The Scream

Connect:

Above is a picture by the famous painter Edvard Munch. Look carefully at the painting. What is it that captures your attention? Where are your eyes drawn to? I imagine most of you were immediately drawn to the figure at the bottom center who appears to be screaming, thus the title of this painting “the scream.”

Art such as this can bring out a variety of emotions for each of us. It can disturb us. It may soothe us as we find ourselves identifying with the character. It may frighten us, or it may just freak us out. In any of these cases, it speaks to us. Munch wanted to teach us something about our lives. He wanted to teach us something about despair, and so he taught us by painting.

Reflect:

In the 4th chapter of Mark, Jesus wants to teach the crowds something about life in the kingdom of God. Now he doesn’t go about this by painting a picture with brush and canvas, but he does paint a picture of sorts with his words. He tells the people parables. Parables are tricky devices that hold a lot of truth, but often the truth is concealed and needs to be unpackaged. In verses 10-20, Jesus tries to explain this mystery to the disciples. He just told the parable of the sower, but nobody gets it. The weird thing about this is that of all the people who should have understood this parable, namely the disciples, even they were clueless. So what does this mean? The mysteries of God are all around us. We can see them in the midst of creations story. You can see them in the people you meet, in the conversation you have, in the work you do. Like the disciples you’re not always going to understand these stories completely, but also like the disciples you should never stop searching. You should never stop asking God to help you see his action everywhere and in everything.

Direct:
This week take time to look at a few of the parable of Christ and try to understand the deeper meaning that lies within them. Take time to see the work of God, the face of God, in everything around you, in your teachers, friends, parents, siblings, in everything. Allow God to help you understand the deeper meaning. Allow Him to be your teacher.