Art and Faith - 30 January 2021 - Plague Journal Day 324

Micah 6:8
Philippians 4:6-8
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

I attended a very interesting web conversation yesterday around the topic of Art, Faith, and the Church. It was based on the book "Art and Faith" by the speaker, Makoto Fujimura - the subtitle is A Theology of Making. What an exciting conversation it was!
As I noted to the organizers, I can't remember the last time I pulled out pen and paper and took notes from an online discussion (and I took quite a lot, really).

Fujimura was saying that when we Love, we Make - that's his distillation of his book, really. My musings on that phrase took me back to a definition of Love that seems very helpful in a lot of ways. Love can be seen as a will to reality. What I love, I want to be real to me - to be as real to me as I am to myself. That's why when we love people we want to learn about them, we find ourselves thinking of them.
That's why I want to know everything there is to know about Heidi - so she's as real to me as I am to myself. That's why I think of her all the time.

Them, moving on to the subject of making or of creating or of art, it means that what we create - what we're making real - is what we love. We want it to be real to us, so we think about it ... a lot. Another point I made in the conversation is that one way of judging our creations is to ask "where does it point?" If it points to God, then it's definitely worthy. Even if it's a work of less than mediocre craftsmanship, it's still doing what it's supposed to do. If it points to me, or another person, or to the world, it's almost certainly flawed - much as I am. Even if it's a stunning work of the finest craftsmanship, it's not doing what it's supposed to do. (Remember - this was a conversation about the role of creativity and art in the church.)

That brought to mind the line Paul wrote to the Philippians - "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." When our minds are focused on those things, what we create will be as well.
In a similar vein, just before that he tells them that they should "not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." There it is again - living in that peace that passes all understanding keeps our hearts and minds in Christ. When that's where our hearts and minds live, only good works can be made - only the fruit of the Spirit will be found. (Even though I can't write like C.S. Lewis or Charles Williams, nor paint like Van Gogh, nor compose like J.S. Bach, I can still do what I can with what I've been given to the glory of God. Amen.)

S.D.G. indeed

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.