Frescos in Christ

            During a spring trip in April, 2010, to North Carolina to welcome our first grandchild into the world, my husband and I drove to little towns in the mountains to see the renowned frescos at two Episcopal churches.  The first small, wooden church took us by surprise with its beautiful stained glass windows in addition to the expected frescos across the altar area.

            On the right side of the altar in the first church was a rectangular fresco of Mary with child.  On the other side was one of John the Baptist, sparsely clothed, creating somewhat of a wild man appearance.  This makes sense from the Biblical descriptions of Christ’s forerunner.  Both characters in the frescos were immediately recognizable.

            Not surprisingly, Jesus on the cross was the prominent figure in the middle area.  He and the other figures were painted in somewhat muted colors.  Jesus was nailed to the cross, but rising from the upper part of the cross just above Jesus’ head was an image of the resurrected Christ, his head, chest and arms appearing almost as if sketched in various shades of gray.  Seeing this combination of the crucifixion and Jesus rising from the dead just above was very striking and memorable.

            We then drove through some very dense fog—we were very determined—as we ventured higher into the mountains looking for the second church.  This, too, was a small, wooden, country church, green and white on the outside.  Sadly, there were no pretty windows but the fresco of the last supper inside filled the altar area with rich colors in the very recognizable depiction of this special meal.

            At both churches, we pushed a button at the entrance to hear a recorded commentary on the churches and the making of the frescos.  To me, the information was surprisingly interesting, including each church’s history in the area.  Also, the making of a fresco was described in detail.  The distinctive feature about a painting of this kind is in how the actual masterpiece is created.  An artist works on the wall’s plaster while it is still wet and fresh, creating the artwork as something intrinsic with the wall, not just on its surface.  The wall and the painting then are inseparable, woven into each other’s actual substance.

            Is this merging of substances in the creation of a fresco not an illustration of what our lives are to be like as members of the body of Christ?  Our belief in Christ and the living out of the faith God gives to us are not to be externally applied to parts of our lives, such as church attendance, study, prayer, etc.

            Instead, His holy substance, His life is to be soaked into every aspect of who we are and how we live.  Jesus spoke of Himself as what should be the permeating substance of our very beings.  “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

                Sharing little Henry’s début in the world that spring was beyond special and joyous.  A sweet addition was the side trip to the churches and the illustration of Christian life that the frescoes brought to my mind.  May we all as Christians feast on this life-giving substance of Christ and strive to be living frescos, wet and yielding to the brush strokes of God’s Holy Spirit.