Rembrandt, Rediscovered

  In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.  But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty,  he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense. 

 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.  Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. 

Luke 2: 5-- 15 NRSVue

With my art history background stories about "lost and found" paintings and prints are catnip for me. Recently a set of 35 Rembrandt etchings were discovered in a folder left to a Dutch woman by her grandfather years before. This is an important reminder -- never throw out anything! 

Rembrandt is in the news again, this time in the form of a "lost"  painting from 1663 which was known by experts. disappeared for more than 60 years, only to be rediscovered and authenticated by experts. The rightfull owners presented Vision of Zacharias in the Temple for tests at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. According to the BBC

Rembrandt was 27 when he created the painting, which depicts the Biblical scene when priest Zacharias is told by the Archangel Gabriel that despite their age, he and his wife will have a son, John the Baptist.

The museum said Rembrandt had given the Biblical story an innovative twist. Instead of depicting the Archangel Gabriel visibly, he only suggested his presence. In doing so, he departed from established visual traditions and introduced a new way of representing this subject.

Rembrandt deliberately chose the decisive moment, just before Gabriel reveals his true identity.It is one of the few history paintings Rembrandt created during this period. At the time, he was primarily producing portraits, which were highly lucrative.

Rembrandt was in high demand at that stage of his career and spent his wealth faster than he made it -- why not? As he aged and was no longer the painterly flavour of the day he careened into bankruptcy and disrepute. Yet he produced another extraordinary work, The Return of the Prodigal Son, as he neared the end of his life. The late theologian and priest, Henri Nouwen offered:

Rembrandt is as much the elder son of the parable as he is the younger. When, during the last years of his life, he painted both sons in Return of the Prodigal Son, he had lived a life in which neither the lostness of the younger son nor the lostness of the elder son was alien to him. Both needed healing and forgiveness. Both needed to come home. Both needed the embrace of a forgiving father. But from the story itself, as well as from Rembrandt's painting, it is clear that the hardest conversion to go through is the conversion of the one who stayed home

I would encourage you to snoop around in your New Testament and read the rest of the story of Zecharia. And while you're at it, turn to chapter 15 of Luke for the Prodigal Son.  It's interesting that these two biblical paintings are from stories told exclusively in gospel of Luke. Hmm...who will unravel this mystery?...

The Fleeting Glory of a Lunar Eclipse

 

This photograph illustrates the various phases of a total eclipse, as seen on September 7, 2025.  (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
    and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
    their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth
    and their words to the end of the world.

                       Psalm 19: 1-4 NRSVue 

Two mornings ago we watched the lunar eclipse between 5AM and 6AM, standing outside, intermittently, in the cold and the dark. Dare I admit that we didn't set an alarm for this event, we regularly awaken at this ungodly hour! 

We couldn't see the "blood moon" phase but we did watch the progression of Earth's shadow creep across the face the face of our natural satellite. I could see the pockmarks on the Moon's surface with my binoculars. We weren't awestruck, nor did we bow down in fear and wonder (too early in the morning), but we both thought the sight was pretty cool. Yesterday I wrote about the wonders of Creation here on Earth but this was a taste of venturing out into the universe. There is a theory that the  moon was once a part of the Earth, flung away from the outer layers of our planet. Another plausibe theory is that it's made of cheese. 

I've seen in the past week that two churches in the British Isles have followed the lead of others to display images from our solar system within their buildings. On the Isle of Man 11,000 showed up to see Mars: From the Imagination to Science by Luke Jerum over the course of a month. 

The same artist will be displaying  a large-scale installation depicting the sun at Grimsby Minster in North East Lincolnshire for four weeks.more than 400,000 high-resolution photographs of the sun's surface and observational data from Nasa. While I imagine these installations are quite  impressive there is something about viewing the skies not-up-close-and-personal that is truly awesome, as many of us experienced with the solar eclipse two years ago. 

On this Sun-ny day in Southern Ontario we can give the Creator the glory and perhaps ponder the night sky as well. 

Deep peace of the running wave to you.

              Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

              Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the gentle night to you

              Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

                             Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world to you.

World Wildlife Day & Celebrating Creation

 

Finding ourselves in a world of beauty and mystery,

   of living things, diverse and interdependent,

   of complex patterns of growth and evolution,

   of subatomic particles and cosmic swirls,

we sing of God the Creator,

the Maker and Source of all that is.

 Each part of creation reveals unique aspects of God the Creator,

   who is both in creation and beyond it.

All parts of creation, animate and inanimate, are related.

All creation is good.

We sing of the Creator,

   who made humans to live and move

   and have their being in God.

In and with God,

   we can direct our lives toward right relationship

   with each other and with God.

We can discover our place as one strand in the web of life.

from A Song of Faith, United Church of Canada Creed

Two mornings ago I was at the Frink Conservation Area fairly early and between the hour and the cold (-15C) I had the place entirely to myself, at least in terms of humans. It was sunny and tranquil except for birdsong as I made my way to the Moira River. I trained my binoculars on the eagles nest on the far side and to my delight the pair of them were visible, head and shoulders, until one of them bobbed out of sight.I was bouyed by seeing them for the rest of the day although I was also happy to view the variety of birds at our feeders. Last week we walked at Presqu'ille Provincial Park and on the road out we came upon four deer feeding on cedar. One of them stood up on its haunches to get some tasty morsels. Again, a gift.

Yesterday was World Wildlife Day and it got me thinking about the importance of appreciating Creation and Creator. Unfortunately, the loss of biodiversity and habitat due to human activity as well as the effects of climate change mean that the astonishing abundance of our planet, unique in the solar system, are diminishing rapidly, and bird species are highly vulnerable. We have become an urban species so the wonders of the natural world are less accessible to billions and while eco-tourism is on the rise it is a privilege of the realitvely wealthy. 

As I read through the psalms on a day-to-day basis I'm struck by how often abundance and diversity are celebrated as gifts from the Creator. And humans are warned against hubris, which I assume includes a President who dismantles environmental laws and, yes, a Prime Minster who seems to be losing the narrative on what the United Church describes as "living with respect in Creation" in one of its creeds. 

Only four years ago our Canadian government set an important target for conservation of federal land declaring:

The federal government has set the goal of conserving 30 percent of Canada’s land and water by 2030, because science shows that nature needs our help in order to reverse the decline in biodiversity, better fight climate change, and maintain a strong, sustainable economy.

This is a laudable goal -- one of the best initiatives of the Trudeau era --  recognizing that "economy" and "ecology" share the root word for "home". Yet we likely won't meet it. We can still aspire to it as a nation and pray for it as followers of an earthy Christ. 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it,
2 for he has founded it on the seas
    and established it on the rivers.

                                 Psalm 24: 1-2 NRSVue

It's a Small World After All

It 's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

 [God] shall judge between the nations
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
    neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Isaiah 2:4-5 NRSVue

Again this year we will travel to Newfoundland and a house on Change Islands adjacent to Fogom loaned to us by a kind friend . He is a Newfoundlander by birth but he flew for Emirates Airlines for years and has now retired in Dubai. He spends about a quarter to a third of the year on Change Islands and we fit around his schedule. We reached out to him when Iran retaliated against US and Israeli attacks, including with drone strikes in Dubai. He assured us that he was safe but he's heard the explosions. We hadn't been aware that Dubai was so close to Iran, one of the leading proponents of international terror. 

A couple of years ago we nervously stayed in touch with Ruth's sister and brother-in-law who were still living in Israel. After the October 7 2023 attacks by Hamas and Israel's destructive response they were vigilant in paying attention to alerts about incoming missiles. One Sunday morning as they left church they saw Israeli missiles intercepting Hamas rockets in the sky to the southwest. When they moved to the States it took time to address their constant anxiety from that time. 

It's hard for us to grasp that we know people who have dealt with these sorts of threats as we live in the relative security in Canada.

 We were also part of sponsorship for Syrian refugees who fled their country because of threats to their safety and there are Ukrainians who fled their country living in our community. 

 Yet this is the reality for so many -- untold millions -- and there are no guarantees of safety as geopolitical realities can change in a heartbeat. How do we sort through the endless barrage of information? 

While the lyrics above are from a corny Disney song they are surprisingly apt for the time in which we live. We now know within minutes about situations that are grim and seemingly insurmountable. It makes the world smaller and scarier. 

I'm grateful that we are part of a faith community that upholds those who suffering around the world every Sunday morning. We ask for peace in the Middle East even though it seems almost impossible. We want solutions that don't involve the deaths of innocent people and the sickening expenditures of wars that we're told aren't really wars. 

We are often invited to respond with financial support by the United Church in situations of dire need. An aspect of our gratitude as Christians is to act with compassion and concern. We aren't helpless or hopeless even when circumstances seem dire. We choose to walk in God's light. 

Galileo, Psalm 145, & the Heavens

I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
    his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall extol your works to another
    and shall declare your mighty acts.

They will recount the glorious[a] splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works I will meditate.

They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

                                      Psalm 145: 1-7, 21 (of 21 Verses)

In January a historian spotted a verse or verses from a psalm in a very old manuscript. This note is now attributed to Galileo, a discovery that intrigues me. 

Here is the description from an article in the Smithsonian Magazine: 

Historian Ivan Malara spotted the inscriptions in January while leafing through a 1551 copy of the Almagest at Italy’s National Central Library of Florence. Malara realized that a loose page in the text—a second-century C.E. astronomical manual by the Greco-Roman polymath Ptolemy, which asserts that Earth is at the center of the universe—contained a transcription of Psalm 145. The handwriting was reminiscent of Galileo’s, an astronomer often lionized as the “father of modern science.” Additional annotations in the book’s margins similarly matched Galileo’s hand.

There are lots of reasons to remember Galileo, not the least of which is the conflict between the astronomer and the Roman Catholic church regarding his proposition that our solar system is heliocentric solar rather than geocentric .Galileo was tried for his supposedly heretical premise that the Earth and other planets were in orbit around the Sun rather than the Earth being at the centre. He did avoid torture or execution but as the result of two trials for heresy he was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life and ordered not to promulgate his dangerous views. 

It isn't widely shared that Jesuit astronomers came to similar conclusions shortly after Galileo did but it took until 1992, a mere 359 years, for the RC Church to admit it was wrong. While the inquisition of Galileo is often cited as evidence of the anti-science outlook of the Church the RCs have an astronomical observatory near the Vatican and another in Arizona. Guy Consolmo, the director of astronomy for the Vatican believes in science and religion working alongside one another rather than as competing ideologies.

You may have been aware that six planets were in alignment Saturday night, all of them in orbit around the sun. And early tomorrow morning there will be a lunar eclipse. Set your alarm!

I would love to know what portion of Psalm 145 captured Galileo but I suppose we'll never know. It's hard to imagine that he was kindly disposed toward religion as his life progressed yet we can thank the Creator for his contributions to our understanding of the heavens. 

                                                           Vatican Observatory

Black History in Quinte Region

 

Yesterday was the last of February and the final day of Black History Month. I attended an event at Belleville Public Library along with 65 to 75 others titled Black Roots in Belleville and the Quinte Region with Dr. Nikki Clarke as the presenter. 

Even though the "Quinte Region" aspect was a bit thin the event as a whole was certainly worthwhile and Dr. Clarke was engaging. I discovered that in February of 1926 Carter G. Woodson initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month. He chose February to honour the birth month of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. I also found out that 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Black History Month in Canada.

I am aware that in the early 19th century there were enslavers in Belleville, including a couple of families associated with Bridge St. Methodist Church, eventually Bridge St. UC, the congregation I served as lead minister. No one suggested we include that aspect of our history in our 200th anniversary info. 

I was intrigued to hear that Belleville was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, the conduit for enslaved people escaping the United States on their way to Canada. I would have enjoyed learning more about that aspect of Belleville's history along with the places of worship for those who chose to live in the town of that era. 

I sat next to a charming young man named Kharington Petgrave who is a teacher and Social Justice Educator in Peterborough. I enjoyed our conversation about his work before and after the presentation. 

The event as a whole was uplifting and even playful at times. There were also reminders during the hour that anti-Black racism exists in Canada and that while progress has been made we have a long way to go. Kudos to BPL for holding this event. 

                                                                           Kharington Petgrave 

Putting Flesh on the Message of Francis

                                                             Sculpture of a Seated St. Francis

 Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Canticle of the Creatures -- Francis of Assisi, 1226

No, no, no, no!!!

I've noted that this year marks of the 200th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi. He is the Roman Catholic patron saint of ecology because of his expansive love for all God's creatures and he universe itself. Francis chose a life of austerity whilc at the same time celebrating the abundance of Creation. As the Franciscan and Poor Clare orders took shape around him simplicity was a guiding principle. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures is considered by some to be the first poem in Italian. 

                              The bones of St. Francis, preserved in a nitrogen-filled plexiglass case

My multiple "no's!" are because the skeletal remains of Francis (c'mon, are they really?) have been brought from the crypt in the baslica dedicated in his honour for viewing to mark this Special Year. The bones will be displayed in a nitrogen filled case and pilgrims can book online to see them at a clip of 1500 an hour. By my math that's 25 a minute, so only a few seconds of viewing, hardly a profound contemplative experience.

Honouring Francis is a wonderful notion but we might all do better to read the environmental encyclical of the late Pope Francis called Laudato Si, inspired by his namesake. Or to take on a personal commitment in this year to heal and nurture Creation. I do like that there are many events in this celebratory year exploring Indigenous perspectives on the Canticle and a Muslim/Christian dialogue on Francis and his focus on peace. 

At Trenton United folk have been invited to be Bird-Brained with St. Francis in Lent, recording the birds they see during the season. I'm delighted by those who've enthusiastically spoken to me about the birds they've sighted.

To pass by ancient bones in a crowd does not honour Francis, in my estimation. Francis can be our inspiration, not a lucky charm...maybe that's St. Patrick? 

                                               Francis and Clare with the Creatures -- artist unknown