Today's Gospel in Art: The angels of God will be ascending and descending

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, by Caravaggio © Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 5th January 2022 - John 1:43-51

After Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, he met Philip and said, 'Follow me.' Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' 'From Nazareth?' said Nathanael 'Can anything good come from that place?' 'Come and see' replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.' 'How do you know me?' said Nathanael. 'Before Philip came to call you,' said Jesus 'I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.' Jesus replied, 'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.' And then he added 'I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.'

Reflection on the Painting

Today's reading ends with the words that we will see 'the angels of God ascending and descending'. A striking depiction of an angel descending and holding Saint Francis of Assisi, is this painting by Caravaggio. It is one of the very first religious canvasses he did, aged 24, and shows the moment when Saint Francis receives the signs of the stigmata. The story is told by one of Francis' companions, Brother Leo. In 1224 Francis retired to the wilderness with a small number of his followers to contemplate God. On the mountainside at night Brother Leo saw a six-winged seraph (which is one of the higher order of angels) come down to Francis in answer to his prayers. In our painting, the six-winged seraph Brother Leo describes is replaced by a two-winged angel.

Angels are often depicted in paintings as side figures, rarely as the main protagonists (except for Annunciation scenes). It is therefore interesting to see this beautiful rendition of an angel holding and supporting Saint Francis. The distance is almost invisible in the darkness. Just a few light yellow brushstrokes convey the distant landscape on Mount Alverna where Saint Francis received the stigmata at night. Interesting to note is that originally Saint Francis' right hand featured the stigmata, but Caravaggio himself painted it over in order to bring the outer stigmata more to the 'inner' spiritual sphere.

So, what does Jesus mean when he says at the end of our reading today that his disciples will see God's angels ascending and descending upon him, the Son of Man? This same image of ascending and descending angels was used in the Old Testament where Jacob at Bethel saw heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon a ladder which reached from heaven to earth (Gen. 28:10-22). Jesus thus portrays Himself as a ladder who connects heaven and earth. Anyone who wants to hear everything about God, should follow Jesus and climb that ladder which connects us to heaven, just as Saint Francis so beautifully did.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1044
Christian Art - www.christian.art