Today's Gospel in Art - Father, the hour has come

Christ being Crucified, Drawing by Craig, 2020 .... © ChristianArt

Gospel of 24th May 2020 - John 17:1-11

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, 'Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

'I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Reflection on the Drawing

A few weeks ago via our Christian Art account on Instagram, the artist of this drawing, Craig, contacted me. He simply pointed out this drawing which he had just finished during Holy Week in lockdown. He simply stated that drawing was his hobby. I was drawn in by the drawing, its intricacy, its beauty and detailed level of execution. When we got chatting, he told me that this was his very first drawing of Christ, as usually he draws portraits of celebrities. For a very first attempt at drawing Christ, I do think this is a pretty amazing accomplishment. Christ's eyes, the nails, the wood texture of the cross, the blood, the Roman soldier's sandals…

The drawing illustrates beautifully what pain, torture and horrendous death Jesus went through… for all for us. Shortly before being crucified, He left us with the beautiful prayer we can read in our Gospel of today. In the face of death, He still thought of us first… The intimate prayer to His Father today is a beautiful reminder of His love for us and Christ' desire for us to be forever with Him someday…

I often now look at this drawing. It has become an artwork that I will associate with this time of lockdown. The artist kindly shared with me (and I asked permission from him if I could share this with you) some personal comments as well about this work. Craig suffers from agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear public places, opens spaces and people gathering. He said that the Covid-19 lockdown for him was nothing unusual, as he feels he is in permanent lockdown at home because of his condition… Drawing for him is a way to communicate to the outside world, where he is afraid to venture at times. Art as a bridge to the outside world out there; but also art as a bridge to the mystery of his own interior world, where during Holy Week he was inspired to create this beautiful artwork of Christ being crucified.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christianart.today/reading.php?id=431

Christian Art Today - www.christian.art