“You can’t get out of your duty to evangelize by saying witness ruins art. It simply doesn’t.” – John-Mark Miravale
Sharing Our faith
Why do we hesitate to share our faith? After all we have been sent out into the world to do just that. When this question is asked in surveys the answers usually fall into one of two general responses; either people do not think they are qualified or they do not think it right to impose their beliefs on others.
I think we overcomplicate the issue.
According to a much beloved story, Saint Francis once invited a young monk to join him on a trip to town to preach. Honored to be given the invitation, the monk readily accepted. All day long he and Francis walked through the streets, byways, and alleys, and even into the suburbs. They rubbed shoulders with hundreds of people. At day’s end, the two headed back home. Not even once had Francis addressed a crowd, nor had he talked to anyone about the gospel. Greatly disappointed, his young companion said, “I thought we were going into town to preach.”
Francis responded, “My son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!
Preach always, and when necessary, use words.”
Although it is difficult to verify that this actually happened or that Saint Francis actually said these words, it does not mean that there is no truth to the story. It is certainly reflective of the Franciscan Rule, “let all brothers preach by their deeds.”
Unfortunately the story is often misinterpreted to support the idea that setting an example by living a good life, is better than, or perhaps just as good as, openly sharing your faith. But we share our faith in both words and deeds. One naturally follows the other, as day follows night.
The Intentional Artist
I often tell Christian artists who are trying to reconcile their gifts with their faith, to ground themselves thoroughly in the faith and their faith will express itself in their work. They do not need to create images of Jesus or His saints, or recreate scenes from the Bible or Christian history. While these are all worthy endeavors, it is not the only outlet for the Christian artist. While I still believe this is sound advice, it is meant only as a first step.
Christian artists share in the responsibility to preach the Gospel and are in a unique position to do so. John-Mark Miravale in his 2019 book “Beauty, What It Is & Why It Matters” (Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire) shares his belief that while the work of Christian artists need not be explicitly Christian it should nonetheless be deliberately Christian.
Deliberately Christian work is work that conveys Christian values and mores such as providence, sin, obedience, salvation, etc., without being “preachy” or “saccharine.” Think of the parables of Jesus or the works of Flannery O’Connor, Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” or Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
Artists of previous ages seemed to understand this implicitly. While we can cite much earlier works, we need only look at the art and music produced in the second half of the 19thcentury for wonderful, beautiful examples. It is a sensibility that we are in great need of rediscovering.
Miravale closes his chapter on Christian art by saying, “the notion that candidly Christian writing cannot be sublime loses all plausibility whatsoever. You can’t get out of your duty to evangelize by saying witness ruins art. It simply doesn’t.” The same can be said of all forms of art that are expressions of our God given gifts and talents.
The Great Commission
This is the great commission given to us by Christ, spread the Good News to all nations, and Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Before He ascends to the Father, Jesus breathes on His Apostles and imparts to them the Holy Spirit. Then just before His Ascension He tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Are they receiving the Spirit twice?
Not exactly, at Pentecost the Apostles receive the fullness of the Spirit. This empowers the Apostles with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to enable them to take up the work of the Church, reuniting mankind and bringing the human family back to God.
Through God’s grace, the Apostles are able to speak to all people regardless of their nationality or their native tongue. Whereas before the apostles cowered in a darkened room, for fear of arrest, now they are emboldened to openly preach the teachings of Christ.
We experience our own Pentecost in the Sacrament of Confirmation. At Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, but our faith is immature and still needs to be formed. At Confirmation we receive the fullness of the Spirit. We are empowered with gifts for the work of mission in the world and the task of becoming mature in Christ.
Confirmation is the Sacrament of maturity and sending. We “leave the nursery” so to speak, and go into the world as adults, speaking of the friendship of God. The grace imparted to us in the sacrament, allows us to take up our part in reuniting the Father with His children.
This is the work of the Church, to which we are all called.
Pax vobiscum