May 1, 2011
A Season of New Creation
We are now in the Easter season, the season of resurrection, of the New Creation. In these coming weeks I want us to see the “Season of New Creation” as an active time where “Creation” is a verb. Creation is God’s activity, and the activity that we are constantly invited to take part in. I believe that the more we engage in creativity, the closer we grow to God and the more we become Christ-like.
“At SCUCC, Creativity is our primary Spiritual Discipline -- Our way of knowing ourselves and God, and engaging in the adventure of following Christ.” That is the introductory phrase from the bookmark introducing this series. I propose that this is one of the unique gifts we have to bring onto the landscape of the UCC and here in Scottsdale. This series will explore this proposition.
I hope we can begin by talking about the series as a whole: the arts we can focus upon, artists we might invite to take part in worship, ways we can draw spiritual connections from creativity. I have already talked with Jack Evans about bringing his love of haiku to us some week in this series. When we have gathered a pool of ideas and resources, then we can begin to put the pieces into the shapes that best make sense for each service.
Below are the weeks of the series as I have sketched them out along with scriptures from which to look for God artistically at work and play. As always, any additional ideas regarding scripture are very welcome.
May 1 God is the Artist Job 38:4-11
May 8 Artists in God’s Image Colossians 3:8-11
Exodus 35:4-19
May 15 Art Saves the World Genesis 6:11-22
May22 The Power of Art 1 Samuel 16:14-23
May 29 Artful Vision John 8:1-11
June 5 Art Changes the World Revelation 21:1-5a, Isaiah 65:17-25
June 12 Pentecost – The Creative Spirit Arrives! SCUCC Artfest Acts 2:1-12
Thoughts for May 1:
We begin by considering that God is an artist. The Age of Enlightenment theists envisioned God as an engineer who constructed this elaborate machine called the universe, set it in motion and then stepped back to watch it all run. God the Engineer is distant, uninvolved, and totally independent of the machine-universe. God the Artist, though, is intimately involved with the work of art that is us and the universe. What God creates is an expression of who God is, what God loves and values. That God continues to create, to make art, means that God is still intimately involved with us (and invites us to co-create).
Job 38:4-11
‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
‘Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—
when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped”?
Job has demanded that God give him a reckoning for the abuse Job has suffered. Instead of answering directly to Job’s demand, God kind of tells Job off. God recounts the activity of creation and reminds Job that God is about larger things than just what Job can understand. Now, as a rationalization for suffering this falls kind of short for me, but we are not dealing specifically with that subject here. What intrigues me is that God claims that the divine activity is all about creation.
Good News: God is pleased and delighted with Creation.
Subject: God’s first identity is as an artist.
Experiential Field: We experience God when we participate in creating art.
Art-making is prayer, being in communication with God. Because artists express themselves in their art, we can know God in Creation, and in creating. I believe we have an innate need to create, to make our mark. From ancient times we made cave paintings even before we had language. Being an artist is one of the ways we reflect the divine image in which we are made (which is the specific topic for next week).
As this is our first week, I’m willing to share my experiences as an artist. If we have contacts with other artists (poets, story-tellers, architects, bakers, care-givers, etc.), I’m certainly open to inviting them. I hope we can find ways to invite those who are worshipping to engage, to taste, the kind of art we highlight each week.
I think that one important experience here is that we are ALL artists. We create our lives, and beginning to appreciate that process and revel in the uniqueness that each of us brings to the world is an important form of art.
ReplyDeleteI like the thought of God being and artist verses a hands off engineer. When I was looking for easter art I cam across an artist from Norway who had two version of a piece called "Risen". the artist Reed new his piece was not done and came back later and worked on it some more. I like the idea that God is forever creating adding a little dab f paint here and there. I also cam across some works by Jesus Mafa were he updated a couple pieces or art.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to the 2 pieces of art by Reed.
www.scucc.com//downloads/risen 1and2.pdf
My Art is no art
ReplyDeleteWithout my mind's simplicity.
My Art does not want
To subscribe to the view
That unhappiness
Commands the world.
When I paint or draw,
I keep my mind's thought-garden
Completely free of self-doubt-weeds.
My Art is the hide-and-seek
Between my soul's illumining smiles
And my heart's streaming tears.
The Artist in me has three
Faithful, sleepless
And self-giving friends:
A newness-eye, a oneness-heart
And a fulness-life.
The heart of my Art
And the heart of a child
Are extremely fond of each other.
They love each other deeply;
They need each other constantly;
They are interdependent, sleeplessly.
My mind says that anything I do
Is too insignificant
Because I am wanting
In qualification.
Needless to say,
This includes my Artwork.
My heart says that anything I do
Is too significant
Because the God-Touch
Is always there.
Needless to say,
This includes my Artwork.
The moment I start painting,
I clearly see my soul-meditation
Is blessingfully clasping
My heart-aspiration-flames.
First things first:
The Artist in me,
Before embarking on his Artwork,
Invariably catches
His heart's aspiration-express.
True, in my Art I want to see
The face of earth's beauty.
But I want to see
The heart of Heaven's Divinity
More, infinitely more.
by Sri Chinmoy
I was rereading the Job passage and I loved the way the Message help me get Doyle said about God telling Job off. Starting back at verse 2 - "Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about?
ReplyDeletePull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that! "
I also came across another scripture similar to the Job passage Isaiah 40:12-14. The thing the struck me in Isaiah was where did God get his creative talent? Where does our creativity come from? Can creativity be taught or is it something inanate within us."
Isaiah 40:12-14.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? 13Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? 14Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
I recently came across Lectionary Liturgy for Easter 2-A called Holy Humor Sunday. My background does not have a Lectionary so I don't really get them but what in the world do we need a lectionary to give us permission to tell a joke in church!!! God laughs every day not just on the Sunday after easter. That said I read through the lectionary and came across some thoughts that go with what we are talking about this week. I adopted and reword the following from the a liturgy written by Thom M. Shuman.
ReplyDeleteYou smiled as the sun burst through the storm clouds in the sky;
You laughed out loud as you shaped the platypus, ostrich, and catfish;
You chuckled as you planted lily pads around creation's fountain;
All that is good and beautiful was given shape by you, Imaginative God.
Into the face of cantankerous chaos, you sprayed the waters of creation.
Into a silent world, you composed a tune for the loverbirds to sing.
Into the night skies, you lit up the darkness with the northern lights.
Your joy, your heart-full spirit overflowed in everything you created.
With greasepaint you painted the multicolored wild flowers.
With engineering design, you sent comets racing through the skies.
With a vibrant imagination, you ripened apples which you hung on branches.
All was created for those shaped in your image.
Here is a prayer from The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron.
ReplyDeleteAn Artist’s Prayer
O Great Creator,
We are gathered together in your name
That we may be of greater service to you
And to our fellows.
We offer ourselves to you as instruments.
We open ourselves to your creativity in our lives.
We surrender to you our old ideas.
We welcome your new and more expansive ideas.
We trust that you will lead us.
We trust that it is safe to follow you.
We know you created us and that creativity
Is your nature and our own.
We ask you to unfold our lives
According to your plan, not our low self-worth.
Help us to believe that it is not too late
And that we are not too small or too flawed
To be healed—
By you and through each other – and made whole.
Help us to love one another,
To nurture each other’s unfolding,
To encourage each other’s growth,
And understand each other’s fears.
Help us to know that we are not alone,
That we are loved and lovable.
Help us to create as an act of worship to you.