Editor’s note: Visio divina (Sacred seeing) is an ancient form of Christian prayer where we dwell on an image in contemplative silence, listening to see what God may reveal. This Holy Week, as we contemplate the life, death, humanity and divinity of Christ, we invite you to reflect on this piece from Sarah Scoggin that engages the incarnation.
Artist statement
In my History of Christianity class at Union Presbyterian Seminary, I read the works of Anselm, an 11th-century theologian and archbishop who wrote extensively about God’s divine nature, alongside the works of Hildegard of Bingen, an 11th-century Benedictine abbess, mystic, visionary and writer. I was drawn to Hildegard’s art, often painted in circular or radial form, that brought to life the visions she experienced of the Lord. As often happens in seminary, all of the theology, history, and ideas I experienced in that time converged, and as I read Cur Deus Homo (Why God became a Man), I found myself visualizing Anselm’s “God-man” in radial form as well.
This image focuses on Anselm’s work that gives voice to the necessity of Christ’s humanity. I have picked imagery from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ which fills the outside of the radial. The radial is also ringed with the crown of thorns, a reminder of the suffering that Jesus underwent to bring our redemption.
The center of the radial, the heart of the piece, highlights the heart of Jesus from which springs his love, mercy and redemption. The heart is a human’s to signify the necessity and reality of the humanity of Jesus, but is also gilded in gold to highlight his simultaneous divinity.
The creation of this piece allowed me to enter into learning and the love of our Lord in a new way. I hope it does the same for you.
Prompts
- Prepare yourself for prayer — perhaps by reading Scripture or centering through deep breaths.
- Dwell on the image: what are your eyes first drawn to? Linger there. Then, take in the whole image.
- What does this image evoke in you?
- What thoughts does this image stir up in your heart?
- Does this image inspire any prayers within you? Bring them to God, writing them down, if you wish.
