Day Twenty One - Look up

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) by Salvador Dali

(1954; oil on canvas; 194cm x 124cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

In the Hebrew Bible we hear how Moses ‘made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live’ (Numbers 21:9). Dali, perhaps taking inspiration from the words of John, ‘and just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life’, depicts Christ on a cross of bronze cubes, suspended or ‘lifted up’.

The picture shows no blood, or nails hammered through flesh, and Christ’s face is hidden; yet His fingers curl in agony. As with traditional crucifixion scenes, there is a woman at the base of the cross. But this is not a traditional scene, the woman is not Mary Magdalene or the Virgin, but could rather represent each one of us.

The painting asks far more of us than a classic Biblical scene. As the modern age has seen a decline in Christianity in the West, and a lessening of influence due to both secular and other religious forces, we must all place ourselves in the position of the woman in Dali’s painting and ask who we are in relation to Jesus. Are we merely an onlooker or something more, a follower, a witness too? What do we make of the death of Christ? Can it heal us? Give us strength?

Let us all look up; whether in joy or grief, hope or despair; and may we gain strength from what we see. May those of us instilled by the strength of Christ go forth buoyed by this strength and live our lives in the way He taught, providing influence and example to those around us.

The nineteenth century preacher, DL Moody, said, ‘Out of 100 people, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian’. Let us therefore look up at Christ and by doing so live our lives as an example to others.

Eternal Father,

You are faithful to us and Your glory shines above all. Help us to live our lives as Your disciples without growing complacent or prideful. We are your servants, help us to be obedient to You. We give You all our adoration and praise for your grace and mercy in our lives.

Amen.

Gwyn Davies

Fair use for Salvador Dalí

The image linked here is claimed to be used under fair use as:

1. It is a historically significant painting, as per the information in the blog.

2. The image is only being used for informational purposes.

3. Its inclusion in the article adds significantly to the article because it shows the art of the subject of this article and how the image depicted is familiar to the general public.

4. The image is readily available on the Internet.