Today's Gospel in Art - Salvation comes to the house of Zacchaeus

Jesus Encounters Zacchaeus, Delft plate by De Roos Factory, 1690-1710 © V&A Museum, London

Gospel of 3rd November 2019 - Luke 19: 1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance: he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a sinner's house' they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.'

Reflection on the Delft Plate

In most of our daily reflections I select a piece of Fine Art (painting & sculpture), but rarely do we look at Christian depictions within the Decorative Arts (silver, porcelain, tapestries, furniture etc…) The main distinction between Fine art and Decorative art can be put as follows: Fine Art is primarily made for pure beauty or aesthetics; Decorative Art serves some practical function on top of this (silver for pouring wine; porcelain for eating; etc…). I particularly like it when a decorative arts object, such as the porcelain plate here, depicts some Christian theme. As it is an object that serves a purpose (to eat from), this Christian imagery comes right at the very heart of our every day action (eating)... to read on see: www.christianart.today/daily-gospel-reading/223