A poetic vision of the world’s saviour

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What title can we choose for this piece of art when it comes to Almighty God? The Messiah, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world?

Where do we begin and where do we end? Especially that they taught us that this world has no end and no beginning. The scriptures say that at the beginning God created Space. What about Time?

The first who spoke of the Time was Saint Augustine. We are told that God is everywhere, but before creating Space and Time where was He? It is said that his Spirit hovered everywhere, in this whole spiritual realm where he reigned, Time and Space did not yet exist. Did this spiritual world where He reigned have its own dimensions? Were the Soul and Spirit of God in this dimension?

I am not an exegete. About the piece of art, I can speak of structure, poetry, execution, creation, of plastic in brief. A huge sun, in the centre, where the Crucified One is imbued with solar and luminous radiations on a canvas, a drapery, a veil that can be unrolled, folded at will and which becomes a window on an enchanting bay.

The drape is dark green, Christ is nailed to his Cross there, and the drape unrolls to become a beach with sinners, a boat and fish… On the right, a crowd heading towards Heaven; on the left is the Crucifixion, the imprint of the Cross on the soil of planet Earth; higher, is the Resurrection, the giant stones which roll, a grindstone and the weight of our sins … higher, is the Heavenly Jerusalem, a copy of the terrestrial or the opposite…

Above is Paradise; in the centre, an altar, a Cup and the Host, the Living Body of Christ which binds Earth to Heaven. This Christic presence is real for all believers.

In Heaven, the crowd: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin

For those interested, follow all the stages of the piece of art on the Internet.

Joseph Matar – All rights reserved © LebanonArt
Translated from French: Mayda Samaha