For Orthodox Christians, the centrality of icons to the worship of the Church is celebrated each year at the feast known as "The Triumph of Orthodoxy" on the first Sunday of Great Lent. It commemorates the Synod of Constantinople in 843, when significant periods of iconoclasm over the previous century were brought to an end and icons were once again restored to the Church in triumphal procession. In the Church of England, there is no equivalent feast but if I were to choose one, today's celebration of All Saints' Day would surely come close. After all, if we did not hold to the tradition of honouring the saints of God's Church through the centuries, my role as an iconographer would certainly be much diminished! So:
Rejoice, people of God, praise the Lord! Let us keep the feast in honour of all God’s saints, in whose victory the angels rejoice and glorify the Son of God.
The Gospel reading set for today's feast recounts the death and raising of Lazarus (John 11.32-44).
When Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ (John 11.32)
It is not long since I completed my commissioned icon of Mary and Martha, based not on this passage but on their welcoming Christ into their home in Bethany (Luke 10). However, it is together with their brother Lazarus that they share a feast day in the Church (29 July). And when I think of Lazarus' story, I realise how little we really know about him, even to the point of not really remembering that he is a saint at all. Those of you who have visited Paris may be familiar with the rail terminus there, Paris-St-Lazare, subject of a famous artwork or two. We know his story from John’s Gospel. As well as for this feast day, it is traditionally read in the lead up to our celebration of Easter as Jesus declares himself to be “the Resurrection and the Life” and it is often titled “The Raising of Lazarus”. Yet we focus on Jesus’ actions, and on, famously, the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept”. In some senses, the only part that Lazarus has to play is to be dead at the start, and alive at the end. We are not really told what happens to him in life after that. As in my icon, we end up knowing more about Mary (obedient, prayerful, attentive) and Martha (distracted, active) than about their brother.
You see, I think that reveals how we think about and remember different saints - we more usually associate sainthood with something the person has done. We might think of St Katharine, and her refusing an enforced marriage and using her intellectual gifts to debate with the greatest – male – minds of the day; or St Patrick and his bringing Christianity to Ireland, or numerous other missionaries to different parts of the world, medieval saints like St Cuthbert or St Aidan in the north east of England, or contemporary saints, like Oscar Romero in South America or James Hannington, missionary to East Africa. And that’s not to mention St George and his dragon! Whenever I approach the design of a new icon, the first step is to research the life of the saint and to explore the reason they are commemorated. Our knowledge of the saints is so often linked with a recognition for what they did.
The story of Lazarus, on the other hand, provides for us a different, and perhaps better, perspective.
Lazarus demonstrates to us that sainthood, at its heart, is nothing to do with what any individual managed to do by their own strength or ability. Rather, sainthood is about people who so surrendered their life to following Christ, that God was able to do what God does through them. There is a fundamental difference. Lazarus was obedient to God’s will for his life even unto death and all the glory of God’s power was then alive through him. He illustrates this model of sainthood in a really significant way, so successful in fact that we do forget that he is even a saint, and remember only what God did through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, in raising Lazarus from the dead.
Taking this one step further then: as we celebrate this All Saints’ Day not only by remembering those famous saints of the Church’s history, but recognising also the teaching that each of us is a saint in God’s eternal kingdom, how might we respond? Following Christ, being a Christian in today’s world, is not, first and foremost about what we do. We are not doing God a favour, or earning our saintly reward, by spreading the Gospel or by caring for others, by supporting the church or by painting icons of the saints. Our primary calling is to live our life in full surrender to God’s will, to allow God’s healing power to work in our life, to allow God’s saving power to work through us and touch those around us. Yes, absolutely, we may be required to take action, to apply our energies and gifts to the tasks that God sets before us. Yes, we may be required to face huge challenges and show extraordinary strength to overcome them, as the saints have done before us. Yet ultimately, the call to sainthood is nothing more than allowing God to work in us, so that we can be most fully the person we were created to be. To be a saint is to be fully ourselves in utter surrender to Christ. The consequence of this is that we should never try to model ourselves on anyone else, or hold up any other model for what the Christian life looks like. The Christian life looks like your life, like my life, lived out faithfully in complete surrender to the Divine. Forget about earning your own place in the kingdom. Forget about what you do. Open your heart, mind and spirit and allow the Holy Three to work within you. Be more Lazarus, perhaps. Or rather, Be More Yourself. And to God be the glory.
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living,
that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
News
Since I last wrote, I have completed my latest commission (Christ Pantocrator) and am making the most of it being in my studio for a short time before the agreed date for delivery to its owner. I have really enjoyed its creation and am excited to be able to share a picture with you next month. So it's onwards to my next commission. If you are interested in commissioning an icon, I am now booking for mid-2025. Prices start from £195. Do get in touch if you have a project in mind.
After numerous positive comments this time last year, I am also offering Christmas stars for sale. Painted in acrylic on a wooden star measuring 25cm approximately, these are available to order directly from me for £25 (plus £2.70 P&P to UK mainland). Stars will be painted to order and delivered in time for Advent if ordered by 15 November. Do drop me a message if you'd like one.
If you enjoy reading my blog and wish to support my ministry in a practical way, I have set up a page with "Buy me a coffee". This website, designed with creatives in mind, recognises that a whole load of my time goes into maintaining a website, keeping up with social media and writing blog posts, time that is not then available for income-generating work. Given that my passion for good coffee comes not very far behind my love for God and art (!), if you feel so inclined, you can click here to make a donation towards my ongoing ministry (but without any obligation to do so). Huge thanks to those of you who bought me a coffee in previous months - please don't feel you have to every time!
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