Tuesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time
2 Cor 8:1-9
Mt 5:43-48
“… in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.”
I have always found today’s Gospel passage challenging, because I find it so hard to even accept its call to ‘love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you’, let alone carry it out sincerely. Indeed, sometimes I find it just as difficult to love those who love me because of our differing mindsets and ways we care for one another; so how could I possibly bring a loving perspective to everyone around me? I wasn’t even sure what I could write for today’s reflection till I visited Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, an exhibition which uses light and animation to give viewers a deeper appreciation of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, and some of his most famous paintings.
While I was indeed mesmerised by the beautiful and immersive installations, I was also intrigued to learn about Van Gogh’s religious background. His father was a Protestant pastor and he had originally thought of studying theology; in fact he only thought of becoming an artist in his late 20s, after his attempts to be a lay preacher did not work out. He also made reference to God and religion in a number of quotes (extracted from the incredible 800+ letters he wrote), which the exhibition featured and the following one particularly stood out to me:
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
But what does being ‘truly artistic’ entail? Based on what I saw of the exhibition, it seemed that Van Gogh’s artistry comprised a vivid interest in depicting everything and everyone around him — from rural landscapes to villagers, to nights in the cities. It may have inspired him to include religious references in his work, though he did not directly confirm them; when reading up for this reflection, I found out that his painting Café Terrace at Night may have contained allusions to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It also led him to develop perseverance and diligence (resulting in over two thousand paintings, most of which were done in the last decade of his short life) and brought him both struggles (when his paintings did not receive critical recognition) and solace (when he was hospitalised for his deteriorating mental health).
Building on the above, perhaps Van Gogh’s love for our Lord’s creations, as well as his empathy for the ‘low-wage workers’ of his time — such as farm workers, peasants and potato eaters — led to him creating some of his most well-known works. Perhaps his love of (or at least familiarity with) religious art influenced the way he composed his paintings. And though he experienced ups and downs with his artistry, he persevered with it and always gave fully of himself to it, an attitude which would also be useful in our attempts to love those around us as well as ourselves.
Perhaps I can learn from Van Gogh to pay homage to our Lord in what I do, and at least see everyone around me as His adopted children — just as I am his adopted daughter.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Jaclyn Lam)
Prayer: We pray for the humility and wisdom to remember that our Lord loves us, despite our own unworthiness. We pray for the grace and perseverance to be more loving to everyone we encounter every day.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord, for enabling us to know you through the beauty of your creation and the artists who capture it for our appreciation.
OXYGEN 
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