Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30: Burdened

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-30 (Gospel reading for Proper 9/Pentecost 5A; Matthew 11:16-19. 25-30)

All three images are by French artist Honore Daumier. All are the same subject and even the same composition. All are called "The Burden". And as much as they have in common, all three are in some ways, unique. One has a bright sky. One has more shadow. One has warmer light. One has a costume difference. It is those differences that might lead to different answers to the questions below, depending on the version under discussion.

What is the burden? Is it the bundle carried by the woman? Is it the child? Is it her life situation? Does the same element feel "burdensome" in all three pictures?

Does the child have a burden as well? In two of the versions, the child's face is not visible. Is this yet another child of whom the world takes no notice? When children are "invisible" who is burdened?

Though the child is touching the mother, the mother has no personal contact with the child. Why might that be? What does that contribute to the idea of "burden"?

The figures may be perceived as running. Do you think they are running? Running from what? Running to what? Is it a burden that they need to run?

How do the artist's color choices contribute to the idea of a burden? Does one version of the composition feel more "burdensome" to you? Which one? Why does that color scheme speak to you of "burden"? Does any particular scheme not speak of burden?

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. That is the promise Jesus makes to each of us. The composition of "The Burden" is a reminder that each of us carries burdens. The three different versions remind us that we may not, from the outside, be fully able to tell the story of someone else's burden.

Honore Daumier. The Burden.

Left: 1865. Private collection

Middle: 1850-1853. St. Petersburg, Russia: The Hermitage. https://museum.wales/art/online/?action=show_item&item=446
Right: The National Museum of Wales. https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01.+Paintings/29685/?lng= 

This week on the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page, Van Gogh and this week's Gospel reading. Click on the link below.

Luke 10.25-37: Good Samaritan

The gospel reading for Proper 10C/Ordinary 15C could not be more familiar. The passage in Luke's gospel, Luke 10:25-37, tells the story of - of all things - a Samaritan who is good. Go figure. The elements of the story are familiar, but the Victorian painting below is not an illustration of the gospel story. Instead it re-interprets and re-sets the story.

William Small. Good Samaritan. 1899. New Walk Museum and Gallery, Leicester, England. 

For the New Walk Museum, see: https://www.leicester.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums-and-galleries/our-venues/new-walk-museum-and-art-gallery

Victorian painting is often dismissed as sentimental, and certainly there is sentiment here, but the painter has engaged the story in a way that still speaks to us and to the text. In this work it is not an adult traveller who is in need of care but a child. The child stands, but is held in a way that calls to mind Mary holding the Christ child on her lap or even the deposition of Jesus from the cross. An anxious father looks on while keeping two other children back from where the doctor is working. All the children are shoeless, and they are currently part of a community of people living in the middle of a field.

In the background at the left is the doctor's carriage. We don't know whether he has come specifically to care for this child or whether he was riding by and, rather than passing by, he stopped to help this child. It is worth noting that during this time doctors expected to be paid for their services. Looking at the family's situation, it is unclear whether any payment is going to be made. Regardless, the doctor is using his stethoscope as part of his examination of this lethargic child.

The painting (and the text) remind us that we are often presented with unexpected opportunities to stop and help. The question is how we respond to a traveler, a child, or anyone in need.

Art&Faith Matters on Facebook highlights an art installation based on Amos 7:7-17.

For additional thoughts on Amos, click here.