explored how Mumford and Sons, together with similar bands, commune on fallibility, fear, grace, and love.

My 31st article was entitled 'The late Pope Francis was right – Antoni Gaudi truly was God’s architect' and explored how sanctity can indeed be found amongst scaffolding, as Gaudi’s Barcelona beauties amply demonstrate.

My 32nd article was entitled 'This gallery refresh adds drama to the story of art' and explored how rehanging the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery revives the emotion of great art.

My 33rd article was an interview with Jonathan A. Anderson about the themes of his latest book 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art'.

My 34th article was an interview with 'Emily Young: the sculptor listening as the still stones speak'.

My 35th article was a profile of New York's expressionist devotional artist, 'Genesis Tramaine: the painter whose faces catch the spirit'.

My 36th article was a concert review of Natalie Bergman at Union Chapel - a soul-soaked set turned personal tragedy into communal celebration.

My 37th article was based on the exhibition series 'Can We Stop Killing Each Other?' at the Sainsbury Centre. In it I explore how art, theology, and moral imagination confront our oldest instinct.

My 38th article article was 'The dot and the dash: modern art’s quiet search for deeper meaning' in which I argue that Neo-Impressionism meets mysticism in a quietly radical exhibition at the National Gallery.

My 39th article was 'From Klee to Klein, Wenders to Botticelli: angels unveiled' in which I explore how, across war, wonder and nativity, artists show angels bridging earth and heaven.

My 40th article was 'When Henry Moore’s Madonna shocked Northampton' in which I explore how a modernist mother and child stirred outrage, then lasting wonder.

My 41st article was 'Turner and Constable: storms, salvation and the sublime' in which I discussed how Tate Britain reveals how rival visions shaped art and spirit.

My 42nd article was 'When converts cracked open the culture’s polished surface' in which I explored how faith’s outsiders disrupted the scene with unexpected force.

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FIREWALL - Sleaford Mods & Chris Gollon, a unique work of art, music and film (2019)

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross

 

Tonight, we prayed the Stations of the Cross by Valerie Dean, which are temporarily at St Andrew's Wickford during Lent and Holy Week, using a new set of meditations that I have written specially for Valerie's images.

Valerie's Stations of the Cross have a very clear and intense focus on details which are evocative of the whole. They have previously been shown at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Diocesan Offices of the Diocese of Chelmsford.

Valerie Dean returned to England in the summer of 2007 after living for 27 years in Belgium. There, she studied art for six years and had various exhibitions, in and around Brussels. On returning to England, she became involved in the Kent arts scene and exhibited, regularly, in the Francis Iles gallery, in Rochester. She also took part in the Canterbury Arts Festival and exhibitions in Whitstable.

She worked in acrylics and her technique was usually to put materials and colours on canvas or board, to see what emerged. It was a dialogue between the artist and her materials. Because of her background, this often consisted of figures around a religious theme. They just appeared! Very often, people seemed to want to appear in her paintings, a little like the pictures in the fire that she used to see in her childhood. At other times, she found that buildings and places she knew inspired her.

Valerie's Stations show us hands that heal and hands that harm. As we looked and thought and prayed together, we reflected on the many ways that our hands can be used to heal or to harm.

 

Station 1 - Jesus is condemned

The accusatory finger
Finger pointing
Pointing condemnation
From a washed hand
Seeking to avoid blame
While unaware there
Are four fingers
Pointing back
At the one
Condemning Jesus


Station 2 - Jesus takes up his cross

Hands that embrace
Embrace the rough wood
Embrace the weight of the cross
Embrace the purpose of suffering
Embrace the sin that is carried
Embrace the isolation that is entered
Embrace the death that awaits


Station 3 - Jesus falls for the first time

Hands grip tight
Wood held
Grip slipped
Feet stumble
Body crumples
And tumbles
Pinioned and winded
Under cruel cross
Fallen for the first time


Station 4 - Jesus meets his mother

Around your face and
in your eyes, we see
the accumulated aura
Of wisdom gained
Through contemplation,
Pondering in your heart,
The nativity, Incarnation,
and now, this crucifixion.
Questions also accumulate.
What has happened to
The child I once bore?
How will the promises
Prophesied about him
Be fulfilled?
You trust and follow.


Station 5 – Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

A handy helpmeet,
Whether prevailed upon
or not, chosen.
Chosen to be with Jesus
Walking in his footsteps
Handling his cross.
Simon, you are
All that we should become.


Station 6 - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

What can one give
The suffering one?
How can one
Relieve pain,
Show care or love?
A simple cloth
Is handed over.
Sweat wiped from
Face and brow.
Relief, momentary
But meaningful.
A journey transformed.
A cloth transformed.


Station 7 - Jesus falls for the second time

Weak knees,
Weary legs,
An exhausted body
Flags and falls.
Hands outstretched
To break the fall
Are pounded,
Scratched and bruised
In seeking to protect
The body’s dive
Into hard unforgiving
Land, not
embracing Water.


Station 8 – Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Hands cradle faces
Faces convulse and sigh
Tears flood and flow
The Passion of these
Women of Jerusalem
Approaches, encroaches,
draws nigh


Station 9 - Jesus falls for the third time

Your fall is as
The second Adam.
Not falling into sin
But bearing all sin –
An unimaginable burden –
An unbearable weight
Bearing down
Upon your shoulders

And God laid on himself
the guilt,
the guilt and the sin
of
every
one
of
us.

If God forsakes himself
to be
for
us,
then who
can be
against us.


Station 10 - Jesus is stripped of his garments

Stripped of equality with God.
Stripped of glory.
Stripped of power.
Stripped of family.
Stripped of occupation.
Stripped of possessions.
Stripped of followers.
Stripped of respect.
Stripped of clothing.
Stripped naked.
Stripped raw.
Stripped to the bone.
Becoming nothing,
no one,
everyone.


Station 11 – Jesus is nailed to the cross

Nails driven through
The flesh, sinews, muscles
And bone of wrists
And ankles.
Hands, fingers, toes
Contort from the
Searing pain
Inflicted by
Unforgiving hammers.
Harmful hands
Hammer hurtful nails
Into hands
That heal.


Station 12 – Jesus dies on the cross

Death has been knocking on the door
Death has entered
Death is here
It is finished

Forgiveness achieved
Salvation complete
Mission accomplished
It is finished

Forgiveness for betrayal
Forgiveness for wrongful arrest
Forgiveness for abandonment
Forgiveness for denial
Forgiveness for a corrupt trial
Forgiveness for false witness
Forgiveness for mob rule
Forgiveness for legal capitulation
Forgiveness for condemnation of the innocent
Forgiveness for imprisonment
Forgiveness for beating
Forgiveness for mockery
Forgiveness for violence
Forgiveness for torture
Forgiveness for murder

All sin
All humanity
All held
All covered
All embraced
All forgiven


Station 13 – Jesus is taken down from the cross

The limp hand
Of a lifeless body
Is held by
The live hand
Of a disciple
Helping support
And carry
The dead Christ
Down from
The death
Instrument
To be held
And cradled
In the arms
Of his grieving
Mother.

Manhandled when
beaten, whipped,
nailed and pierced,
the body of God
is handled with care
as Jesus is taken
in the arms of those
who loved him.


Station 14 – Jesus is buried in the tomb

Buried, entombed
In a cave -
In your end
As in your
Beginning.

Sealed behind stone.
A barrier
Preventing entry.

From the gaps
Around its edges
The faint glimmer
And glimpse
Of resurrection light
Pertains, extends,
To be seen,
To be perceived,
Received.
You cannot be
Contained.

My other collections of meditations on the Stations of the Cross are Mark of the Cross and The Passion. These are collections of images, meditations and prayers by Henry Shelton and myself on the Stations. They provide helpful reflections and resources for Lent and Holy Week. These collections can both be found as downloads from theworshipcloud.

Mark of the Cross is a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. The meditations are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

The Passion: Reflections and Prayers features minimal images with haiku-like poems and prayers that enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so. Henry and I have aimed in these reflections to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but, we hope, in a way that makes maximum impact.

Jesus dies on the cross

The sun is eclipsed, early nightfall,
darkness covers the surface of the deep,
the Spirit grieves over the waters.
On the formless, empty earth, God is dead.

Through the death of all we hold most dear, may we find life. Amen.

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Lizz Wright - Presence Of The Lord. 

Praying the Stations of the Cross

Today, the Basildon Chapter prayed the Stations of the Cross by Valerie Dean, which are temporarily at St Andrew's Wickford during Lent and Holy Week, using a set of meditations and prayers that I wrote and which are entitled The Passion.

Valerie's Stations of the Cross have a very clear and intense focus on details which are evocative of the whole. They have previously been shown at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Diocesan Offices of the Diocese of Chelmsford.

Valerie Dean returned to England in the summer of 2007 after living for 27 years in Belgium. There, she studied art for six years and had various exhibitions, in and around Brussels. On returning to England, she became involved in the Kent arts scene and exhibited, regularly, in the Francis Iles gallery, in Rochester. She also took part in the Canterbury Arts Festival and exhibitions in Whitstable.

She worked in acrylics and her technique was usually to put materials and colours on canvas or board, to see what emerged. It was a dialogue between the artist and her materials. Because of her background, this often consisted of figures around a religious theme. They just appeared! Very often, people seemed to want to appear in her paintings, a little like the pictures in the fire that she used to see in her childhood. At other times, she found that buildings and places she knew inspired her.

Mark of the Cross and The Passion are collections of images, meditations and prayers by Henry Shelton and myself on The Stations of the Cross. They provide helpful reflections and resources for Lent and Holy Week. These collections can both be found as downloads from theworshipcloud.

Mark of the Cross is a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. The meditations are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

The Passion: Reflections and Prayers features minimal images with haiku-like poems and prayers that enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so. Henry and I have aimed in these reflections to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but, we hope, in a way that makes maximum impact.

Jesus dies on the cross

The sun is eclipsed, early nightfall,
darkness covers the surface of the deep,
the Spirit grieves over the waters.
On the formless, empty earth, God is dead.

Through the death of all we hold most dear, may we find life. Amen.

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Mr Mister - Kyrie.

You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand

Here's the Mothering Sunday reflection that I shared at St Mary's Langdon Hills, St Andrew's Wickford and St Gabriel's Pitsea this morning:

Mothering Sunday was traditionally a day in the middle of Lent when people who worked were able to have time off to visit their mothers and their ‘mother’ church, where they might have been baptised.

One of the readings regularly used on this day is John 19: 25- 27, in which Jesus creates a new community of support for his grieving mother when he connects her with the disciple John, who takes her into his home as his mother. Just as John became a support for Mary and vice versa, in life it’s not necessarily just our mothers who give us ‘motherly’ or parental care. There are so many people, especially in church families, who form a community around us to help support us and give us strength.

Just as Jesus remembered his mother while on the cross, today we remember those who, for good or ill, are foundational to our lives, experiences and memories. We are reminded that the simplest things we see and do can often be the most profound and those that touch us in the deepest places.

By way of example, I want to tell you about a mother, not from the Bible, but one who lives in Guyana today. Her name is Lena and she needed help to look after her family but is now a Parenting Group Facilitator with The Mothers’ Union. She says:

The Mothers' Union parenting programme is a special ministry and has touched over 200 lives through the six groups I have facilitated. One woman who was recently been deported back to Guyana heard about the programme and joined my group. Before in the other country she stole, shoplifted, prostituted and used drugs. She even went to jail and her first daughter was born in prison. She felt so low that she wanted to commit suicide and kill her daughter when she was deported back to Guyana once she was released from prison.

When she joined the parenting group she felt so supported by all the other parents and carers there. She started to sell snacks, her local priest assisted her with a house and this led her to start assisting others in greater need. In this parenting group all the members provide emotional and practical support and also financial if it is needed. This support has enabled her to develop her little business and it is now very successful. She also works with the local youth to clean up their local environment. Her daughter is now in high school and doing well. This is just one story of many where the programme has provided a supportive and nurturing environment where people are encouraged to reach their full potential.

Sometimes mothers need people to help them as well as them helping us. Mothers’ Union helps many mothers to care for their family by sharing with them useful ways of being a good parent and encouraging the parents to support and help each other.

To help celebrate and give thanks for mothers and other caring figures in our lives, we can pray using an item that is always with us. Touch a button that is on your clothing as you listen to this reflection.

Buttons hold things together:

Who do you look to to help you when things are busy and stressful? Who can help you to figure out what to do when you are confused about how to keep going? Who helps when it feels as if your world is falling apart? Think of them and say thank you to God for them.

Buttons are strong:

Think about the times when you have felt sad, upset or afraid. Who has helped you to be strong. Who is the strongest person you know? Thank God for those people.

Buttons come in different shapes and sizes:

Those who care for us and keep us safe might be mothers, but they also might be other people in our lives. Try and count in your head how many different people have helped you during the past week. Thank God for each one of them.

When buttons are missing, we notice and things don’t hold together as well as they did before.

Some of the caring figures in our lives may have died and we miss the fact that they are no longer here. Take a moment to remember them and the love they shared with you. Thank God for them.

As we close, let’s remember a verse reminding us of what God says about helping people: “You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.” Galatians 6:2 (Contemporary English Version)

We come here today to thank God for mothers and carers around the world who obey the law of Christ by offering others a helping hand. It takes a very special love to care for a family. Today we celebrate that love and thank God for his own perfect love for us all.

We’re not all mothers ourselves but we all have a mother, whether or not they are still with us, and we are all children of God. He is our loving Father but is also the one who remembers and comforts us as a mother comforts her child, and draws us close as a hen protects her chicks.

Let us pray: Thank you, Jesus, for a mother’s unfailing love, for her unstinting devotion and steadfastness, for her wisdom and support, and for always ‘being there’ in times of happiness and stress. Thank you for love and forbearance, for laughter enjoyed and sorrow shared. Thank you, Jesus, for the comfort of a close friend; for the sharing of life and our deepest selves along the Way. Thank you for peace given to each other sincerely, and received beautifully; for open arms in which the love of God shone. Help us remember your gifts and be glad to give you praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Sing We Of the Blessed Mother.

Southwark Cathedral - ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon

‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon is being displayed beside the High Altar of Southwark Cathedral for the duration of Lent as both an aid to worship, and to overlap with Women’s History Month in March, in which there will be talks and reflections on the Magdalene.

The painting is on loan from a private collection; but originally formed part of Gollon’s national touring exhibition to English cathedrals ‘Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible’ (2014 – 2016), which travelled to the cathedrals of Guildford, Chichester, Durham, Norwich and Hereford, focusing only on women from the Bible.

Tonight there was the screening of ‘CHRIS GOLLON:Life in Paint’ featuring Thurston Moore, Maggi Hambling, Sara Maitland, Eleanor McEvoy and more. Before the screening Canon Kathryn Fleming and Rev’d Dr Julie Gittoes gave short talks on Gollon’s depiction of women from the Bible as part of Women’s History Month. After the screening Tamsin Pickeral, Mark Calderbank and Wilfred Wright spoke about Gollon and his work.

The documentary ‘CHRIS GOLLON: Life in Paint’, recently premiered at the Barbican Centre and in New York. The film explores the artist’s sensitive portrayal of women, his innovative techniques and his pioneering artistic boundary crossing with leading musicians, beginning with his collaboration with Thurston Moore in ‘ROOT’ at the Chisenhale Gallery, alongside Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Gavin Turk.

In the film, Sara Maitland remarks: “I’m an old-style feminist […] trying to bring that sort of feminism into some sort of relationship with the Gospels, and Chris just does it”. Gollon biographer art historian Tamsin Pickeral notes: “ ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ has an increasing earthiness, seen in her muscly, knotted arms and her workmanlike hands. Clearly this is a woman who has toiled, and yet she is also incredibly beautiful.”

Chris Gollon (1953 -2017) was a London-born artist who exhibited widely in the UK. His work is held in major public collections including the British Museum. Gollon exhibited with Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Gavin Turk in ROOT, an exhibition of contemporary music and art created by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (Chisenhale Gallery, 1998). Other boundary crossing collaborations included working with Grammy-nominated classical virtuoso, Yi Yao (2014) and with singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (2015 – 2017). In 2004, Gollon exhibited in St Paul’s Cathedral, with Bill Viola, Maggi Hambling and Tracey Emin in ‘Presence: Images of Christ for the Third Millennium’.

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Eleanor McEvoy - Heaven Help Us.

Not for the sake of future prestige and glory

Here's the sermon that I shared this morning at St Andrew's Wickford:

In December 2025, the Metropolitan Police announced that membership of the Freemasons or similar organisations would be added to its declarable associations policy. As a result, more than 300 Metropolitan Police officers and staff declared their involvement in the Freemasons or other "hierarchical associations". Applying the policy to Freemasons and similar organisations was challenged in court but the High Court supported the approach taken by the Met to make its vetting processes more transparent.

The Met’s actions reflect a concern that we may live in a world where much business is done through exclusive networks; which could involve spheres of influence such as the so-called ‘Old Boy's Networks’ or specific organisations where opportunities may exist to exercise influence or seek favours. As there can be a lack of full transparency about such networks, rumours abound and there is no simple way to verify the facts of the matter.

Our Gospel story (Matthew 20. 17 - 28) suggests that 'in-crowds' and 'favours' were also a part of thinking and practices in Jesus' time. The mother of James and John asked Jesus for a favour, in the way that it is alleged favours can be granted in certain networks today. She wanted her sons to be privileged over and above the others in the group and used a private conversation to make her request.

What James and John were after was another perennial temptation for us as human beings; the desire for prestige, in this case, the request to sit on the right and left of Jesus in glory. Similarly, it has been suggested that within networks of influence there may be pathways to prestige which are essentially open on the basis of birth, wealth or power.

Jesus calls this whole approach into question with his response to James and John. Today we would characterise what he says in relation to discussions of rights and responsibilities. Jesus says firstly that places of prestige are not available without sacrifice (i.e. no rights without responsibilities), in other words there is no entitlement because of birth, schooling, friendships, networks. What matters in the kingdom of God is service and sacrifice and these not for the sake of future prestige and glory, but for their own sake and for the love of others.

'Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

Jesus turns the search for prestige on its head. Instead of the prestige of being first being the goal and the reward, those who are great in the kingdom of God are those who make themselves the least; those who are prepared to serve in same way as Jesus, by laying down their life for others.

James and John say they are prepared to do this but it is ultimately about deeds, not words, and their action in asking their mother to ask for a favour on their behalf clearly shows that they hadn't understood his teaching and practice at this stage in their relationship with him.

Where are we in relation to these issues? Are we chasing after worldly rewards and prestige; seeking it through favours or paying for prestige? Maybe, like James and John, we have brought the values of the world into the kingdom of God and are trying to follow Jesus for some form of personal gain?

Lent is an opportunity for self-reflection on these issues and provides us with the possibility of aligning of thinking, values and deeds with those of Jesus as we become the servants or slaves of others; in order that we serve instead of being served and give our lives for the sake of others.

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Soul Savers - Presence Of God.

Artlyst: Art Diary March 2026

For my March 2026 diary for Artlyst, I begin with several exhibitions and other events to visit this season. Lent is a season when churches often have a significant encounter with art. These include Southwark, Portsmouth and Winchester Cathedrals, St Mary’s Guildford, and Goldsmiths College. Exhibitions exploring the religious inspirations of artists, including Gwen John and Anna Ancher, can also be found at the National Museum Cardiff, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Compton Verney, and Grand Palais, Paris. Architectural inspirations can be found in exhibitions featuring John Piper, Antoni Gaudí, and Sir John Vanbrugh. I end with exhibitions exploring aspects of mental health, ordinary life, and our sources of wisdom at venues including Two Temple Place, Tache, and Centre for Contemporary Arts, Tashkent.

For more on Gwen John see here, here and here, on Sophie Hacker see here and here, on John Piper see here, on Antoni Gaudi see here and here, and on Neil Tye see here.

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

Monthly diary articles -

• February 2026 Art Diary
• January 2026 Art Diary
• The December Art Diary
• The November Art Diary
• The October Art Diary
• 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 -

• Into Abstraction Meaning Connection And Hope Firstsite
• Nigerian Modernism Explored Tate Modern
• Can We Stop Killing Each Other? – Sainsbury Centre
• 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?

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Robert Plant - Gospel Plough.