Rev. Cara B. Hochhalter, 2019, Part 3 – The Prodigal is Welcomed
From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Visio Divina
Ask for the grace to see and receive from the Holy. Sit silently and contemplate the image for a few minutes.
What word or phrase comes to mind? What emotion arises?
Who are the figures? Note the lighting. The faces, hands, clothing.
Continue to sit quietly with this painting.
Consider the compassion of God, the unconditioned love,
the return of the once-far-off child.
Is there someone for whose return you are waiting?
Carry this image in your mind through the day.
Ask and allow the Spirit to remind you that you are divinely embraced, in each and every moment.
“As a mother myself, I could not leave the mother out of this reunion when the wayward son returns. In spite of the son’s great fear of what his parents will say, he must be surprised by the overwhelming welcome and forgiveness… When have you been the one seeking forgiveness or in need of reconciliation? When have you been the one to offer forgiveness for one who has hurt you, whether it has been a family member or otherwise? Have you ever experienced a forgiving embrace of Infinite Love in the mystery of God?”
The images in her book, A Challenging Peace in the Life and Stories of Jesus, were created through the simple print-making process of carving out a block, applying ink and pulling a print. Cara says, “The interaction of light and dark is important in each image as we cannot have one without the other. The dark defines the light, and vice versa. I find this to be theological as we look to the whole—the light and the dark, the joy and the despair, the peace and the conflict—all under an umbrella of Divine Love that yearns for wholeness.”
To contact Cara B. Hochhalter for information about her art, to purchase signed prints of the images, or her book, A Challenging Peace in the Life and Stories of Jesus, please email: [email protected]