Pastor Hugh's Monthly Meditation
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Epiphany: What are you looking at?
One of my favorite painters of all time is Sandro Botticelli who painted his famous "Adoration of the Magi" in around 1475. It was commissioned by Guasparre del Lama who was known as a wealthy "social upstart" with a fairly disreputable past. In having Botticelli paint this famous scene, he made sure that the wealthiest benefactors in Florence at the time, members of the Medici family, were portrayed prominently in the painting. Del Lama also had himself portrayed in the painting. He is the white haired man at the top of this detail who is looking toward the observer. (Botticelli is the young man at the right who is looking out, too.)
Click on image to see a larger view this detail of Botticelli's, Adoration of the Magi, in a separate window.
When I looked at this painting closely, I noticed that of all those who were portrayed here, only these two are looking completely away from the central focus of the scene—Jesus and Mary. There are others who are conversing with someone near by, others looking straight and adoringly at Jesus, but only these two are completely detached from the event before them and looking away. Now it was customary in self-portraits for the painter to be looking out. So we can forgive Botticelli. But why was Del Lama looking out? Simple: He wanted to be noticed. He wanted social standing and respect, and was using his money and influence to buy it.
Here's the point of my observation: Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. On Epiphany the Church remembers the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus and his mother Mary. In Matthew 2:11 we read, "On entering the house, [the wise men] saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." The King James version says that they "worshiped" him. They worshiped him. Those are strong words.
Click on image for a larger view of the whole of Botticelli's, Adoration of the Magi.
No matter how hard we might try, like Del Lama, we can't keep our eyes on Jesus and ourselves at the same time. In other words, we can't be looking to climb the social ladder and serve Christ simultaneously.
Del Lama missed the point, and the miracle, that the real wise men seemed to understand. Had he been there with the wise men, he would have been too full of himself to become filled by Christ.
Epiphany invites us to focus our gaze fully upon our Lord and to be struck with awe. Let's not look away.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
January 2006
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