SAILING WITH JESUS

 

 
A HUNGARIAN GIFT

A couple of weeks ago, I remarked to a Hungarian friend that Hungarian paintings were always so dark and dreary. So she introduced me to the work of  József Egry (1883-1951), an impresionist/expressionist painter, known for his scenes of Lake Balaton in Hungary. As I scrolled through his bright, colorful pictures I came across one that really caught my attention and seemed to be worth sitting with for a while. Entitled ¨Golden Gate,¨ it was inspired by a scene at dawn on the lake, and depicts two figures in a sailboat sailing into some undefined archway of light. I’ve been reflecting on this picture for some days now. Here it is:

       József Egry ¨Golden Gate¨ 1943 

At age 80, I immediately thought that the boat was sailing into the sunset. But I soon realized that the scene is full of light, so the two sailors are heading, not into darkness, but into this bright golden gateway made up of several vaguely defined arches. It seems that the boat is, at least to some extent, already inside the gate, which led me to reflect on the idea that all of us are already living every day in the Golden Gate of eternal light.

Another Egry: Sunset (Golden Bridge)

I noticed too that I am not alone on the boat. This image assured me that I am not alone on my journey, but that Jesus is keeping his promise of staying close beside me always. Another curious feature is that the boat seems to be barely touching the water, and seems rather to be skimming across the surface as if on some ethereal journey.

TRANSFIGURATION

Tomorrow, Sunday, August 6, the church celebrates the solemnity of the transfiguration of Christ. You may remember that in this event Jesus invites Peter James and John to accompany him to the top of the mountain, and is transformed in their sight so that they catch a glimpse of his divine glory.

It occurs to me that there are a couple of interesting similarities with Egry’s “Golden Gate.”

The first is that the transfiguration is not about the future, but it is a revelation of who Jesus is in the present, just as the the sailboat is not so much heading into the future, but is already in the Golden gate.

Second, the transfiguration scene is, like the painting, full of bright light. Jesus is inviting you and me to live in the present in the light of his divine presence.

After the transfiguration, Jesus comes back down the mountain with the three disciples, which assures them that he will be with them through whatever happens in the future, especially his passion and death. And in the painting, that reassuring second figure is with me on the sailboat, like Jesus standing faithfully with Peter James and John.

May the Divine Christ of the Transfiguration transform all of us one day into the brightness of his Glorified Person!