|
|
|
Pastor's Message
You Are A Failure!
Finally, all of you, be of one mind, having compassion for one another. Love each other as family. Be tender-hearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, returning blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you might inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9
Vincent Van Gogh's early life was spent as an art dealer, teacher, and preacher in Holland, Belgium, and England. He took up art in 1881 when he began to study in Brussels, starting with watercolors, but turning quickly to oils. French country scenes were major influences on his life and his early work was dominated by sombre, earthy colors showing peasant workers, the most famous of which is "The Potato Eaters", 1885. He studied in Paris (1886-8) where he developed that individual style of brushwork and use of color that make his works so valuable today.
The paintings of Vincent van Gogh are worth millions. When one goes up for auction, the event is generally covered by all the major news networks. The cruel twist in all of this is that van Gogh never experienced success in his lifetime.
As great a success as the world proclaims van Gogh today, in his day he was unnoticed and a self-acknowledged failure. Evidently, no one ever came up to him and told him that his work was beautiful. Imagine - no one looked over his shoulder in awe, humbled to see the still wet paint as the artist's intense vision of light and thick color glistened before him, the paint angrily swirled, and sometimes even broodingly lobbed on with a palette knife. Truly, van Gogh thought himself a failure, wallowed in depression, famously cut off his ear, and finally took his own life. All his paintings had been produced in a 29-month period.
As we consider the work of our congregation and the larger community of Jesus' disciples it is sometimes easy to understand van Gogh. We live too often in a world, nation, and community that are angry and overly critical, or (more likely in our neck of the woods) indifferent about our confession. I wonder if more paintings might have been completed to add beauty to our world, how much happier Vincent van Gogh might have been if he had heard encouragement in the midst of his struggles, or been surrounded by a community of hope.
As we close out another program year of Sunday School, Bible Studies, service projects, fellowship groups, choirs, knitting, soup making, Scouts, and all that makes our church vital and the lives of individuals enriched, I'm glad to know that we are just such a community of encouragement, working in all these ways to touch the lives and hearts of persons with the light and love of Christ.
May God bless us in our ministries of encouragement and hope this summer and throughout the year ahead.
Russell J. Atkinson
|
