Regent faculty member, Maxine Hancock, engages with it here.
A three-dimensional image can be seen on the artist’s website here.
Our conversation about art and preaching moved into a more cheerful space from this point, particularly when they shared about their visit to Cuenca (Ecuador) the previous week. Jorge’s brother had been the parish priest at this Catholic church in Baños for many years. Take a look at its pulpit…
This is an equally true representation of the preacher, with the risen Jesus behind and the hovering Spirit above, reminding us that the earlier image of vulnerability and humility is the very one that is to be empowered by Christ and His Spirit. What a calling! This can happen in any vocation as we commit to a journey – a journey captured by an image in Jorge’s study. Playing on the evolution idea of the ape morphing into the human, it is called (in Spanish) ‘involution’. It speaks of the long journey of submission to the Christ of the cross.
Then it was on to Cochabamba (Bolivia) where we stayed with other Cochabambinos, as they call themselves, in a Catholic catechetical centre known as Cadeca. Well, Cadeca has a chapel. It was beautiful, drawing me back three times during our two day stay…
The story of Jesus – and a number of Old Testament scenes as well – covered the walls.
There were scenes also from the Bolivian story – as well as the story of Latin America…
The way the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to accommodate itself into every culture and every language – and the way in which it is the hope of every people – is one of the reasons why I am a Christian. No other world religion comes close to this kind of commitment…
nice chatting
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Football helps me train preachers. See, when you speak to me about football—or, ‘footie’—I need to know where your feet are before I can understand what you mean. Are your feet in Ireland, or Brazil, or the USA, or NZ—or in crazy Australia? It must be the most fanatical sporting nation in the world. Within…
Having been born in 1959, I don’t remember much about the 1960s. But I have heard a lot. Hippies. Drugs. Rock ‘n Roll. Assassinations. Moon-walking. A quick trip across to ChatGPT informs me immediately that it was ‘a transformative decade across the world’—marked by the civil rights and feminist movements, Cold War tensions, consumerism and…
I hugely appreciated this Paul… particularly the first sculpture.
Actually – you came to mind a bit on this trip, Fred!
Cheers 🙂 I've just finished a series of five sermons "Artists Reflect on God's Big Story". Unpacking art as commentary on the text (rather than illustrative). Anyhow, kinda worked…
I love how wonderfully contextual the chapel in Cadeca is, do you know who the artist is?
Sorry, Christina, I missed this response. I shall make some enquiries…
Paul, I am the pastor of a Catholic parish in Wisconsin and came upon your image of the Last Supper at the catechetical center in Bolivia. Would you please give your permission for me to use it in our Holy Thursday worship aid? We will certainly include paulwindsorblog.com as the source. Peace, Tom
Yes, of course, Tom — thanks for asking
Paul