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Today's Gospel in Art - The man with the Withered Hand

  • Patrick van der Vorst

Giant $20 Bill, by Paul Rousso, 2014 © Paul Rousso Artist © Story quoted from Pastor Life

Giant $20 Bill, by Paul Rousso, 2014 © Paul Rousso Artist © Story quoted from Pastor Life

Gospel of 7th September 2020 - Luke 6:6-11

On the sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man with the withered hand, 'Stand up! Come out into the middle.' And he came out and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, 'I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?' Then he looked round at them all and said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

Reflection on the Wall Mounted Sculpture

If I may share a simple story with you today that I read recently…: There was a certain speaker who began his seminar by holding up a £20 note. "Who would like this £20 bill?" he asked. Hands went up throughout the audience. He went on to say, "I am going to give this £20 to one of you, but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple up the bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" The same hands went up in the air.

Then he said, "What if I do this?" He dropped the £20 note on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Again, the same hands went up.

Then he smiled and said, "You have all learned a valuable lesson. No matter what I do to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth £20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are priceless to Him."

Our artwork today shows a giant crumpled, withered banknote, mounted on a wall. American artist, Paul Rousso, created various wall sculptures of crumpled up currency. They are made by a process of infusing plexiglass with heat, then shaping and distorting it, to get the crumpled effect…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/537

Christian Art - www.christian.art

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