“The adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.” -David Roher
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Have you ever thought of yourself as a prophet? We tend to think of a prophet as someone who foretells the future. But in the ancient world a prophet was a spokesperson, specifically one who speaks for God.
If we accept that God is the source of all that is True and Good and Beautiful, and that the vocation of the artist is to create works of Beauty, then art is absolutely a way in which God speaks to His people. This is how the artist takes up the role of prophet, not by predicting the future, but by allowing God to speak to the world through works of Beauty.
Jonah
The story of the prophet Jonah, can tell us much about our own spiritual journey as we struggle to recognize our gifts and the purpose for which they were given to us.
Jonah was a prophet, that is to say, God spoke to the world through Jonah. God called Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and warn the people there that if they did not change their wicked ways, their city would be destroyed and they would face the wrath of God.
Jonah, however, hated the Ninevites. Ninevah was the capital of the Assyrian empire, an empire that had invaded and all but destroyed Israel. The last thing Jonah wanted was to be instrumental in the redemption of this enemy to his people. He responded to God's call by boarding a boat headed in the opposite direction.
How often in our own lives do we answer God's call by running away? We know what we should do, what we are called to do, but it is such a radical departure from how we think we should live our lives, that we reject the call and run away. But God will not be denied.
While at sea, a great storm arose and threatened to overturn the boat. Jonah saw in this, God's anger. Fearing his disobedience was the cause, he convinced the crew of the boat to throw him into the sea.
As soon as Jonah hit the water the storm ceased and the water became calm. Then suddenly a great fish arose out of the ocean and swallowed him. To the crew of the boat, it appeared that Jonah was dead. With heavy hearts, they continued on their way.
When we embrace the adventure that God has set us on, we must sacrifice ourselves. We sacrifice our selfish wants and desires for the sake of the greater good. We may become unrecognizable to our friends because we have committed to such a radical change in our lives that we seem dead to them. But we must die to our former selves in order to be reborn as the person God meant for us to be.
Jonah was not dead. For three days, in the belly of the sea-beast, he underwent a transformation. Finally, he let go of his past experiences, dying to his old self, he accepted the mission God had given him. When he did, the great fish spit him back onto land, outside the city of Ninevah.
Surrendering to God's Will
Accepting God's call in our lives, giving up who we think we should be in favor of who God wants us to be, is not a defeat. It is an acceptance, a merging with the Divine will. As a drop of water merges with the ocean, so the ocean merges with the drop of water. Jesus referred to the sign of Jonah, one who was thought dead, returns after three days. Dying to our past is the only way to move forward. When we are faced with difficulty, when we are in the “belly of the beast” as Joseph Campbell puts it, we have a choice. We can lament the past we are leaving behind, the comfort of what was known, and truly die through inaction. Or we can embrace the adventure, the call to discover who we truly are, and resolve to move forward, to escape the monster that engulfs us.
Rainer Maria Rilke, in “Letters to a Young Poet,” said this about the monsters we face in our daily lives.
“How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.”
Jonah preached to the Ninevites, and through his words they came to see their own wickedness. They repented of their past and begged for God's forgiveness. Jonah, now transformed and reborn, saved the city and its people.
Death and Rebirth
Through Baptism, we undergo our own death and rebirth. We die to our former worldly selves and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into a people of God. As such, our mission is to save as many of our brothers and sisters as we can. The wonderful thing about the sacrament of Baptism is that it does not matter how long ago you received the sacrament. The Holy Spirit is still there waiting for you to be open to his transforming grace.
But how many of us are still in the belly of the beast, obstinate in holding onto our past, or our selfish wants and desires? How many of us have failed to recognize the great gift we have been given, baptized into the death of Christ so that we may “live in newness of life?”
Writer David Roher once wrote: “The adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.”
We are each the hero of our own spiritual adventure. To embark on that adventure we first have to let the baggage of the past remain in the past, even if it appears to our friends and loved ones that we have “died.” Only then can we be truly transformed and reborn, ready to accept the role God has planned for us.
When we do that, rid ourselves of the identity we have so carefully built up around ourselves and embrace the person God meant for us to be, then, we need not be afraid. Then we can set the world on fire.
Pax vobiscum
Lily of the Mohawks ©Lawrence Klimecki
Pontifex University is an online university offering a Master’s Degree in Sacred Arts. For more information visit the website at www.pontifex.university
Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith and the spiritual “hero’s journey” that is part of every person’s life. He maintains a blog at www.DeaconLawrence.org and can be reached at Lawrence@deaconlawrence.com
Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary visions of sacred art. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org
Purchase fine art prints of Deacon Lawrence’s work here.
