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WHO NEEDS CHURCH?
Early in my time as lead pastor of a congregation I served for more than thirty years, I happened on a comment from Eugene Peterson, almost always a wise commentator on the role of the pastor. Peterson mentioned that he was an avid reader of the poetry of Wendell Berry and that wherever Berry mentioned…
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Anselm Kiefer and Hope: A Christmas Meditation
To plunge into the art of Anselm Kiefer is to plunge into controversy. Is his art a profound meditation on the human condition or sophisticated kitsch? Is it monumental or bombastic? Is it liberating and brave or dour and depressing? (For a recent evaluation of Kiefer’s art, see Daniel A. Seidell, “Where Do You Stand?…
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THE ART OF IMPERFECTION: A MEDITATION ON MICHELANGELO’S LAST WORK
Pietas–works of art that portray typically Mary alone, holding the dead body of Jesus, are a form of devotional art. They pay homage to the suffering of Jesus and to the suffering of his mother. They are more than that. In the hands of the masters, they are an examination of the relationships between hope…