Category Archives: Bread of Sorrows

Flexit super illam – He wept over it

Painting by Enrique Simonet Lombardo {{PD-1996}}

We were able to visit the world famous Prado Museum and yes, we waited for the free visit hours in a line for a while before we were let in. Now that everyone is carrying a camera at all times, all the visitors were compelled to comply with rule forbidding photography. I was excited but I wasn’t sure what to expect.

My wife and I wandered the rooms and halls knowing we couldn’t view everything, but relishing the incredible timeless paintings and sculpture. The Prado holds artwork from Spain’s own Goya as well as Rubens, Rafael and even Rembrandt.

The Painting

After walking through several rooms, I walked through one door way and my heart fell. Most of the gallery rooms are quite large and one of the main areas is literally several hundred feet long. I was entering one room when I saw the painting.

Previous visits to museums taught me that there is an optimal distance for viewing paintings. No painting [that I am aware of ] is meant to be viewed up close. One needs perspective to see the depth, shading and detail added by the artist.

This painting measures 18 feet by 10 feet high! Upon entering the room I was immediately entranced into the captured moment. I knew it was Christ and His disciples gazing over Jerusalem. I was then compelled to know what moment the artist had captured.

I assumed that the artist had chosen Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” [KJV] That was not it.

For me the sense of sorrow was pervasive as the color of the sky helped deliver the tone and accented how He expressed his sorrow. It was as if the turmoil Jerusalem would experience was revealed to him at that moment.

Luke 19:41

In my mind, this was the time for the Matthew 23:37 speech, but according to some scholars, his admonishment for Jerusalem only came after entering the city. The artist cites Luke 19:41 as the inspiration which took place during the approach to the city known as the “Palm Sunday parade”.

One commentator declares that Jesus must have repeated some ideas on different occasions. It seems that all of this speech could have been shared in one extended reveal of Jerusalem’s future fate.

All of this cannot be allowed to overshadow the fact that Jesus, architect, creator & ruler of creation was moved to tears by compassion on the fate of the city. He gifted Simonet wih a glimpse of his ongoing passion.

Thessaloniki

Paul addressed the church he began in Thessalonika with the epistle known as 1 Thessalonians.  This is the same city he was urged to travel to in Acts 16 that was crying out to him through the Holy Spirit.  According to Matthew Henry, this was the first epistle he wrote to any of the churches being written in 51 A.D.  The significance of this being Paul’s first letter of endorsement and encouragement to any of the churches he started and important to understanding his approach to establishing them.
Paul shares from his heart about how the church began and their progress but the enduring, most memorable chapter is the fourth.  My wife and I heard about an acquaintance who is a Christian and who was reacting very badly to the loss of a loved one.   Yes, the Bible says grieve with those who grieve, but in the fourth chapter we find words that describe a faith-filled reaction to the loss of a saint.  There may be instances in these current times of calamity where some may sleep in the Lord.  What will our reaction be?  We are reminded that this situation was not an emergency in Heaven.  The Father was not taken aback by the virus.  


13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

There is no clear reaction by anyone in a loss. When we lost our mother some years ago, my immediate reaction was that of sheer terror and shock.  She was an absolute sainted woman.  Once reality sets in, we have a chance to react knowing we will see our loved ones again!  No one can say what their first reaction to a catastrophic loss will be but in this we have been assured: 

15 For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! 18 Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].
If we are not resting in His everlasting arms, are we flailing about on our own?  Are we like these described in James 1:6b Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. 7 Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything.  [VOICE]

 God is still seated on the throne; we’re going to be alright!

Quiet 2

 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

The word rendered vain in verse 3 of this psalm attributed to Solomon is shav, defined as “emptiness, vanity and nothingness”. He says it is vain to spend time worrying, pondering and/or fretting about problems, issues and situations, especially those that you can do very little about.  Notice Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6:
25Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing ?
and later: 
31Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?  32For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.  33But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. 34So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. [AMP].
If we don’t have to worry about food, clothing or basic necessities, what do we have to worry about?  Doubtless some would say plenty!  The earnestly spiritual of us would say nothing – yet YES! I recognize that this is much easier said than done.  We are working to overcome and restore our ‘natural’ soul that remains prone to fear, intimidation and anxiety.  We have to focus on the solutions and the Solution-maker rather than our problems.   The story of David and Goliath showcases David’s focus on God and his refusal to focus on the size, aggression and braggadocio of Goliath. 
We will inevitably have sleepless nights, we will also have problems that we will attempt to cast upon the Lord only to take back later by trying to solve them ourselves.  Our need for the inherent peace and quiet of God’s kingdom and the need to have ongoing fellowship with the Lord brings us to Psalm 63 where the soul satisfaction theme of this blog is described and David describes his practice of fellowshipping with God in those night hours. 
Psalm 63:5-7
 5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
 6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
 7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

We would be very prudent to do the same.