Sunday 16th March – Lent 2

There is music … and then there is music.

There are paintings … and then there are paintings.

Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ from the ‘Four Seasons’ is beautiful, full of melody and intricate harmonies; it is aesthetically pleasing.

But Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ from the ‘Enigma Variations’ stirs my soul. I can see rolling English hills covered in hues of green and brown; a lazy sun rising in a blue sky with wisps of high, cirrus clouds; larks singing as they rise; a traditional village nestled in the valley, with a church and a pub and a village green.

Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’, with her enigmatic smile, the mystery of who she is, is a great painting.

Dali’s ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’, with its extraordinary perspective, like an Orthodox icon, draws me into the suffering of Christ on the cross, the mystery of God’s love, while ordinary life carries on with the little fishing boat … I could spend hours simply gazing at this picture, meditating on it, communing with God.

The Psalmist wrote:

‘One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.’

‘… to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord …’ This is more than just looking, more than just aesthetic appreciation. It involves meditation, communion, standing in awe, loosing oneself, just being; as Wesley put it, to be ‘Lost in wonder, love and praise’

When I look into Your holiness, When I gaze into Your loveliness, When all things that surround Become shadows in the light of You;

When I’ve found the joy of reaching Your heart, When my will becomes enthralled in Your love, When all things that surround

Become shadows in the light of You: I worship You, I worship You,

The reason I live is to worship You

Rev Phil