What study of art would be complete without including Rembrandt? And yes, I did purposely play on the title of the work from last week. The paintings we focused on this week were Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul and The Return of the Prodigal Son. The question of the week - Can God really use someone like me? Good question, but we had a hard time getting there. I think we were all preoccupied a bit with the forecast and with good reason. Unofficial reports are around nine inches of snow today.
We started out with an exercise about change. Maybe you have seen those puzzles before - change Cold into its opposite Warm by changing one letter at a time, each step of the way has to be a real word, not nonsense. And then change Dead to Live. We weren't so good at this kind of puzzle which actually emphasized the point of the exercise - change is difficult. But what does that have to do with God using us?
The next step was to consider broken New Year's resolutions, characteristics of our parents that we are noticing we now have, promises that others have broken. Bring to your mind a very real and personal example that you can use to consider whether or not true change is possible. Is it really possible to change - yourself or someone else? There are a lot of impediments to change and it is incredibly difficult. Do you believe it can really be done? Can God do it?
We looked at the self-portrait first, and questioned why Rembrandt chose the Apostle Paul? We used Acts 22:2-21, Philippians 3:4-11 and 1 Timothy 1:12-14 to remind us of the life of Paul, and we came up with a biographical list:
Saul, the Persecutor
The Road to Damascus - Light
Blindness
Healing/Baptism
Another Voice (Commission)
Another Persecution
Confidence In His Heritage
Greatness in Christ's Likeness
Faithful Servant Even Though Had Been Persecutor
Then we were asked to read Acts 22:6 again and reconsider the portrait.
6 “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me." (New Living Translation)
When we went back to the portrait we saw the light of Paul, but also the look of incredulity on Rembrandt's face. Rembrandt, like Paul, had experienced loss and hard times and yet, in trials they both turned to God. Difficulty strengthened their relationship with God. They didn't feel worthy, they weren't living "godly" lives, they didn't fit the mold of what a follower or agent of God "should" be. And yet God met them where they were, as they were. God changed them and they followed.
We then looked at the Prodigal Son. The use of light highlights the calm, serene acceptance of a father whose suffering and age are apparent in his arthritic hands. The contrast of the poverty of the son's condition is stark, and yet he is enfolded in his father's loving arms. There are attendants, perhaps one is the son who did what he "should", who look on in a very intimate setting. No matter their position or standing, if they choose to enter in to relationship with the father, he accepts them lovingly.
Like the Prodigal Son, neither Paul nor Rembrandt seem to have considered themselves worthy of God's love. And like the prodigal, they didn't question the invitation for long and accepted God's love and call on their lives. Can God do the same for me? Can God use me was the question for this lesson. It seems to me that the real question is will I allow God to change me and use me?
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