Spiritual
Meaning of the Art on These Pages
By Iona Hoeppner
The
original art shown here was inspired by
several painters of the 17th century.
When I got the call to do art for Jerri's
Munchies, I had been practicing
technique, working on recreating
paintings of the old masters, but using
the computer instead of oils and canvas.
Originally,
I had no intent to incorporate my art
exercises into the web site for I had
been working on portraits, not still
life. But as I worked and prayed over art
for the site, the Lord led my to go see
what kinds of food the great classical
artists chose to paint and how it was
displayed in their work... I was in for
quite a surprise. The paintings were
dark, often morbid, and many included
flies, cockroaches and other insects!
Nonetheless,
I was intrigued, and through the leading
of the Holy Spirit, began to experiment
with certain elements from varied
paintings... Praying as I worked, the
Holy Spirit gave me insight as to each
component and then the collection as a
whole. Here is what resulted... as it
pertains to the collection.
Wine:
Almost every scene includes wine, either
in a glass or decanter or both. This
represents the New Wine, the new life we
have in Christ. Spirit-filled and
spirit-led, we become new creations as
soon as we invite Him to take His
rightful place on the throne of our
lives. New Wine in new containers!
To me,
the New Wine also speaks of the Holy Spirit,
the Paraclete, the Comforter. You will
note several wine glasses are filled to
the very brim... Let us ever long to be
thus filled to overflowing with the Holy
Spirit, and may we not grieve Him lest
His voice grow dim in our ears and we
stop listening... Let us thirst always
for Him.
The wine
also symbolizes the blood of Christ, for
He said, "...This is my blood that
is poured out for you ... Do this in
remembrance of Me." It is by His
priceless blood we are made free and gain
entrance to His presence and that of the
Father.
We are
also reminded that the very first
recorded miracle of our Lord was not one
of healing, nor doing something
life-changing. No, instead, it was one of
celebration... a joy-filled event was
given greater meaning. This speaks
especially to me as showing His desire to
enrich our lives in every detail. It says
He loves to see us happy and full of joy;
He wants us to celebrate!... For we
indeed have much to celebrate, more than
we can yet perceive.
Fish:
Several scenes include fish as it was
served in the 1600's, with the head still
attached. No doubt it was thus brought to
the table in Jesus' day as well. Of
course there is the obvious symbolism the
fish has to Christianity, and the fact
that the Lord called several vocational
fishermen to become fishers of men, but
the meaning in my art goes beyond that to
also include the humility of fish as
food.
Throughout
history, in areas near water, fish has
been the traditional meat staple of the
poor. This was also true in Biblical
times, so the fish here represents our
humble and thankful reliance on God's
provision as well as His faithfulness in
seeing that even the poor are thus fed.
Ham:
Although pork was prohibited under Mosaic
Law, Jesus made it very clear that it is
not what goes into a man's mouth that
defiles him, but what procedes out of
it... So the ham reminds us of the
freedom we have in Christ as well as our
responsibility to constantly rely on Him
to help us speak and act in all purity so
as to remain undefiled. We serve a holy
God and must therefore be ourselves
holy... and it is He who makes us so.
The ham
also stands for the fatness and richness
of life in Christ. Though we have
nothing, yet we are rich beyond measure.
But few of us are in abject poverty (you
are reading this on a computer - you are
rich!) so we must also remember that out
of our abundance we must share with those
who are in need. Let the generous
displays of ham remind us that we are
children of the King and we are called to
share what we have.
Bread:
Jesus is the Bread of Life, and as bread
is the staple food of the ages, He is the
staple of our spiritual and physical
lives. Indeed, He is the creator and
sustainer of all life. He came so that we
might have life and have it in abundance!
Let us
hunger for Him, always wanting more, ever
seeking a greater portion, for He has
promised that when we so hunger, we will
be filled! And in our fullness, may we
then cast this Bread upon the waters
spreading it abroad to all we meet. There
is a starving world out there!
We also
see in the Spirit that Jesus took the
bread and broke it, giving it to His
disciples, saying, "... This is my
body which is broken for you... Take,
eat... Do this in remembrance of
me." Such a terrible price to pay!
He did it willingly. He did it
completely. We must never forget...
never.
Fruit:
Various kinds of fruit are displayed just
as there are varied fruits of the Spirit
and a myriad of spiritual gifts. These
sweet delicacies enrich our lives beyond
measure and are meant to be shared
throughout the Body of Christ rather than
hoarded unto ourselves.
Just as
fresh fruit is vital to our physical well
being, to be spiritually healthy, we need
to partake of those fruits placed before
us by the Lord, using our gifts every day
and expanding on them, for as Jesus tells
us: to him who has, more will be given,
and as for he who has not, even that
which he has will be taken away. Unused
and unappreciated gifts will soon fade.
Grapevine
and Grapes: These are evident in
almost every scene and unify the varied
components of the collection as a whole.
Jesus has said, "I am the vine...
you are the branches... apart from Me,
you can do nothing." Apart from the
vine, branches cannot produce fruit nor
perform any function of life... indeed
they soon wither and die. Christ is, and
must remain, the center of all things,
the source of all life.
Scripture
is rich with parables and other
references to vineyards, grapevines,
grapes and wine, and this symbolism runs
through both Old and New Testaments like
a crimson thread of redemption. While
there are many meanings in variegated
shades, the prime message I always get is
that "God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believes on Him shall not perish but have
everlasting life."
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