Today's Gospel in Art: Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with the cares of life

Cave Painting Removal, Sprayed by Banksy, 2008 © Banksy / Pest Control

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 27th November 2021 - Luke 21:34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:

'Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.'

Reflection on the Street Artwork

Advent starts this evening. Advent is a quiet, reflective, prayerful season. So today's Gospel is the last reading of Ordinary Time of 2021. Jesus' words in today's reading, 'Stay awake, praying at all times', set the tone for Advent. However, those words are preceded by 'debauchery, drunkenness and the cares of life'… all in stark contrast with the call to prayer. Jesus recognises that we can become so absorbed by our daily activities that we lose sight of the daily need for prayer. Of course Jesus is not asking us to step away from our daily activities, but He is asking us to see God in the midst of them.

The painting is illustrating one of those daily chores we all do: cleaning. Our artwork by Banksy depicts a council worker jet cleaning a pre-historic cave painting. In typical ironic fashion, Banksy is thus making a point that art is often destroyed by those who don't understand it. This piece was only visible for four months (from May to August 2008). It was created in Leake Street Tunnel, London, a designated graffiti area. It was soon covered with other graffiti works, such is the ever changing nature of the tunnel….

We as a viewer can see immediately that the cleaner shouldn't be jet blasting the ancient cave paintings. We feel like shouting 'stop'. It is almost as if the council worker is committing an act of vandalism by removing the cave painting. But then the graffiti work itself by Banksy artwork can be seen as vandalism too. So we are torn as a viewer and share in the artist's irony.

During our daily chores of cleaning, working, talking, walking… we are asked to be alert to Our Good Lord's presence everywhere...

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1004
Christian Art - www.christian.art/