A Poem/reflection for 3rd
Easter St.
Andrew's By-The-Sea, Nags Head, N.C.
April 26, 2020 Thomas
E. Wilson, Supply Clergy
Supper At Emmaus
Michelangelo Caravaggio: Supper at Emmaus 1601
National Gallery, London
One of these days when I get rich and famous doing
this Supply Clergy shtick, I am going to London and stand in front of this
painting, Supper At Emmaus 1601, in the National Gallery. The painting
is by the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. He lived from 1571-
1610 and was one of the formers of the Baroque style of art, which reveled in
creating and capturing a moment of dramatic movement with bright exciting colors
and deep shadows. Before that time most of the painting were studies in beauty
and form. Think of the masterpiece, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, she is so
beautiful and yet so still, her stillness draws you in to her eyes while the
background is forgettable. In the Baroque period, a time of great change in the
world, there is an interest in looking at moments when there is change.
I first was introduced to Caravaggio’s work when I was
on sabbatical in Italy, following the footsteps of Francis of Assisi. There are
three of his paintings in the Contarelli Chapel of the San Luigi dei Francesi
Church in Rome. It is a small little chapel devoted to the theme of the
disciple, St. Matthew’s ministry.
The first painting is the Calling of Matthew,
painted a year before, between 1599-1600, showing Matthew at the tax collector’s stand with Jesus pointing at him to call
him to follow him. Matthew has this “Who me?” look on his face, while the other
men around the table go about their business. They are focused in on the money
on the table. The outside light coming into a Chapel window shines on the face
of Jesus and Caravaggio’s use of color and shadow highlights the energy of this
moment in time. I was so moved I bought a print of the painting, and when I got
back to the states, framed it. I see it every day to remind me of my own
calling, echoing Matthew’s thought, “Who me?”
However, the call from Jesus is not just for people who dress funny on
Sundays, but for all people, all of us, to follow him. Just for a moment, look
at the Matthew deeply and place yourself in Matthew’s place. Do you ask
yourself, “Who me?” Look at the people around Matthew? Are you there?That is
what Caravaggio is trying to do with this paining; to take you into the
question.
Caravaggio was capturing moments of spiritual discovery in that painting as if he were painting with lightning and the characters are jumping off the canvas.
In this painting for today, we are looking at
Caravaggio’s, Supper at Emmaus, and it has that same energy, an abundance of spiritual energy. We have the
waiter at the Inn in Emmaus who is going about his business and not seeing
anything to pay attention to. There is Jesus at the center of the table,
overflowing with food, wine, chicken, fruit and bread! However, this is not the
bearded 30+ year-old prophet who had been beaten and crucified, but a youthful,
sensitive man who is beginning a new life. No wonder the disciples did not
recognize him. Jesus, as in the Matthew’s Calling painting, has his arms
stretched out in blessing and calling forth the presence of the Spirit of God
in these two disciples. But, not only the disciples, but also to us who are
watching this scene. We are being blessed and made into the body of Christ to
feed the hunger of the world for healing, justice, and peace. The two disciples
are beaten down figures who have holes in their dirty clothes, yet they
suddenly come alive. One disciple is almost jumping out of his chair in order
to get away from that which both fascinates and frightens him. The other disciple
opens his arms in amazement, making himself vulnerable to a relationship of
love in Christ. The outstretched arms of that disciple are also as if he were
accepting the cross of Christ, to give up his life for the bringing in of God’s
kingdom.
In your imagination, go back and look at that painting
and please place yourself in the picture. How would it be if it were you who
was one of the people who meet the Risen Christ and suddenly see him in the
“Breaking of the Bread” How would it change how you receive the bread?
 |
| Supper At Emmaus 1606 Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan |
Caravaggio painted another Supper At Emmaus in 1606, six to
seven years later in Caravaggio’s tumultuous life. It was painted during the
time when he had to flee Rome and go into hiding because of that very
tumultuous life. That painting now hangs in Milan. I have only seen pictures of
it, but it lacks the energy. It is as if he is thinking about it and it becomes
an illustration of a long-ago event rather than an evocation of a fire of
decision in faith. Jesus, instead of the young man with a new life ahead of
him, is almost the standard picture we see of the tired bearded middle age man.
The overabundance of the feast is gone, and only bread and wine are available.
Everybody is silent and well behaved; almost a solemn church moment rather than
full of new life. Does that happen to us at the Breaking of the Bread when we
come together? Where are you in this picture?
In the story that Luke relates in the Gospel lesson
for today, the disciples have walked and talked with Jesus. They enjoyed spending
the time in fellowship, talking about the past with a stranger while they are
longing for a distraction from their own mourning and confusion. They looked
forward to a meal of distraction and invited the stranger to join them. Yet
Jesus calls them back to an awareness that their ministry as disciples is not
over because of the death of Jesus; rather it is only the beginning for them as
apostles of the Risen Lord.
I think of why we have churches. Is it to remember the
past of Jesus and his ministry? Or, is the reason we come together in person,
or virtually as we are doing now, the remembering so that we might become
apostles of the Risen Lord to bless and change the world for God’s dream?
Supper
At Emmaus
Table seating for the Emmaus supper
is happening right now in an anyplace
where we take the time to see His face
in any person or class; lower or upper.
He's here; opening himself to our glance,
sharing his past, as prelude to his dreams,
of a new future, for him, and us, it seems,
less out of hand, as if we had a chance.
We’ve remembered him, that one time
before, we were afraid that he'd us ask
to follow, giving up ourselves as a task,
of a vocation, rather than just a pastime.
The supper is not about changing bread,
but of us, His people, for the road ahead.
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