Quite a while ago I was telling one of my friends the story I'd tried to tell with my Elijah painting, and she got super excited and asked if I'd paint the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Months later I finally sat down with her and asked what it was that the story said to her - I wanted her to tell me the story from her perspective, and hear what it was I was going to paint.
She told me a story of someone who was relatable - as a person, but also as a woman. She told me a story about someone Jesus accepted and spoke to and revealed God to, knowing all that she'd done and said before, but accepting her regardless of it. She told me a story about a Jesus who drew people together, despite their differences in ethnicity, in customs, in opinions... So this is what you may see above, perhaps among other aspects of the story you bring to it as well. Re-read it, take a look - see what meaning expresses itself as you dialogue with the text, with the art, and with yourself. The background of this painting was actually originally part of a mini series of paintings I made exploring Communion. It had the yellow-brown of the bread, the red of the wine, and the blue of the water with which Jesus washed his disciples' feet. The preacher that morning had talked about Communion as a confrontation for change; a confession for peace; and a community for God. And part of that resonated with what I'd heard my friend telling me about this story of this woman at the well. She met Jesus, and there was confrontation, but not to wound - to change. And despite the social distinctions and differences, Jesus made a community for God through his discussion with her and her sharing of it. As I added the pearlescent blue on top of the blue of the foot-washing, the words of John 4.14 rounded my head: "The water I give becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within". And I thought how with Jesus, something so menial, something only a servant would do, becomes so life-giving. And so exciting! God changes things! God changes H E R, and God changes me!
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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April 2020
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