Topic: Psalm 80:3
Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:3)
Back in college I remember studying it as one of the great art works of all time and more recently, it has been on everyone's mind with all the hype about the Da Vinci Code. Everyone is talking about it. Indeed, Da Vinci's Last Supper has become one of the most widely appreciated masterpieces in the world. It began to acquire its unique reputation immediately after it was finished in 1498 and its prestige has never diminished. Despite the many changes in tastes, artistic styles, and rapid physical deterioration of the painting itself, the painting's status as an extraordinary creation has never been questioned nor doubted, and now I was standing in front of all of its beauty.
Indeed, it is a great work of art, but the perfection of this work lies not only in the artistic merits of the painting, but also in Leonardo's expressive mastery. Leonardo's Last Supper is an ideal pictorial representation of the most important event in the Christian doctrine of salvation - the institution of the Eucharist. No other painting of a Christian subject dominates our imagination with the same power of Da Vinci's Last Supper. When thoughts turn to the Last Supper, we seem to see only Leonardo's representation before us. Standing there, I felt as if I was taking part in the supper.
Leonardo Da Vinci was already a well known artist when he created his masterpiece The Last Supper. He painted it on the back wall of the dining hall at the Dominican convent of Sta Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The reason the painting is laid out the way it is that Leonardo was trying to "extend the room" to make it look like Jesus and his apostles were sitting at the end of the dining hall. He painted it not to create a great work of art, but to simply decorate a room, but his work achieved so much more and is clearly inextricably intertwined with the great message of salvation.
Over the years, the elements took their toll and by the late 20th century, the painting was hardly recognizable. It had become covered with all sorts of things, including improper methods applied to preserve it and a bombing in World War II. So, beginning in 1979 and lasting for twenty years, efforts were made to once again bring the painting to life and in 1999, the dining hall in Milan was once again open for public viewing.
As I stood there taking it all in, I could only think of the parallels to the human life. Over time we become covered with the junk and pollution of the world, our beauty is covered and we fail to be the shining light God intended us to be.
But the good news is that, like the great painting, we too can be restored. The garbage that covers us can be washed away by the hand of God and we too can be restored to glory. The psalmist cried out "Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved." We too can reach out to God and see his face shine upon us and we too can be restored and saved.
What is your favorite part of nature? How does it reveal God's glory to you?
Posted by Prophecies Of Revelation
at 9:54 AM CDT
