Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia.Where Christ is, there is the Church.
“Jesus promised His disciples three things- they would be absurdly happy, completely fearless, and in constant trouble.”
F.R. Maltby
There are few things more exciting, or challenging, than watercolor painting with a roomful of five-year-olds. Ask any Kindergarten teacher. The word ‘unpredictable’ expands in meaning when you hand over cups of water and trays of paint to sixteen pairs of eager, little hands. One day, while giving an art lesson to a Kindergarten class, I asked, ”Does anyone know where color is first mentioned in the Bible?” A little girl raised her hand and said, “When God said, ‘Let there be light’.” I was stunned. My first thought was ‘Divine revelation has been granted to this child!’ Later, I remembered having presented a lesson on color theory the week prior, but, the fact that a five-year-old had seen the connection still made my heart skip a beat.
Words fascinate me. Sometimes I am curious why specific words are used, especially in Scripture. This morning I read these words in Ephesians-
‘To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.’ 3:8-10.
‘To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.’ 3:8-10.
The word translated ‘manifold’ is, in the Greek, polupoikilos. Another meaning is many-colored. The wisdom of God is many-colored, as mysterious as light itself. Painters are shadow-chasers, for, in painting, the depiction of light is realized by the shadows formed. John tells us that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Just as the visible spectrum is revealed when light passes through a prism, and is but a fraction of the electromagnetic range, my visibility of the many-colored wisdom of God is revealed when I pass through the shadows of life. And sometimes it helps to talk with five-year-olds.
The Betrayal of Christ
Caravaggio
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