Gospel in Art: If you know me, you know my Father too

The Heads and Hands of Two Apostles, by Raphael 1519 Courtesy ©Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 27 April 2024
John 14:7-14

Jesus said to his disciples:

'If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.'

Philip said, 'Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.'

'Have I been with you all this time, Philip,' said Jesus to him, 'and you still do not know me? 'To have seen me is to have seen the Father, so how can you say, "Let us see the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason. I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it.'

Reflection on the drawing

I love these types of readings where we witness basically a Q&A session between Jesus and his disciples. They have been alongside Jesus for nearly three years by now, and they are all expecting that Christ would establish his earthly kingdom and they could then rule with him. But as they realise they haven't got the full picture yet, they ask Jesus questions. Jesus then drops a bombshell: he will be killed and join his Father in the Kingdom of Heaven. But it is the sentence towards the beginning of the reading, 'If you know me, you know my Father too,' which is interesting. The word 'know' is used twice in a short sentence. Christ is inviting us to go beyond purely rational knowledge here. The highest level of knowing is intimacy. If we think of family members or close friends, we can say that we know them because we have shared problems, joys, issues, hardships, etc. with them. We 'know' them because of the intimacy we have shared with them, emotionally and spiritually. Jesus is inviting us here to have the same level of intimate knowledge of him and thus of his Father.

For today's artwork we are looking at a drawing Raphael made in 1519. Drawing, like no other art form, shows the intimacy of the artist and his mind at work. A drawing serves as a visual representation of the artist's mind at work, revealing their thoughts, emotions, creativity, and intention through composition, style, technique, symbolism, and narrative. Through careful observation and interpretation, we as viewers can gain insight into the artist's mind and appreciate the depth and complexity of his or her artistic expression. That it is why it is always a privilege to see finished artworks, as they are the result of searching, thinking, observing, improvising, struggling and inspiration-fuelled intimate moments of an artist. We too can 'know' the artist better, through the intimacy of his drawings.

The drawing today by Raphael, made a year before he died at the age of only 37, is a beautiful example of this… showing his artistic intelligence. We understand what we are looking at (the heads and hands of two apostles) but we also feel as though we 'know' Raphael a bit better by looking at this drawing. The 'knowing' to which Jesus is calling us is similar. It is only by engaging in an intimate way with his person that we can get to know him... and then we get to know the Father too.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-14-7-14-2024/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49310