Things that [Ultimately] Matter

"Christ Icon."
Sizes/prices of giclée prints
can be found at edriojasartist.com

Copyright © Edward Riojas

Now is the time. If you have ever considered hanging an image of Jesus on the wall of your home, then now is the time. If you have ever thought of using memorial funds to place an image of our Savior in the sanctuary of your church, then certainly now is the time.

A few insistent voices have been urging the wholesale removal of monuments, and it doesn’t seem to matter if those monuments are in opposition to activists’ views or if they actually support the same activists’ cause – they must all come down. Ignorance is more contagious than any virus ever was, and stupidly spreads more rapidly than any pandemic ever could.

Most recently, the targets are ‘images of white supremacy’ – Jesus. This idea is at the urging of BLM activist, Shaun King. King must surely be a conflicted man, because his own mother is white. But I digress.

Iconoclasm – the destruction of icons, or images, of Christ – is as old as the hills. Long before anything seemed to matter, man has fought over whether or not it is right to have images of Jesus; whether or not it is blasphemous. More blood has been shed over images of Christ than even this sorry generation can possibly imagine. Historically, it’s been that bad.

Lutherans, however, are a feisty group. Whether it’s that inbred German stubbornness or cues taken from the blessed Reformer, Martin Luther, we have a tendency to show our mettle when things look dire.

"Crucifixion"
Sizes/prices of giclée prints can be
found at edriojasartist.com

When some insisted that it was NOT the body of Christ on the altar; when they “broke” the Host in full view to represent their theological position, Lutherans suddenly became discreet in that simple act, if only to protest the Protestants’ errant ways. When some insisted that only red wine could be used in the Sacrament of the Altar, many Lutherans instantly switched to white wine. Some churches still use that variety, exclusively. When Protestants started destroying ‘idolatrous’ sanctuary artwork, Luther blew a gasket and lambasted the moronic imbeciles.

It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that this Lutheran artist strongly suggests we up the ante and increase our display of the Only Begotten of the Father. We do not do so to increase His presence among us, for He will be where He promises. We do not do so to show our piety or supremacy in any way, for we openly acknowledge, with Paul, that we are chief among sinners and we are slaves to the Gospel. We place images of Christ Jesus simply to remind ourselves – and the whole world – that some things really DO matter.

Healing and Forgiveness

Copyright © Edward Riojas

Copyright © Edward Riojas

It’s no surprise that I have mouths on my mind. My mother was recently diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 cancer of the tongue. Also recently, one of the lectionary readings was from Isaiah 6, which describes a burning coal touching the prophet’s mouth after he had declared in verse 5, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

This passage was the basis for one of several proposed drawings for Higher Things. That was before the theme was massaged a bit, rendering the image unusable. In the drawing, a cross, stylized crossed keys, and a burning coal are fused together. It’s a strange image that, to my knowledge, has rarely – if ever – been done, and this time it only got as far as a rough drawing.

Isaiah’s account, although strange, prophetically points to something more familiar – Holy Communion. One can see the parallel between taking the burning coal from the altar and touching the prophet’s mouth, and taking the Body and Blood of Christ from the altar and placing it in the communicant’s mouth. We also echo Isaiah’s words, “...my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!,” when we repeat Simeon's “...for my eyes have seen Thy Salvation...”

During the pandemic stay-at-home order, my mother languished in her home, as medical appointment after medical appointment was postponed. The oral surgeon would have to wait. She also was not able for two and a half months to go to church. The cancer did not care.

Finally, she was able to see an oral surgeon, and finally she was able to receive Holy Communion, which drives me to a different part of Scripture. In Mark 2:9, the event of Jesus healing the paralytic comes to a head when the Savior asks, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” Pondering my mother’s condition, I want the cure for her bodily suffering. We are told to bring everything to the Lord, including petitions for those in need, so I ask the Lord as a beggar would.

Yet there is more at stake than these inherited, rotting bodies. For that reason, there is great joy knowing that my Mom finally received forgiveness at the Lord’s Table. What is more, she received that forgiveness, of all places, on her tongue.

“But Watch Lest Foes With Base Alloy”

What I on earth have done and taught,
Guide all your life and teaching;
So shall the kingdom’s work be wrought
And honored in your preaching.
But watch lest foes with base alloy
The heav’nly treasure should destroy;
This final word I leave you.

Copyright © Edward Riojas

This illustration for Martin Luther’s final verse of “Dear Christians, One And All Rejoice” (Kloria Publishing), is a counterpart to the book’s cover illustration. There is greater meaning beneath the two pretty pictures, but because of the times, we are forced to understand it more keenly.

There is no social distancing among those who approach the Lord’s Table. More importantly, there is no social distancing between the Lord Himself and those of His flock. He is not concealed by a mask, and we, because of Christ’s sacrifice, fear neither sickness nor death as we approach Him.

Hence, we bow as the crucifix processes past us. In some traditions, we bow as the Gospel – or, more properly, the Word – passes. Hence, we bow at the altar, acknowledging the very body and blood of the Lord Himself. While human reason cannot grasp this truth, we take our Lord at His Word.

Here, the words of Luther’s stanza drive home. The Reformer’s thinly-veiled warning does not directly regard Satan, but rather a more subtle foe. By context, most of us get the gist of the phrase “foes with base alloy,” but Luther paints a picture, through metallurgical terms, of those who may be counted among the  Believers, but whose beliefs are tainted by questionable and impure doctrine; those who wonder why we can’t ALL kneel at the Lord’s Table; those who ask, in eerily-familiar style, “Did He REALLY mean “This is my body?””

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Giclée prints of images from ‘Dear Christians’ are available for purchase in two formats. To order or for more information, please e-mail me at edriojasartist@gmail.com.

Sizes/prices for giclée prints of “Dear Christians: Eucharist Spread:”
30” x 19” / $140
24” x 15.2” / $110
16” x 10.1” / $75

Sizes/prices for giclée prints of “Dear Christians: Eucharist Vertical:”
18.8” x 24” / $120
12.5” x 16” / $75

“Dear Christians, One And All Rejoice,” (Kloria Publishing) is available through Concordia Publishing House and Amazon.com