Today's Gospel in Art - Love your enemies

Reconciliation, by Josefina de Vasconcellos 1977 © St Michael's Cathedral, Coventry

Gospel of 16th June 2020 - Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.'

Reflection on the Bronze sculpture

Continuing on from yesterday's reading, Jesus puts love at the very centre of his teachings. He is insistent that our default position should be love in all its forms and expressions: respect, kindness, justice, forgiveness… and 'reconciliation', which is the title of our sculpture today.

Josefina de Vasconcellos, the artist (she died in 2005 at the age of 101) of our sculpture, was an English sculptor, based in Cumbria. Whilst only cast in 1977, the sculpture was conceived in the aftermath of the Second World War. At the time she said about this sculpture: 'Europe was in shock, people were stunned. I read in a newspaper about a woman who crossed Europe on foot to find her husband, and I was so moved that I made the sculpture. Then I thought that it wasn't only about the reunion of two people but hopefully a reunion of nations which had been fighting'.

Jesus is asking us to go beyond what we think we are capable of. Here He asks us to love people who wrong us… Jesus calls us to go beyond what we think we are capable of and by doing so, we participate in His wider vision for us…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christianart.today/reading.php?id=454

Christian Art Today - www.christian.art