Making Ourselves Worthy

"we begin our wait and preparation for the coming of the Lord and the last days."

Worthy of a prince

You may not recognize the name, Hokusai, but you have undoubtedly seen his work. Hokusai was a Japanese artist who lived during what is known as the “Edo Period” in the 18th and 19th century. He became internationally famous for his series of paintings featuring Mount Fuji. One painting in particular caught the attention of the world. It is titled The Great Wave off Kanagawa and shows a small boat caught in a gigantic wave, with Mount Fuji in the distant background.

One of the many stories told about the great painter concerns a commission he once accepted from a powerful prince. The prince one day commissioned Hokusai to paint a lion. The prince waited months but the artist did not fulfill the commission. Finally the prince went down to Hokusai's studio in person and demanded the painting. Hokusai immediately took a blank piece of paper and within a few minutes, had completed a magnificent painting of a lion.

Although he was greatly impressed the prince was also somewhat exasperated. "If you could do it so quickly, why have you taken so long to do so?" he asked.

The painter then took the prince inside his workshop where the prince saw hundreds of drawings, paintings, and sketches of lions. "It took me this long to learn to paint a lion worthy of you," explained the artist.

Worthy of God

We spend our lives learning to make of ourselves a work of art worthy of God.

In the opening lines of the third chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, Christianity is firmly grounded in world history. The detailed contemporary references point to the appearance of John the Baptist and the beginning of the circumstances leading to the salvation of the world. Instead of events happening in some vague mythic past, we are given exact datable facts.

God’s Word comes to John. He is called to serve as the last prophet. In so doing he brings to a close the age of the Old Covenant and becomes the herald of the new. The ancient prophecies, signs and symbols are at last fulfilled.

John speaks of the imminent arrival of the promised Messiah, and the beginning of the end. By his preaching of a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins he is calling people to prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord. With their immersion in water the “converts” leave their old lives and take on new ones, lives that will “make straight” their previously crooked paths.

With the arrival of John we begin our wait and preparation for the coming of the Lord and the last days. So as we wait for the establishment of the new heaven and the new earth, let us prepare by making clear the way of the Lord.

Let us then strive to grow in love and knowledge, that we may perceive the good and reject what is evil. May we be pure and blameless, always striving to do what is right. Then we will ready for the day of Christ.

Pax Vobiscum
2nd Sunday in Advent

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© Lawrence Klimecki

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Deacon Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary art that seeks to connect the physical and the spiritual.. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith