Today's Gospel in Art - He would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck

The Triumph of Death, by Pieter Breughel the Elder 1562 © Museo del Prado, Madrid

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 26th September 2021 - Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48

John said to Jesus, 'Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.' But Jesus said, 'You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

'If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.

'But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out.'

Reflection on the Painting

'But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck', we read in today's Gospel. This is very graphically depicted towards the centre-left of our painting by Pieter Breughel the Elder. A large army of skeletons dressed in white cloaks is throwing into the sea a man with a millstone around his neck. The background of the painting is a barren landscape filled with destruction and the aftermath of violence. In the top right we see a man praying before being executed. In the foreground we see Death on a horse, pulling a cart of skeletons. On the bottom right we see people in the middle of a game of backgammon (the common gambling game of that time) fleeing for their lives. Hordes of people are being shepherded into a huge coffin by a skeleton riding a horse. It is a truly fascinating painting with so much to look at.

This work is quite macabre but that is its intention! Breughel painted the panel to remind us of the inevitability of death. So if death is around the corner, we should repent…now! Jesus talks about the eternal consequences of our actions. If we don't repent, then we may not get to Heaven; if we do good things in our lives, then that will not go unrewarded.

The man mentioned in our reading would better be off with a millstone around his head (like the man in the painting). But what is the millstone around our own necks that is weighing us down? What is it that drags us down and keeps us away from God?

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/941
Christian Art - www.christian.art/