The Art and Faith Reflection for the 2nd Sunday in Lent
In the Transfiguration, Raphael
tells a story of revelation, faith, and healing. He shows how the moment of
Revelation on Mount Tabor sheds light on the scene below, the healing of a boy
with a demon. It’s the story in the Gospel immediately following the
Transfiguration of Jesus. Heaven sheds its light below as Christ, embraced by
the bright cloud and flanked by Moses and Elijah, is the apex of the scene.
Below we see the apostles and even further down we see others gathered to view
a possessed boy and his family. From top to bottom, the colors shift from a
cool, heavenly glow to warmer, earthly tones.
Raphael shows us the
disciples as they meet the desperate family. The boy’s face contorts with
suffering. His body is torn, one arm up and one arm down, as if he’s being
pulled towards both Heaven and Hell. Raphael depicts the family as a focused
unit. Their intensity and upward hands signal their united act of faith.
Opposite them, the disciples are overwhelmed by the challenge—their faces and
bodies pointing every which way, showing their disarray.
Between the disciples
and the family, Raphael places a unique female figure. Christ dominates the
painting, yes, but this woman is second in visual importance. She is central to
the boy’s narrative—she is part of the scene but she is not a character in it.
Her cool and bright coloring, more like the divine action above, sets her
apart. She is a symbol that invites us into deeper meaning.
In Raphael’s work, the
bodies profoundly speak to us. This woman’s body is turned, twisted in a
serpentine form that simultaneously engages the disciples, the family, and us,
the audience. In her twist is the juxtaposition of one direction meeting
another; in her turn is a change of direction, a new path.
She is faith,
responding to the revelation of God above. She brings to the disciples the key
ingredient missing from their work. She bridges the two stories.
Her turned and twisted
body also brings to mind conversion, the turning of mind and heart. She echoes
the divine words from above: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” With
faith and grace, our hearts may turn as well.
Commentary is by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome,
assistant professor of liturgy, catechesis, and evangelization at Loyola
University New Orleans.
art and reflection are from Loyola Press
https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/arts-and-faith-for-lent
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