Today's Gospel in Art - Jesus was astonished at the Centurion

Roman Centurion, Front Cover Total War Rome II Game © Creative Assembly / Sega

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 13th September 2021 - Luke 7:1-10

When Jesus had come to the end of all he wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum. A centurion there had a servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. 'He deserves this of you' they said 'because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he is the one who built the synagogue.' So Jesus went with them, and was not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends: 'Sir,' he said 'do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not worthy to have you under my roof; and for this same reason I did not presume to come to you myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.' When Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to the crowd following him, 'I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith like this.' And when the messengers got back to the house they found the servant in perfect health.

Reflection on the Gaming Artwork

Today, we are looking at a computer-generated image of a Roman centurion. The advancement in technology and computers over the past 20 years has offered artists a completely new medium to express themselves. Many of these artists now work in the gaming industry. It would be easy to be dismissive of this art-form as being a less valid medium for the artist, but I disagree. This digital art-form is truly fascinating, as art and science have to work hand in hand, and the advancement of one feeds into the other; and vice versa. The artists push the boundaries of technology to enable them to create whatever visual space they desire. It is also where painting and sculpture meet, as all the animated figures, trees, animals, etc. need to be created in 3D ways. So it is a medium where in a way painting becomes fully three-dimensional.

What is unique in the creation of visuals for the gaming industry is that it is a truly collaborative effort. Each artist needs to work alongside 20 or more other artists to create the one space within which the games can be played. The individual artist works towards a common goal, similar to the film industry, where so many different artists and craftsmen need to work together to create the one final product. Yet the final consumers of this art-form are only a limited set of people, usually young people who are into their computer gaming. Therefore, can it be truly considered an art-form? Can anyone list any names of creators of video games imagery, as opposed to film-makers, actors, composers, painters, poets, sculptors?…

In any case, our games illustration brings us back to the protagonist of today's Gospel reading: the centurion. In his humble approach to Jesus, he displayed a deep faith. He trusted Jesus fully, more so than any of the Jewish elders he would have encountered before. Even 'Jesus was astonished at him' and the faith he displayed. The centurion was a man of war, non-Jewish, occupying territories… and yet he became one of the great heroes of the New Testament.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/928
Christian Art - www.christian.art/