Art and Faith, Part 4: Self Portrait by Pablo Picasso
Service of Worship, Eastern Parkway
United Methodist Church
September 6, 2020
Rev. Natalie Bowerman, Pastor
Let us
pray:
Almighty
God, whose Son Jesus Christ in his earthly life shared our toil and hallowed
our labor: Be present with your people where they work; make those who
carry on the industries and commerce of his land responsive to your will; and
give to us all a pride in what we do, and a just return for our labor; through
Jesus Chris tour Lord, who lives and reigns with you , in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common
Prayer, pg. 259)
Litany
for Labor Day:
Leader: Let us pray to the Lord of all
creation, from who come life, work and purpose.
Almighty God, when you lovingly formed us out of the dust of the earth, you
breathed into us the breath of life and gave us work and purpose for living.
C. You
placed Adam in the garden of Eden to till and keep it.
L: Through our work, you make us
co-creators with you, shaping the world in which we live.
C. You
gave dignity to our labor by sending your Son to labor with us.
L. By our labor, the world is
enriched.
C. By our
labor, we enjoy the fruits of creation.
L. For providing varieties of work and
for blessing us by our labor:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who plow the field; for
farmers and farm workers, for those who work with their hands and those who
move the earth, for all who provide food for others:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who tend the sick and
those who seek new cures; for doctors and nurses, for scientists and
technicians; for all who work to care for the sick:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who design and
create; for inventors and explorers, for artists and musicians; for those who
write books and those who entertain; for all who open windows on their world
through art and music:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who work in offices
and those who work in warehouses; for secretaries and receptionists, for
stockers and bookkeepers; for those who market products and for those who move
them; for all who serve others through administration:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who inspire our minds
and those who motivate us; for teachers and preachers, for public servants and
religious servants; those who help the poor and those who work with our
children; for all who encourage us to learn:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those whose labor is
tidiness and cleanliness; for janitors and sanitary workers, for drycleaners
and maids; for those who produce cleaning products and those who use them; for
all those who add beauty and cleanliness to your world:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who sail the waves
and those who fly the skies; for captains and attendants, for astronauts and
deep sea divers; for those who chart and those who navigate:
C. We
give you thanks, O Lord.
L. For those who serve in the
armed forces; for soldiers and airmen; sailors and marines; for all those who
put themselves in harms way to protect others:
C:
We give you thanks, O Lord.
L. You bless us all with skills and
gifts for labor.
C. You provide
us opportunities to use them, for the benefit of others as well as ourselves
and the growth of your Kingdom on earth.
L. Guard and protect those who labor
in the world.
C. Bless
the work of our hands, O Lord.
L. Send your special favor on the
unemployed, the under-employed and the disabled, that they may find work that
enriches their lives and provides for their families.
C. Give
health to the sick, hope to the bereaved.
L. Keep us from laboring for
ourselves alone.
C. Make
us loving and responsible in all that we do.
Genesis
1: 26-28
26Then God said, "Let us make humankind
in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over
all the creatures that move along the ground." 27So God created
humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living
creature that moves on the ground."
A Message
Art and
Faith, Part 4: Self Portrait by Pablo Picasso
Friends,
today we have reached the conclusion of this 4 part sermon series where we
allow 20th Century works of art to illustrate, both symbolically and
literally, the messages of our scripture readings. Today, as we contemplate the
creation of humankind in the Image of God as told in Genesis 1: 26-28, I invite
you to learn a little bit about an artist by the name of Pablo Diego Jose
Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la
Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. Art history has remembered him simply by his
last name, but I think in order to really honor someone we need to honor all of
them, and for someone like Picasso this includes all 20 of the words in his
name, which lifts up both family members and saints. Like our other three
artists from this series, Picasso lived relatively recently, from October 25,
1881 until April 8, 1973. He began studying and creating works of art at a very
young age, and his honing of his craft was strongly encouraged by his father,
who was also an artist. Picasso is famous for his ground breaking work in
Cubism, constructed sculpture, and collage. But in less artsy terms, Picasso is
remembered for his use of rich color, and his delightfully abstract
compositions.
For today I
wanted to share several of Picasso’s self portraits.
He painted
this first one in 1896 at the age of 15.
He painted
this next one in 1901 at the age of 20.
Then in
1938, at the age of 56, he painted this one.
In 1965, at
the age of 83, he painted this one.
Finally, one
year before he passed away, in 1972 at the age of 90, he painted this one.
Let these
images soak in for a moment. Consider the evolution of Picasso’s artistic
style, and what these images tell us about his perception of himself. Picasso
was born with such a natural talent for art that at the very young age of 15 he
painted a self portrait that almost looked like a photograph. Clearly this is
not a man who painted so abstractly because he lacked the skill to draw a real
looking face. After a lifetime of perfecting his skills Picasso surely had
every ability to paint a self portrait that would look like a mirror image. But
rather than showing us the surface level details of his face, Picasso opted to
show us the emotions and passions that laid beneath.
With this in
mind, consider God’s Creation of you, summed up in artistic beauty in today’s
scripture. Rather than giving us a biological account of the genesis of human
life, the formation of the very first cell, the knitting together of the
nervous system, the evolution from something simple to something complex, the
biblical author focuses on the emotions underneath. God loved us so much before
we ever existed that God wanted us to bear the Divine Image, or the Imago Dei
for you Latin nerds. God wanted every single one of us to walk this earth
carrying a piece of God within us everywhere we went, in both feminine and
masculine manifestations, and for us to be interrelated to every other person
and animal because of our connection to the Holy. Look in the mirror. Not at
today’s hairdo, or your clothes. Look deeply. Everything about you was Created
on purpose. Your gender and gender identity, your sexuality, your physical and
mental ability, your race, your ethnicity, your talents, your dreams, your
virtues, your spirit—it was all on purpose.
If you were
to share a picture of yourself with us, would there be one that you think
exemplifies who you are so well that it shares your sacred self with the world?
What do you want others to see in you? What do you want God to see in you? If
God drew a picture of you, what might it look like?
Our holy
Creation in the Imago Dei makes of us a canvas of God’s art that we share with
the world in everything we do just by being ourselves and loving our selves and
our neighbors for it. Every single person you see carries a piece of God with
them. When you look in the eyes of your sibling, you look into the heart of
God.
But in our
fallenness, we have failed to fully see this reality. When we do see it, we
take it for granted.
This is
Daniel Prude. He lived in Rochester, NY, my home of 14 years. My neighbors
grieve for him. Last March he had a mental health crisis. He was walking around
outside at night in the freezing cold naked and talking to himself. His family
called 911 and asked for help getting Daniel to safety. The police officers
that responded to that call should have looked in his eyes and seen the Imago
Dei. Instead they saw a black body that they discriminated against. They did
nothing to protect him, they didn’t bring him home or cover his nakedness. They
put a bag over his head, and he died by suffocation. His life mattered. He was
made in the Image of God.
This is
Breonna Taylor. On March 13, plain clothes police officers in an unmarked car
responded to a no knock warrant in her home—what turned out to be the home of
someone they weren’t looking for—and barged inside. Breonna’s boyfriend feared
they were being robbed, and he fired one shot. The officers returned fire, shot
Breonna several times, and she stumbled to her death in the hallway just
outside her bedroom. Her killers still have not been charged, and her boyfriend
was charged with attempted murder. Her life mattered. She was made in the Image
of God.
This is Bee
Love Slater. She was murdered in a hate crime last September in Florida. Her
murderers targeted her for being a trans woman. Her life mattered. She was made
in the Image of God.
This is Nina
Pop. She was murdered last May in Missouri, as a hate crime, targeted because
she was trans. Her life mattered. She was made in the Image of God.
This is
Dominique Fells. She was killed in June in Philadelphia, a hate crime. She was
targeted for being trans. Her life mattered. She was made in the Image of God.
This is
Iyanna Dior. The only person I’ve lifted up today who’s lucky enough to still
have their life, Dior was beaten by an angry, transphobic mob in Minneapolis,
who targeted her for being a trans woman. Her life matters. She was made in the
Image of God.
Tori Cooper,
director of community engagement for the Human Rights Campaign’s Transgender
Injustice Initiative, spoke out and said “This violence has got to stop. All of
our hearts should hurt watching the videos of this young trans woman being hit
by a group of people. Black lives matter and that includes trans, non-binary,
queer, cis and straight Black lives. The time is now for us to make changes
through an intersectional lens that includes all Black lives.”
It is at
once a blessing and a call to action as we claim our identity as God’s Children
and celebrate our creation in the Imago Dei. If we all carry the Image of God
within us then we need to carry divine love and justice everywhere we go. We
must demand an end to discrimination and oppression and protect our most
vulnerable neighbors. Our faith allows for nothing less. Amen.
Benediction:
Our God, our
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, will guard our going out and our coming in,
from this time on and forever more. As all God’s people we say together: Amen.
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