Thou Blessed Monarch
Monarchs are the coolest. Sure they’re the T-rex of the butterfly world, too popular for their own good, like the #1 hit song that groans under the weight of its own success. No doubt, the monarch is King of the fluttering world. But before you gloss over one of God’s greatest creatures, take a moment. First of all, their wings are practically made out of stained glass. I know that monarchs were invented long before stained glass, but how else are we supposed to understand what we’re looking at?
Secondly, they migrate some 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico through rain, wind, snow, hail, fog, traffic, and whatever else gets in their way. When’s the last time you did something like that? They are a perfect mixture of beauty and tenacity. They are delicate and meek, yet relentless in pursuit of their goal. They are stunning to the eye and what for? They embark on a journey that will be their demise for the sake of their offspring. Jesus set His face towards Zion. Beautiful are the feet (or wings) of him that brings good news. He set His face like flint towards Jerusalem. This was His greatest glory. What better analogue is there to compare to the Creator-Christ who wraps Himself in light, which is the beauty of His holiness?
Ask David Bryant about monarchs of a different kind, and he will tell you that we have made Jesus out to be more of a mascot than the Monarch King that He is. A mascot is disposable. A monarch must be reckoned with. As Spurgeon said of the resurrected Christ, “Take all, thou blessed monarch, it shall be most mine when it is thine. Take all, and reign and rule.”
We share the common understanding that everything in the created order is being drawn, pulled, focused, funneled to one point-Christ Jesus. To the degree we acknowledge His supreme reign, we will have an ever-increasing capacity to worship Him in spirit and truth. And now our minds inevitably wander towards the arts.
Fostering a dialogue about Christianity and the Arts is nothing new. In fact, we face the opposite problem-it’s a tired subject that’s too easy to talk about. Artists are the first to yawn at another fruitless discussion that will only further polarize the Church from the Culture and create division within its own walls between creative-types and those who are not. Truly, it is much easier for artists to go about their work alone and unhindered, as it is hard enough to practice any kind of art in the confines of family life, job demands, and the stress of eeking out an existence in an anti-aesthetic environment. But in the midst of all this, God calls us to be a peculiar people, called to something much greater than art or non-art. We are given the gift that the whole world is clamoring for. We have been charged to create and sustain communities of faith rooted in the person of Jesus, so much so that we are likened to His body and He our head, firmly established in the skillful toil and soulful cultivating of the saints who have gone before us. Our cherished destiny is becoming the Church in which the Father’s will is done freely, drawing all things to Himself. Hallelujah.
How shall we then begin? With this blog, I am interested in discussing the arts and culture as it relates to our communal worship experience. Lamb of God Fellowship is many things. But above all I cherish our shared pursuit of Jesus. We are weak, and at times wandering confused, but we are always chasing Him, even while stumbling. We are hunters by nature, and that makes me glad to be a part of you, hoping you will forgive what we are not.
I have never actually gone hunting like some of my friends, but if I were to, I would first want to know what I’m going after. That would dramatically affect the way I go about the whole thing. I probably wouldn’t kill a deer with a butterfly net and I’m definitely not going to catch a grizzly with a fishing pole.
In a like manner, our espying on God will certainly shape our pursuit of Him. Hence, the working thesis of my blog: Should not the pursuit itself reflect the nature of the desired object? Or are we in the West so pragmatic to only care about the end result? We rail against the consumer mindset of the Western Church, but does our worship, with its associated production and finished product speak well of our Lord of the universe? Are we still relating to each other as peddlers of religious goods and services? The material height and breadth and depth of God is not sitting pretty for us to ponder like a Thomas Kinkade scene. Kingdom reality is a wild and kinetic truth whirling roundabout like the arms of a hurricane. The reign of God demands from its creatures a dramatic and immediate creature-like, or creative response.
Now is the time that you must refer to Psalm 104:24-35.
This is an important Psalm to consider because it establishes our identity as responsive beings who are response-able towards our Lord and His majestic handiwork. At the same time, the psalmist completely bypasses the question of what constitutes creative expression and moves forward in obedient love. This is so important for us to understand in the pursuit of art that is framed in a community of believers with diverse backgrounds, gifts and interests. This is one of the pillars holding up my theory on art, and a sword I am willing to die on: Art is an entity that can be named and encapsulated into certain parameters, depending on its environment and the people within its sphere of criticism and influence.
Art can be uniquely mysterious and complex in its ability to communicate beyond its own reach (contextually and in a plastic sense). And yet it is art that holds the greatest potential for accessible and effective communication of any language base. Anyone who doesn’t agree should consider the last tune that was stuck in their head as they were going about their day. Where did it come from? Who wrote it? What is that person’s relationship to you? What is the total meaning of the text and the musical grid behind it? And most importantly, why can’t you get that blasted melody out of your head?
For me, this is where Art with a capital “A” comes in. Is it enough to possess a razor-sharp blade if it isn’t properly handled, or left sleeping in its sheath? The power and potential for art to evangelize and make disciples is squished like a bug on the floor of the Church.
I see this as a symptom and a cause of our true spiritual bankruptcy, which is a topic of another discussion altogether. But here we stand on the foggy mandate to invest the talents we have in this life, so that in the life to come we can receive even more. Many of us are in conflict regarding art’s ability to carry the Gospel into the human heart. Some of us are in conflict about the route that art should take to get there. Other’s are shaking their heads as they pass by the wreckage of too much postulating and not enough practice.
Whatever the case, I’m guessing that our opinions aren’t ready to stand under much theological scrutiny, or at best aren’t gracious enough to allow for variance in Biblical interpretation. God is beautifying His Bride and part of that process is smothering the earth with the knowledge of Him like the waters cover the sea. Is it too much to expect that over the next year or so that God will propel us into the worlds as bearers of the gospel by giving us a unified vision of the arts? Beloved, this is the least we should expect!
Right now, I believe that God is capturing our hearts in a way that will require a child-like imagination and exploration in response to His goodness, and that we will use whatever we can get our hands on to the advantage of worshipping Him in unity (See Mark 11:8-10). Maybe this blog can be a record of that process, and our progress towards a worthy expression of the Blessed Monarch.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
this digging your doing is making me feel uncomfortable. too close to the core, the heat is too intense. the depth of this matter is so evocative, and i feel that we must dialogue although we are defensive, weary, and foggy eyed.
i know that i often feel very alone in my artistic imaginations.
but we have each other, don’t we.
by the way, here is my blog, coincidentally kieran and i just raised a monarch caterpillar to buttefly and were in complete awe of the beauty: http://recipesfromthewilderness.blogspot.com