Monday Reflections: ISBN
“The more I paint, the more I like everything.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat
We are made of layers. Our experiences and memories create layers within. UMCom photo by Kay Panovec
One of the places where I find renewal is the art museum. It is hard to explain, but when I connect with a painting, my heart and mind travel to places beyond my thoughts. I like to study the authors’ technique, the colors they use and their way of defining shapes. I also like to immerse myself in the story they are trying to tell. Sometimes the stories are narrative. Sometimes they are abstract stories meant to elicit feelings more than thoughts.
I am fortunate to live near a small art museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Last time I visited, I discovered a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The title is ISBN. Common themes in his work are critiques of oppression and excess. In ISBN, he uses a collage technique that resembles the layering of memories and experiences. The work is both fragmented and cohesive.
We are made of layers. Our experiences and memories create layers within. Sometimes these layers seem contradictory. But they make the fabric of who we are.
Psalm 139 is one of the most layered songs in the Bible. It also contains one of its most problematic verses. The author is grieving over the destruction of his homeland and the genocide of his people. At the end he sings for the same to be done to his oppressors. One of the earlier verses sings,
“Jerusalem! If I forget you,
let my strong hand wither!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.”
Layers upon layers. At this point in his life, the psalmist was layered in grief, longing and anger. And yet, amid the pain, remembering brought him hope and a semblance of joy. Anger and hope. Grief and joy. Layers upon layers.
We are layered people. We work with layered people. Our experiences and memories make of us a cohesive canvas of seemingly contradictory feelings. This is who we are. And that is ok. Regardless of how we feel, we are loved. God loves us in our grief and our joy, in our anger and our hope. Always remember that nothing can separate you from that love.
You are loved.
Prayer
God, sometimes I do not fully understand the layers that make me who I am. Thank you for not making me peel any of them to know that you love me. Amen.
Rev. Eduardo Bousson
Senior Manager, Collegiate Ministries
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
The United Methodist Church
Related Posts
Methodism has a long history with the concept of perfection. In 18th-century England, perfection or perfectionism was understood the same way it is today. Perfection meant something without error or blemish. John and Charles Wesley, and the early leaders of the Methodist movement, understood perfection differently. In their practice, perfection was related to the Greek term teleio, which conveys maturity, wholeness, and completion.
Sometimes, the road to Damascus passes through Breezewood, Pennsylvania. There at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 76, the Rev. Bruce Maxwell, a United Methodist deacon who serves as an endorsed chaplain at the travel plaza, cares for truckers, travelers, or anyone passing through.
The EXPLORATION discernment event is unlike any other event with its goal of helping people discern and not pushing them into ordained ministry or into a particular form of Christian service. EXPLORATION helps participants discern and be open to what God may be asking of them and how they are called to use their gifts and graces to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
