Sermon Illustrations on Art
Background
The Origin of the Word “Sincere”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always enjoyed hearing stories about the origins of certain words. One of these words is the “sincere.” While there are some questions about the history’s authenticity (ironic, given the word in question) nevertheless it makes for a good illustration. As you may remember from your old Western Civilization courses, the Romans were especially fond of Greek culture (especially after their conquests of much of modern-day Greece) and Greek imports became all the rage among Upper Class Romans.
Greek marble sculpture in particular was one of the most highly sought-after treasures of Greek society. Because many of the sculptures were already a few hundred years old, many were damaged. Traders discovered that if they placed wax in the damaged parts of the sculptures, they looked like new. But of course, over time, the wax would harden and change color to an ugly yellow, thereby exposing the inauthentic parts of the sculptures.
Thus, after a while, vendors needed to differentiate their complete works from those held together with wax. To do this they would mark the undamaged statues as being sine, the Latin word for “without” and then cera, the Latin word for “wax”. Sine cera, without wax.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Stories
Earth, Receive an Honored Guest
W.H. Auden is widely considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century. Auden grew up in England but spent some of his adult years in the United States. When he passed away on the 29th of September, 1973, three of Auden’s greatest admirers happened to be together: the critic Alfred Kazin, Kazin’s wife, Ann Birstein, and the poet Richard Wilbur.
As soon as they received word the poet had died, they each proclaimed with one voice, “Earth, receive an honored guest,” words first written by Auden to honor the poet W.B Yeats.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Reason for my Rhyme
It is said that upon his (Edmund Spenser, 1552-1599) presenting some poems to the Queen (Elizabeth I) she ordered him a gratuity of one hundred pounds, but the Lord Treasurer Burleigh objecting to it, said with some scorn of the poet, of whose merit he was totally ignorant, ‘What, all this for a song?’
The Queen replied, ‘Then give him what is reason.’ Spenser for some time waited, but had the mortification to find himself disappointed of Her Majesty’s bounty. Upon this he took a proper opportunity to present a paper to Queen Elizabeth, in which he reminded her of the order she had given, in the following lines:
I was promised on a time
To have reason for my rhime.
From that time, unto this season,
I received nor rhime, nor reason.
The paper produced the intended effect, and the Queen, after sharply reproving the Treasurer, immediately directed the payment of the hundred pounds she had first ordered.
Quoted in John Gross, The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes (Oxford Books of Prose & Verse). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition. Source Material from Theophilus Cibber, The Lives of the Poets, 1753.
Stick With What You’re Good At
Pablo Picasso lived among a group of artists in Paris in the early 20th century. One evening, the celebrated American writer Gertrude Stein was hosting a group of artists at her home, which doubled as a salon. Picasso, who was in attendance, and who was not known for his humility, remarked that if he had focused his energies on poetry, as he had with his painting, he could have been a great poet.
Picasso then decided to read a poem to the group assembled. At the end of his reading a long pause took place, as it was unclear as to how to respond to someone so accomplished as Picasso. Finally Stein, who was already considered a great poet, spoke up, “Pablo…go home and paint.”
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Analogies
Value after Brokenness: The Art of Kintsugi
There are going to be broken times when you feel as if everything is under demolition. When things feel unresolved or ruined inside of you. When the only thing you might have the strength to do is three-quarters-of-the-way trust that God will take the broken pieces and glue them back together. That’s called kintsugi. Kintsugi is a Japanese term that means “join with gold” or “golden seams.”
If you were to break a jar and wanted to put it back together using the method of kintsugi, someone would take the jar and piece it back together with a glue that is mixed with powdered gold or platinum. It wouldn’t be like superglue, where the item looks perfect because the glue is clear. You would see the gold in all the cracks.
You would know that the object has breaks in it. Those who practice kintsugi believe that just because something breaks doesn’t mean it cannot be used anymore. It’s not about perfection; it’s about resilience. The once broken thing becomes more valuable because now there is gold binding the pieces together.
Humor
An Interesting Depiction
At one point in his life, the famous modern artist Pablo Picasso was robbed in his French home. He told the police he would be happy to paint them a picture of the robbers. “And on the strength of that picture,” the French police later reported, “we arrested a mother superior, a government minister, a washing machine, and the Eiffel Tower.”
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Reason for my Rhyme
It is said that upon his (Edmund Spenser, 1552-1599) presenting some poems to the Queen (Elizabeth I) she ordered him a gratuity of one hundred pounds, but the Lord Treasurer Burleigh objecting to it, said with some scorn of the poet, of whose merit he was totally ignorant, ‘What, all this for a song?’
The Queen replied, ‘Then give him what is reason.’ Spenser for some time waited, but had the mortification to find himself disappointed of Her Majesty’s bounty. Upon this he took a proper opportunity to present a paper to Queen Elizabeth, in which he reminded her of the order she had given, in the following lines:
I was promised on a time
To have reason for my rhime.
From that time, unto this season,
I received nor rhime, nor reason.
The paper produced the intended effect, and the Queen, after sharply reproving the Treasurer, immediately directed the payment of the hundred pounds she had first ordered.
Quoted in John Gross, The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes (Oxford Books of Prose & Verse). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition. Source Material from Theophilus Cibber, The Lives of the Poets, 1753.
Stick With What You’re Good At
Pablo Picasso lived among a group of artists in Paris in the early 20th century. One evening, the celebrated American writer Gertrude Stein was hosting a group of artists at her home, which doubled as a salon. Picasso, who was in attendance, and who was not known for his humility, remarked that if he had focused his energies on poetry, as he had with his painting, he could have been a great poet.
Picasso then decided to read a poem to the group assembled. At the end of his reading a long pause took place, as it was unclear as to how to respond to someone so accomplished as Picasso. Finally Stein, who was already considered a great poet, spoke up, “Pablo…go home and paint.”
Stuart Strachan Jr.
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