Art to Heart Call to Worship

Gian Girolamo Savoldo: St. Mary Magdalene Approaching the Sepulchre

©2002 by Jeff Dugan

Titian was breaking new ground in this portrait.  Among his patrons, portraiture was becoming popular, but it was limited to formal poses.  And in this portrait we find Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist in their traditional, formal poses.  But who is this mad woman who steals the scene, falling all over herself to disrespectfully embrace Jesus?  She has no sense of decorum at all! 

She’s most likely Saint Catherine, a beautiful Egyptian princess who lived hundreds of years after Christ.  She’s famous for having considered her devotion to Christ in terms of a wedding vow.  She was later martyred by a pagan Roman emperor when she refused his proposal of marriage.

Of course, since Catherine did not live at the same time as Mary, this scene could never have actually occurred.  But Titian has played with the constraints of time to create a fictional scene so that he could portray to us just how passionate and selfless and all-consuming Catherine’s love was for Jesus.  She’s willing to break through the stuffiness of formality expected by proper society; in fact, she clearly does not even pause to consider what people might think.  She’s only focused on loving her Lord.

In transcending time as Titian does here, he also suggests that Catherine may represent not just one individual in Egypt, but the yearning of all mankind for the gift of salvation.  In this sense, the formal pose of Mary can be seen to represent the spiritual source of the gift, while Catherine’s groveling posture is the earthly response of gratitude.

Which means that today, we all find ourselves with an opportunity to take our place in this portrait.  Some may prefer to observe from the sidelines like a properly-behaved museum visitor.  But I challenge us all to join together in worship that forgets ourselves and dives forward to embrace Jesus with all that we have.

(Alternatively, you may wish to conclude by replacing the final paragraph with the following)

 Leader: Will we observe worship today from the sidelines, like properly-behaved museum visitors?

Congregation: My soul clings to the Lord; His right hand upholds me. 

Leader: Will we instead take our place with Catherine in this portrait?

Congregation: My soul clings to the Lord.  Let His left hand be under my head and His right hand embrace me.*

Leader: Let us join together in devoted worship.

Leader + Congregation: We will forget ourselves and fall on our knees to embrace Jesus with all we have.  Our souls cling to the Lord.

*  Psalm 63:8, Song of Solomon 2:6, NASB