Today's Gospel in Art - So they went off in a boat to a lonely place

Patrick van der Vorst
Jul 17th, 2021

Christ our Pilot, by Warner Sallman 1950 © Christian Art

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 18th July 2021 - Mark 6:30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, 'You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while'; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

Reflection on the Illustration

Our illustration, created in 1950 by Warner Sallman, portrays Jesus standing behind a young man who is trying to navigate his boat through the storms of life in order to make it safely back to the harbour. Both are gazing into the distance, towards the same goal, the same destination. Warner Sallman was a painter and illustrator based in Chicago. His 'Head of Christ' painting of 1940 has been reproduced over 500 million times. Today's artwork is less well known but equally noteworthy. In 1994, The New York Times wrote that Sallman was likely to be voted the "best-known artist of the century" seeing how widely spread his Head of Christ work was.

We hear in our Gospel reading today how Jesus and His disciples 'went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves'. They needed some time out to recover from the intensity and demands of their mission. I guess sailing in a boat provides that restfulness. Though I am not a sailor myself, I know from friends who sail that they experience it almost as something spiritual. It is just you out there, with or without friends, being part of the vastness of the winds, seas, the stars, galaxies and the universe. Apparently 'thinkers' gravitate to the sport of sailing. The sea provides a unique connection with the world, the universe, and with God.

If I may, I leave you with this poem, 'The Unknown Shore' by Elizabeth Clark Hardy (1849-1929):

Sometime at eve when the tide is low,

I shall slip my moorings and sail away,

With no response to a friendly hail,

In the silent hush of the twilight pale,

When the night stoops down to embrace the day

And the voices call in the water's flow.

Sometime at eve when the tide is low,

I shall slip my moorings and sail away.

Through purple shadows that darkly trail

O'er the ebbing tide of the unknown sea,

And a ripple of waters to tell the tale