Lent begins where Jesus began: in the desert

on February 27, 2023

Ivan Kramskoi’s Christ in the Desert

Ivan Kramskoi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This week we’ve been thinking about Jesus’ temptation in the Wilderness as we always do at the beginning of Lent. We reflected on the painting by Russian artist Ivan Kramskoi. It shows Jesus at dawn, contemplating the wilderness all around him, suggesting the internal wilderness that we all face at times. We listened to some music by Susannah Gravestock which evokes wilderness. Listen out for the cello line which for me evokes the undergirding of the Holy Spirit. Above you can hear the chilling wind, the challenge of temptation, the uneasiness and discomfort that Jesus must have experienced, and the cold of the dawn. Listen out for your own responses to the image and the music. What do they say about your own journey with God through Lent this year?

Jane MacLaren

From the Reflection

Read the full text here

Jesus sits bent over with bowed head on a rock in the centre of an empty landscape. He is exhausted, hungry and alone. His face shows an expression of humility and acceptance. His feet are bloody from walking barefoot on rough rocks and we get a jolt when we realise how much Christ is hurting here, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

The landscape is empty apart from Christ in the centre. It shows two worlds, – a cold and lifeless desert beneath and a rising new dawn above, the glow of a new day – hope in a barren desert. Jesus’ hands are tightly clenched and placed by Kromskoi exactly where these two worlds meet – so we are reassured that with these hands new life will be created. His long sleepless night is almost at an end, and dawn is on the way.

Jane Green

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