Gospel in Art: They were astonished at his teaching

Irises by Vincent van Gogh 1890, Oil on canvas © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 2 September 2025
Luke 4:31-37

At that time: Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 'Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God.'

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be silent and come out of him!' And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, 'What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!' And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Reflection on the painting

At the start of today's Gospel, Luke tells us that the teaching of Jesus left a deep impression on those who listened. That powerful impact is precisely why His words and deeds were remembered, first passed on by word of mouth and eventually written down in the Gospels we treasure today. Through these sacred texts we gain access to Jesus himself: His voice, His actions, His presence, and like the first hearers, we too are invited to be moved and shaped by them. In our short Gospel reading, we hear of the amazement of these initial listeners: "And they were all amazed" and "they were astonished at his teaching".

Yet, because we have heard these readings so often, it can be easy to grow numb, to lose that sense of wonder. The challenge for us is to approach the Gospel with fresh ears and open hearts, so that Christ never ceases to astonish us too. We must be open to be drawn in, and to stand in awe and wonder in front of Jesus, each time we hear or read the Gospel. Jesus of the Gospels should never lose his impact on us and we should never cease to be impressed by what he did for us.

So how can we go about this? One way is maybe by allowing art to open up the Scriptures for us in new and unexpected ways. When we look at a painting or sculpture inspired by the Gospel on our Christian Art website, my hope is that we are invited to see the familiar story through the imagination of an artist, and to notice details we might otherwise overlook. Art can maybe help us to snap out of our numbness. This is precisely what we try to do here with the www.christian.art website: to place the Word of God alongside great works of art, so that we make hear the word of God with new ears and see with fresh eyes. Art slows us down, stirs our emotions, and awakens our senses, helping us to hear the Gospel not as something old and routine, but as something alive, challenging, and fresh, drawing us once again into awe and wonder before Christ.

When we think of freshness, we often think of flowers. Hence, these Irises by Vincent van Gogh is a beautiful painting to look at. Van Gogh painted it in May 1890, just before he left the asylum at Saint-Rémy. It belongs to a series of four exuberant still lives (two of irises and two of roses) that stand out as the only ambitious flower pieces he created during his year-long stay there. In this canvas, Van Gogh deliberately aimed for a "harmonious, fresh and soft" (as he wrote himself) effect, setting the violet irises against a delicate pink background. Originally, the colours would have been even more striking, but the red pigments he used have since faded over time. Irises, together with its companion piece Roses, was treasured by Van Gogh's own mother, remaining in her possession until her death in 1907.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-4-31-37-2025/