Pentecost & Painting
Happy Birthday, Church! Today is the day the Christian Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the day the disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit.
After Jesus was crucified, died, and buried, he rose again. For 40 days, the resurrected Jesus walked among his disciples, teaching and preparing them for something more powerful to come. Jesus then ascended into Heaven, and ten days later, while his followers were gathered together for the Feast of Harvest, the Holy Spirit, “filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
In Acts 2, the Apostle Luke describes that moment as: “And suddenly from Heaven, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”
This strange event started to draw a large crowd from all who were in town for the Jewish festival. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, everyone could hear the message of Christ in their language. Then Peter stood up and began to preach about repentance and the gospel of Christ. Later that day, 3,000 people were baptized, and the Church was born.
The word Pentecost comes from a Greek word meaning fiftieth. The Jewish Festival of Pentecost (called Shavuot, meaning “weeks” in Hebrew) falls on the fiftieth day after the original Passover. Though it was initially an agricultural festival celebrating the first harvest, it would eventually merge with the observance of the giving of the law of Moses on Mount Sinai. Traditionally, at Pentecost, the High Priest took two loaves of freshly baked wheat bread and offered them before the Lord. The wheat bread was from the newly harvested wheat. In these significant rituals and remembrances in Jewish history, God was doing a new thing. As they thanked God for the harvest of the firstfruits, now God was pouring out the firstfruits of a new church.
Every year, Pentecost reminds us that there is always an offering of new life when we gather for worship. Though we have not had “in-person” worship over the past few months, the Holy Spirit has still been at work. With fewer distractions, I feel as if God has had more space to really stretch me. Now, as we live into a “new normal,” God is doing something new in me, through me, and despite me.
Over the past few months, God has been inviting me to do a new thing. So I stepped into Intuitive Painting. In the past, if and when I did find the time to paint, it was usually watercolor painting, so Intuitive Painting with acrylic is a stretch for me.
For me, Intuitive Painting is a form of prayer that is spontaneous and invites me to dig deep to find a new and colorful expression within my soul. Art Therapist Shelly Klammer, says: Intuitive Painting is “painting for process, without pre-planning and delves below your social presentation to help you discover what you authentically need to express.” When painting intuitively, one does not aim for a pretty end product. This truthful process dares you to allow something new and unknown to emerge. Painting intuitively is often done in a safe space free from criticism and judgment, so that the artist can paint freely and uninhibited.
So I went to Hobby Lobby, found a canvas (big sale), picked up extra shades of red, orange, and yellow paint, put on some worship music, and began the process of praying and creating an image of Pentecost for this particular season.
I started the painting with the dutch pouring method. Then I began to add more to the canvas. I needed more than my initial results from my poor beginner’s attempt to pour paint and moving it with a hairdryer. Then I stepped away from the canvas for a while. I then placed the painting on an easel in my living room, and over time, I began to add to the picture. With each layer came another layer of prayer. With each expression came a new insight. With each new stroke came a new way of seeing the presence of a powerful God at work.
So if you look closely at this painting, through the different techniques and shading, you can see the colors of new life, fire, baptism, peace, and power.
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