HART Gallery
Today, on All Saints’
Day, our lectionary cycle turns our attention to one of the last images in scripture—one
of my favorite images. In particular,
John of Patmos, the writer of Revelation presents his God given vision of the
holy city, of the New Jerusalem and in pages to follow we are given a
remarkable image of that new city. After
the service, I hope you will join us in Parker Hall where you will see how Jo
Pate interpreted this incredible vision from John.
As I contemplate this
image from Revelation, my mind causes me to remember all the detours it took
for God to get us to this holy city.
This image is a reminder of how much God loves his creation and how far
God is willing to go to make us citizens of the city that he first desired for
us to live in at the beginning of creation when he made the heaven and earth.
I am going to defy the lectionary writers and take us
to these opening verses of scripture. In
the first few verses of Genesis, we read about how the wind (or breath) of God
sweeps over the face of the waters. We
read about how God divides the day from the night. Ultimately, we see how the creative energy of
God creates a world that God himself calls “very good.”
At the end of the
creation poem, God entrusts his creative force to those whom he made in his own
image. As Jo Pate reminded us in her
stewardship talk last week, we are stewards of all that God has given us in his
beautiful creation. God calls us to tend
the livestock and cultivate the land to bear good fruit. God entrusts us to look after our neighbor
especially the poor. God calls us to use
all that we have for the benefit of others and our community. Ultimately, calls us to procreate.
I believe this call to
procreate isn’t simply a call to have children.
This call to procreate is a call to realize that same creative energy
that created us also flows through us.
The same energy that God used to create us is also available for us to
use. As image bearers of God, we have
the power to reveal the beauty and love of God to the world. This creative energy of God is literally in
our DNA. It is who we are. It was how we were made.
A few months ago, I
had the opportunity to travel to Chattanooga.
During my visit, I visited an art gallery that is named HART Gallery. The reason I knew about the gallery was
because a friend from seminary hosts a weekly worship service there. I was struck by the worship service not only
because of the unique venue but also because the worshiping community included
the mentally handicapped, the homeless, the blue collar worker, and even the
millionaire.
When I visited, I
talked with the owner and was overwhelmed with joy when I heard how the gallery
operates. The gallery was first opened
when this particular section of town was undergoing revitalization. Traditionally, a lot of homeless and mentally
handicapped lived in the area. And for
quite some time the owner would arrive at her gallery in the morning only to
see that the building had been tagged by graffiti.
No matter how many
times she called the police she would still come to work only to see more
vandalism. One day she mustered up the
courage to go and talk to the people responsible. One of her friends sarcastically remarked,
“What are you going to do, take them a canvas?”
To that the owner replied, “That is exactly what I am going to do.” So she took them a canvas and the rest is
history—she no longer had to worry about graffiti on her building.
The HART gallery is a
gallery that exclusively sells the work of non-traditional artists. In other words, the gallery sells the work of
those who are mentally handicapped and/or homeless. As an artist, this woman knew that the same
energy that we use to destroy things is also used to create things. So by giving these people a canvas, she
helped these people channel their energy in a positive direction. Imagine how life giving it is for these
non-traditional artists to see their work as something of value to the world.
(Artists at the HART Gallery)
As we are also
reminded of in the creation story, we as humans often use God’s energy to
destroy instead of using God’s energy to create which was our original call. As our Catechism states, “From the beginning,
human beings have misused their freedom and made wrong choices.” Adam and Eve disobey God. Cain kills Abel. And the story of humanity continues on that
trajectory. Ultimately, we are a people
who are constantly putting ourselves in the place of God.
As our liturgy reminds
us, God calls us back again and again to remember why we were made in the first
place. God puts up detour sign after
detour sign in order to remind us where to go.
Again our Catechism says, we are made to “love, to create, to reason,
and to live in harmony with creation and with God.” And God reminds us of this truth by putting
up a number of detour signs.
After the Fall, God
calls Israel to be a light to the nations.
God promises a great nation to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and from this
great nation the world will know the beauty and power of God’s love. But again, God’s people, Israel turn away
from God and use their energy to destroy instead of to create. They try to work from their own canvas.
And then God calls the
prophets to speak his truth. To every
King in the land God calls a prophet to speak the Word of God to the
monarch. But as Jesus says, “Oh
Jerusalem, Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s
messengers.” Again, the truth of God is
rejected by the very people God chose to carry out the ongoing work of
creation.
Ultimately, God makes
his truth known in the Word made flesh, Jesus, his Son. The fullest revelation of God and his eternal
truth is made known through Jesus of Nazareth.
Again, as our liturgy reminds us, in Christ we are delivered from evil
and made worthy to stand before God. In
Christ, we are brought out of error into truth.
In Christ, we are brought out of sin into righteousness and ultimately
out of death into life.
It is as if God is
saying, “Look at Jesus. This is who you
are. This is how I made you.” And of course, when we look at Jesus we
recognize how we have fallen short of God’s call. We recognize that we often choose to live for
ourselves (a destructive force) instead of living for God (a creative force). But there is good news—there is always good
news.
In our baptism, we are reminded that even despite our
sinfulness God calls us the same name as his only Son. God calls us beloved sons and daughters. God is reminding us that we were not created
to destroy rather we were created to reveal the beauty and wonder of God’s
creative and life-giving energy to the world.
Our Christian faith
says that it takes knowing Jesus to fully understand who we are and why we were
made. You are the light of the
world. You are beloved sons and daughters
of God. You are called to love and show
mercy. You are called to
servanthood. You are called to proclaim
the beauty and wonder of God and creation.
Ultimately, you are called to the work of God.
And the good news is
that God’s work is complete. God has
already given you a beautiful canvas to work from. You don’t have to go out and create your own
canvas. You don’t have to use your
energy on things that God never meant for you to use your energy on. God has already given you your art gallery—just
look around. Your job is simply to
highlight and celebrate the work that God has already completed in you and in
the world.
Today, on All Saints’
Day, we not only remember the saints in light, but we also remember who God
made us to be. As saints of God, we are
called to highlight and celebrate the beauty and wonder of life that is
ultimately revealed through Christ. As
artists and musicians and teachers and farmers and clergy and volunteers and
parents and friends and yes even bankers and lawyers, we all have the same job
and that is to use God’s creative energy for the good of all creation.
And as a people who are prone to choose destruction
over creation, God is constantly giving us detours, God is constantly reminding
us how to paint on his canvas by giving us Jesus as the focal point. But even when we make a wrong turn, even when
we paint outside the lines, the grace of God still shines through. I don’t know if you have noticed but God is
always using imperfect people to reveal his perfect world. And the main reason God uses imperfect people
is because imperfect people are all there are.
God’s many detours set us free from the path to
destruction and ultimately takes us on a journey that leads us home, on a
journey that leads us to the holy city of God where the only light and energy
is comes from God himself. We are taken
on a journey where the only possible option is to use God’s energy for good and
love and mercy.
On this All Saints’ Day, we celebrate not only those
who have gone before but we also rejoice to give thanks for who God has called
us to be. God has called us to be image
bearers of the light we know in Christ.
God has given us the ultimate reminder of this light through the life,
death, and resurrection of his Son. God
has given us permanent citizenship in the holy city of God where we become
fully the people God made us to be.
Saints of God, God has handed you your canvas. There is no way you can mess it up. Your work will always be of value because the
creative light of God shines through you.
And now as Jesus said to Lazarus, he says to you, “You have been set
free to live!” Amen.
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