Gospel in Art: Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests

The Foxes have Holes, from Christ in the Wilderness series, by Stanley Spencer, 1939, ©Estate of Stanley Spencer

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 27 June 2022
Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, 'Master, I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.'

Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, 'Sir, let me go and bury my father first.' But Jesus replied, 'Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.'

Reflection on the Painting

Today's painting by Stanley Spencer is from a series of 40 compositions called 'Christ in the Wilderness', one for each day Christ was in the wilderness. He never finished the series and only 18 were completed. Each of the compositions shows a solitary Christ interacting with one of the elements of the wilderness (birds, scorpions, eagles, etc…). We do not know in detail which animals Christ interacted with in the wilderness, so the artist tied the compositions to other readings in the Gospel such as in today's reading where Matthew mentions that 'foxes have holes'. When looking at this image, we see Christ's garment as almost cloud-like. That was because these 40 compositions were meant to be studies for a painted ceiling. Hence Christ's white cloak would have functioned as cloud-like formations on the ceiling of the church.

Spencer painted this in London in 1938-39, a time when many refugees from Nazi Germany came to London, and it would have influenced the artist to paint Christ as a poor man, deprived, out of breath. He is interlocked with the foxes and the holes they live in, depicting Christ living in harmony with nature. The reading today however is slightly puzzling for us to read. Several people who wanted to follow Christ approached Him. He basically tells them that it will be very hard for them: no place to lay your head, you can't attend the family funeral duty… So what does he mean? Jesus was not just looking for followers but for actual disciples who would help proclaim his message to the world… and people who are willing to take up a cross…

Like us, the fox is made up of different things. He is beautiful to look at, graceful when he walks, but then is threatening as he hunts. We can't say of ourselves that we are wholly one thing or another: we are complex. Sometimes we are the hunter, sometimes the victim… in that sense we are a combination of everything the fox embodies. Christ here is interacting and embracing three foxes (one seen from the side, the back and another just the tail). These three foxes have a well defined, specific home, but Jesus hasn't... the whole world is his home.

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's image: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-8-18-22-2022/