Gospel in Art: You are sad at heart

The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner, by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1837 © V&A, London / Alamy

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 7 May 2024
John 16:5-11

Jesus said to his disciples:

'Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you has asked, "Where are you going?"

Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I must tell you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement: about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me; about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more; about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.'

Reflection on the painting

In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus describes his disciples as 'sad at heart' because he had told them that he was going back to the one who had sent him, God the Father. There are times in all our lives when we are 'sad at heart' for various reasons. Like the sadness of the disciples, our sadness too can be related to some experience of loss, the loss of someone who has been significant for us. Jesus understood the sadness of his disciples and yet he wanted to show them that his leaving them had a value; it would open up his coming to them in a new and different way.

Jesus wants his disciples to see that his departure is not the tragedy it appears to be; it contains within it the seeds of new life. It is only his departure that makes it possible for him to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to his disciples, and it is in and through the Spirit that Jesus can be present to them in this new way.

Sometimes we do indeed lament and tend to focus on our sadness without seeing shoots of hope. If I have to choose a painting that conveys sadness, then this canvas by Sir Edwin Landseer, titled 'The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner' would certainly be in my all time top ten paintings depicting grief and sadness. It is a striking painting depicting loss. We see the deceased shepherd's staff and hat on the right, underneath a table supporting a closed Bible. The book of the shepherd's life has come to a close. The dog is lamenting, resting his head on the coffin. The tangible loss is moving. The influential art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) considered this painting to be 'one of the most perfect poems which modern times have seen.'

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-16-5-11-2024/