Art to Heart Praise

Caspar David Friedrich: Winter Landscape with Church

©2002 by Jeff Dugan

Not much joy here, huh?  A snow-covered landscape, nearly barren except for a few trees, all shrouded in mist.  Have you ever experienced life like this – cold, dreary, gray, and alone?  I doubt that it ever snowed in Babylon, but surely the emotional content of this scene would have been familiar to the captive Israelites.

 But look closer, and you’ll see the first sprigs of grass peeking up through the snow.  The church in the distance is shrouded in fog, but even so, the  trees in the foreground echo its spires and inspire faith despite the gloom.  The trees are not just any trees, but evergreens, which speak of perseverance against the cold and darkness, and eventual triumph over it.

Most significantly, these green symbols of persistent faith envelop a country crucifix, and a crippled wanderer has abandoned his crutches and seeks there the hope that is expressed by the rest of the landscape.  This wanderer has been through the bleak landscape of separation from hope, but now experiences the joy of that hope’s rebirth.  A new world is being created in the landscape around him – and in his heart.

And if we place our hope in God’s redemptive power, a new world is ours as well.

(At this point the leader may lead the congregation in the following litany, or may proceed directly to a hymn such as “When Morning Gilds the Skies, by Barnby.)

Leader: See, the winter is past; the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.*

Congregation: My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.*

Leader: The wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.  Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come.”*

Congregation: Where morning dawns and evening fades, He calls forth songs of joy.*

(At this point the leader may lead a hymn or other musical performance, such as “When Morning Gilds the Skies,” by Barnby)

 * Song 2:11,12, Ps. 130:6, Is. 35:1-4, Ps. 65:8