New Art at Atonement

Dear brethren,

At this time, I am sure, you have all become aware of the two beautiful pieces of art that now adorn our chancel area. They were graciously donated by Cary and Karen Lindemann Lantz. Many years ago, Karen and her then-husband, the late Pastor Lindemann, happened to pass by a Roman-Catholic church that had been taken out of commission and was now being demolished with several beautiful artifacts still inside out of it. These two paintings were all they were able to rescue. Now Karen and Cary have graciously donated them to us here at Atonement.

The paintings were produced as the first and the last of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross, that is: a display of events supposedly surrounding the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus (supposedly because some of these events are legendary, unknown to Holy Scripture), beginning with Him being condemned to death and ending with Him being A such display is, for all I know, found in all Roman-Catholic churches.

The first painting shows our Lord Jesus being taken away to be crucified while the Roman governor Pontius Pilate washes his hands on his decision, claiming his innocence in what is done and at his command.

Jesus is condemned to death

Can we see this without being reminded of the irony that every day all throughout the ages Pontius Pilate has been mentioned by name in so many churches and homes, and still is, as the man responsible for the death of our Lord Jesus? So much for his claim of innocence. This is a lesson on how futile it is for us sinners to explain our sin away or otherwise declare ourselves innocent, to others or to ourselves, as if we were right to sin, and God wrong to judge otherwise. Only when He declares us righteous before His judgement, who has Himself suffered His own judgement against our sin, will we be that. And He does, and so we are.

As futile as it is for us sinners to judge ourselves innocent over and against the Word and judgement of God, as absurd is it for us to take it upon ourselves to judge God Himself, who is Judge of all – as did both Pilate and the people. Nevertheless, exactly that is what we do whenever we determine that anything other than to honour and obey the will and Word of God is what is good and right, that God is wrong in His judgement of good and evil, whereas we are right. By doing so, we make God dead to us. We reject His right to be God, and treat it as a false claim on His part - as did those who gave the Son of God over to death, who is God Himself. And in this sense we repeat the sin of giving Him over to death.

The other painting shows the dead body of our Lord Jesus being taken down from the cross, and the grief of those who loved Him at having lost Him It reminds us of the evil of our sin, the grief we caused the Son of God, and still do, with our sinning, and others, also, by the way.

Jesus is taken from the cross.

This painting we very deliberately unveiled on the feast for the resurrection of Christ. For as right as it is for us to grieve for the sufferings our sin caused the Son of God, we are not confined to mourn His death. He is risen. He lives. And He lives with us. And as He lives, we shall live, also. With His sufferings and death our sin is dealt with and done away with, the price and penalty paid for all our sins and shortcomings, in full and in abundance.

It is good and right and salutary for us to be reminded and remain aware of our sin and how evil it is. Nevertheless, we cannot allow ourselves to remain focused on this grief. The resurrection of Christ calls for us to rejoice in the assurance of our salvation. Therefore alone (artistic and stylistic considerations aside), is it also good and right and salutary that the reminder of our rejection of our Lord Jesus and the reminder of His death are not front and centre in our place of worship, as they are not - as if they were front and centre in our worship and faith, for they are not that, either, rather, something else is.

Accordingly, somewhat more in the foreground, right next to the place from which the Word of God is spoken, and Christ is publicly portrayed before us as crucified (Gal 3:1), the crucifix sets before our eyes how God loved the world. And in the very middle, between the reminders of our rejection of Christ and of His death, stands the altar where we receive Him and His life, when He who died comes to us now as the living one, in His fullness of life, and gives Himself to us.

It is good and right and salutary, also, that the appearance of our place of worship reflects the Truth we worship. What should always be in the forefront in our hearts and minds, and is in all truly Christian preaching and teaching, is this: that since while we were still sinners we were reconciled to God by the death of the Son, much more shall we now be saved by His life (Romans 5:10).

Let us be thankful for these objects of beauty that have, by the grace of God, come into our possession to enrich our worship; and let us allow ourselves to be edified by how they remind us of the precious realities of the salvation of God, and our life with Him.

Sincerely

Jais H. Tinglund