Today's Gospel in Art - The world hated me before it hated you

Solitude, by Frederic Leighton © Maryhill Museum of Art, Washington

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 8th May 2021 - John 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples:

'If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you.

Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well. But it will be on my account that they will do all this, because they do not know the one who sent me.'

Reflection on the Painting

At the time that the New Testament was written, the term 'hate' did not really carry the overwhelmingly negative tone that we associate the word with nowadays. At the time 'hate' simply meant a 'lesser degree of love'. It wasn't as harsh a word as we associate it with nowadays. Jesus uses the word 'hate' therefore as a feeling to be aware of and work with.

If the world hates you, it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole world is against you, but we may indeed feel less loved at certain times. That lack of love we may experience can lead us to feel lonely at times. Our painting depicts Solitude. Frederic Leighton paints the figure of a lady in a pensive pose. She has shed a dark cloak and is now sitting in a bright white dress. Maybe her solitude has led to some spiritual renewal?

Sometimes being in this world can feel lonely, as if everyone is against us. We can have these feelings of emptiness, even though we are surrounded by people, friends, colleagues, even our faith. Often loneliness has to do with the quality of our relationships, rather than the number of people we know. As in all the other readings we have looked at so far this week, Jesus in our reading today is asking us to enhance our relationship with Him; to get to know Him more; to trust Him more; to give Him more… simply to look into Christ's eyes, smile and tell Him how much we love Him….

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/799
Christian Art - www.christian.art