I love the work of John August Swanson. He is a visual artist with gift for capturing scenes of procession, joy and community. His work is copyrighted so I cannot show it here, but here are a couple of links:
In my classes, I often use his image of the "Festival of Lights". For some reason, I think of this as a Los Posadas procession. (I wonder if I remember that from his comments at a conference where I heard him speak about his work because it is not in the description of the painting.) It is a dual image for me. First, this image speaks of the importance of theological education. Education is never just for the personal enrichment of the student, or it shouldn't be. All education is for the benefit of others. I think of my students as preparing to go back out into the world as a procession of lights. A powerful image.
Second, this image reminds me that as we are in the world, we need to keep asking the question: "Is there room for Jesus to be born here? Is there room for hope to be born and thrive here?" Do we believe that hope is possible? I am reminded of a phrase from James Houston: "When you are in an age of darkness, light as many fires as possible." This image shows something of the hope of this statement.
Enjoy! And be one of the people bringing light and hope to the world!
-Chelle
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