Patience and Perseverance Through Trials: Book of James

The sermon we heard before we left for Boston was from James:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." - James 1: 2-6.

The Greek word used for patience is or hupomeno, literally meaning under (hupo) and abide or remain (meno). It is an action word, not passive, and it speaks to fortitude that undergirds you, not a facade of resignation or stoic denial. To me it seems like the "guts" of faith, something that can't come from you alone. It has to come from God.

This passage in James is tough...but it rings true. Believers and unbelievers can reach the point of resignation or surrender, but joy has to come from faith.

Thank you all for your prayers on behalf of us; we are closer than ever, deeper in our faith, and grateful for the blessings of each day. I discovered Great Songs of Faith in a Boston bookstore, and found the daily Bible passages and stories behind the writing of hymns to be an inspiration. We've been reading Psalms and meditating on hymns individually and together as a family. Our daughter is a big Amy Grant fan, so we'll share this link YouTube video of Thy Word.

Reflections on James
Endurance, Perseverance, and Patience
Prayer in Paintings

Art History : Caravaggio and Three St. Matthews

Michelangelo Mrisi da Caravaggio was a rebellious and impetuous personality who burst onto the art scene in the late middle ages, ushering in the Baroque style of art. Compared to the flat, emotionally placid, and stationary look of Saint Matthew in the Lindesfarne Gospels (below), baroque painting was life-like, moving, and often conveying powerful emotional feeling.




Above is Caravaggio's The Inspiration of St. Matthew. The figures are boldly appear out of the darkness and the angel swirls above Matthew to guide his thoughts. Interestingly, this painting was not Caravaggio's first on this subject - his first, below, was rejected by the Chapel San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome - perhaps because it portrayed St. Matthew in too humble an image. In the painting below (unfortunately destroyed in World War II, only this black and white photograph remains), Matthew is dressed as a poor man (rather than aristocratic philosopher)and the angel is seen to guide even his hand as he reads the lines of a book.


The three St. Matthews demonstrate the different interpretative choices that an artist must make when translating an event or a story into visual form.

By the way, it's thought that the word Baroque originated from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning an unpredictable and elaborately shaped pearl.
At left is the famous Canning Sea Dragon made in the late medieval period from baroque pearls.

For more about Caravaggio or helpful art history sites, check out the links below. Interestingly, there have been some recent startling Caravaggio finds in Church backrooms and lofts. Paintings of Doubting Thomas and Emmaus were found and verified just last year (for more, click here), and The Taking of Christ was found in a Jesuit House dining room in 1993 after it had disappeared some 200 years earlier.

Boston College: Biography of Caravaggio
Art and the Bible
Art History Today Blog

Small Latin and Less Greek

Ben Jonson described Shakespeare's education as consisting of "small Latin, and less Greek", so that is no small goal for some of us classical educator newbies. I am really learning Latin with my kids, but I was also frustrated at not being able to read many short Greek phrases that I came across while reading classical commentaries or works.

What I really find myself enjoying is Christine Gatchell's Elementary Greek. It is easy to slip in reading here and there, and although I know that "real" Greek is quite complex, this little bit of Greek gives me a richer feeling of connection to the words and quotations as I come across them. Readings start with the John 1. If you can't wait for the book, check out this Little Greek 101 site which includes short audio files for pronunciation.


Another wonderful free resource I came across was Visual Greek (pdf file) which combines cartoons which act as reminders for Greek word meaning and pronunciation.



Other References

Shakespeare's Small Latin and Less Greek

Art History: Medieval Visions of Heaven and Hell

We found that studying the medieval paintings of Hieronymous Bosch and etchings of Durer were a perfect complement to our reading of Dante's Divine Comedy.

There is something striking about Dante's punishments fitting their crimes, and the organization of hell makes more sense when one realizes that Dante's hierarchy of evil places a greater burden on those who oppose the will of God than those who commit crimes against their fellow men.

Medieval paintings were very important for helping the illiterate Christians gain the basic truths of the Bible. Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) said, "Painting can do for the illiterate what writing does for those who can read."

WebMuseum: Bosch, Hieronymus
University of NC Lesson Plan: The Nightmares of Hieronymous Bosch
Early Medieval Painting at Beyond Books
Powerpoint of Albrect Durer's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Spark Notes: Themes, Motifs, and Symbolism in Dante's Inferno
Art of the Book in the Middle Ages

Monk's Day, Illuminated Manuscripts, and Book of Kells

In school, our daughter's 4th grade class has been studying the Middle Ages, and in order to understand more about life in the monastery, they had a Monk's Day, where they fasted (a little), wore simple Monk's clothes, took a vow of silence (broken a little), and devoted themselves to monastic devotions like singing and reading and copying Scripture. About a week later, she surprised me by telling me that that was one of her favorite days. Why? I asked - and she answered, "I loved doing the calligraphy. It was so beautiful."

One of their activities was to write verses from the Bible using calligraphy pens on parchment paper. Her teacher had copied a beautiful border onto the sheets and they meticulous hand-painted it in watercolors. They also stitched together the different pages with needle and thread.



Illuminated manuscripts are a beautiful legacy of medieval monasteries. One of the most remarkable is the Book of Kells, copied around 800 A.D. and tucked away in the monastery for safekeeping so it wouldn't be destroyed by Viking raiders.



We really are out of town now - we'll be back blogging later this week.

Book of Kells Images

Book of Kells, Austin College

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