Gospel in Art: Offer the wicked man no resistance

The Knotted Gun, by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, 1985. Cast bronze © Alamy

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 June 2023
Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said to his disciples: 'You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.'

Reflection on the Bronze Sculpture

Non Violence, also known as The Knotted Gun, is a sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. Sculpted as an oversized Colt Python 357 revolver, its muzzle is tied in a knot and therefore unusable. The artist made the sculpture after the murder of John Lennon. In 1988 it was moved right outside the UN headquarters in New York. The version we are looking at is another cast in Malmö, Sweden. Since 1993, the sculpture has been the symbol of the Non Violence Project, a non-profit organisation which promotes social change through violence-prevention education programs. It is a very effective sculpture, as in a split second we immediately engage with it and know its meaning…

Jesus teaches non violence in an emphatic way. To answer violence with violence takes us into a self-destructive spiral. Peace is what we are are called to pursue. Gaudium et Spes (click here for access to full document), promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965, states in no. 78: Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship. Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice. Peace results from that order structured into human society by its divine Founder, and actualized by men as they thirst after ever greater justice. The common good of humanity finds its ultimate meaning in the eternal law. But since the concrete demands of this common good are constantly changing as time goes on, peace is never attained once and for all, but must be built up ceaselessly.

Artists can contribute to the efforts of peece in their own unique ways. Our artwork by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd is a good example of this. He made the sculpture after the murder of John Lennon, with whom Reuterswärd was acquainted. When learning of the murder he stayed up all night to work on the sculpture, inspired by the idea of making a knot on the gun the murderer Mark David Chapman had used. The oversized public version of the knotted gun was planned for John Lennon's memorial Strawberry Fields in Central Park. When the memorial was opened in 1985, Reuterswärd opted not to have it placed there, citing fears it would be stolen. A copy was installed outside the UN headquarters as stated and Paul Mc Cartney and Yoko Ono also commissioned versions of the sculpture.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-5-38-42-2023/