"There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’"

– Luke 10:25-37, which is today's Gospel at Mass.

My sermon for today can be read here.

Stained glass from Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco.

"Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’"

– Luke 18:9-14, which is today's Gospel at Mass.

Stained glass in the Lady Chapel of the National Cathedral in Washington DC.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan depicted in stained glass in Chelmsford Cathedral.

Jesus told this story, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?"

He said, "He who showed mercy on him."

Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Luke 10:30–37

World English Bible

Chelmsford Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral of St Mary, St Peter and St Cedd, is a parish church and the Mother church for the whole Chelmsford Diocese of Essex and five Eastern London Boroughs. The second smallest Cathedral in the country, it serves the second largest diocese in the country.

The Cathedral is a busy vibrant place, hosting many large services, theological lectures, Lent courses, Prayer schools, university graduations, civil ceremonies, concerts, organ recitals and welcoming pilgrims and visitors on a daily basis. Educational visits from schools are especially welcome. All these enable the Cathedral to serve as a centre for the spiritual, teaching and artistic life of the Diocese and the community.

In this parable from the Gospel of Matthew, the devil, identified by his horns and tail, sows weeds (or tares) in the field where wheat has been planted, while the lazy peasants are sleeping. Christians considered sloth one of the Seven Deadly Sins to which mankind was subject as a result of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, to whom the two naked sleepers allude. The dovecote (a birdhouse to attract doves or pigeons that can be trapped for food without the bother of raising them) was associated with the morally lazy who take the easy way. The goat, known for its lust, alludes to self-indulgence, and the peacock, to pride.

Bloemaert (Dutch, 1566 – 1651) was gifted in depicting natural detail, but he never painted pure landscapes, preferring pictures with a lesson. He was one of the leading artists of Utrecht and trained many major artists of the next generation.

[Oil on canvas, 100.4 x 132.5 cm]

gandalfsgallery.blogspot.com/2011/08/abraham-bloemaert-pa...

Saint Louis Abbey

The Parable Vision: Glimpse Five

Ian Arneson Photography

Model: Tanya

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak all the way back to your house."

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

Taken from www.personal.psu.edu/staff/k/a/kah19/parable.html

Make It Interesting, Challenge #2 - Water Bearer

Starter image with thanks, from KaCey97007

Flowers: maureenolder.deviantart.com/art/STOCK-PNG-plants-104487421

Brushes: midnightstouch.deviantart.com/art/Splish-Splash-39339524?...

Background: www.flickr.com/photos/rubyblossom/6941585329/in/pool-back...

"Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’"

– Matthew 18:21-35, which is today's Gospel at Mass.

My sermon for today can be read here.

Stained glass window from the National Cathedral in Washington DC.

Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambridgeshire

By James Tennent Lyon for Trinity Church, Irvine, Scotland, now in the stained glass museum.

"He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

– Matthew 13:31-32, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.

My sermon for today can be read here.

Stained glass window from the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.

"Jesus told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’ – Luke 13:6-9.

My sermon for today can be read here.

Detail from a stained glass window in Ely Cathedral.

St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Choziba is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank. The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Eastern Orthodox monks. It is reached by a pedestrian bridge across the Wadi Qelt, which many believe to be Psalm 23's Valley of the Shadow. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors.

St. George's Monastery began in the fourth century with a few monks who sought the desert experiences of the prophets, and settled around a cave where they believed Elijah was fed by ravens (1 Kings 17:5-6).

The monastery was founded by John of Thebes around 480 AD, and it became an important spiritual centre in the sixth century under Saint George of Choziba. Hermits living in caves (around 10,000) in nearby cliffs would meet in the monastery for a weekly mass and communal meal. John of Thebes became a hermit and moved from Egypt to Syria Palaestina. The monastery was named St. George after the most famous monk who lived at the site.

The traditions attached to the monastery include a visit by Elijah en route to the Sinai Peninsula, and St. Joachim, whose wife Anne was infertile, weeping here when an angel announced to him the news of Mary's conception. The bones and skulls of the martyred monks killed by the Persians in 614 A.D. can still be seen today in the monastery chapel.

© Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

This following is very a long-winded defence of myth. I like myth.

I grew up with science, and love it too (with reserve) but gradually I became more of an engineer, and these days see science as the theoretical branch of engineering or medicine. Science is really useful when you want to do medicine or make a good computer etc. Science is very good at telling us how to do things.

But myth, what use is that? Sam Harris says that religion, or perhaps myth, is early, errant science. I disagree.

As an engineer, as I guess I still am, I see science and myth as different theoretical branches of engineering, or 'things to think about that aid life'.

Science is positive. My take on myth is that it is anti-negative. Science tells us more but myth tells us where we have gone too far. I think that myth can tell us about what not to do or believe.

As well as being a would be engineer, I am also a bit of a Buddhist. This stems from an experience I had when I was young, when it seemed to me that my self disintegrated. It seemed to me that my self was a foolish fiction that I was creating. I had an experience where it seemed to me that I was drastically stupid. I am no Catholic but, I could chant, "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa " (through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault) with ease.

A lot of people who go mad believe that their madness is not madness at all. No, aliens really are talking to me? No, I am really a teapot? No I am not a teapot, and no aliens are talking to me, but I sympathise with the insane. I seem to be fairly sane these days, but it still seems to me that the Buddha was right - there is a big mistake going on. The self, the entity, that I think I am is a fiction. I am, I think, being really stupid. Alas, however, the Buddha was not to prepared to explain why I (and I assume others) are making such a big mistake.

Here comes myth. I think that myth may be good at explaining the big mistakes that we are making. And how? I think that myths are like parables.

When I was young I had a Christian education and one of the stories from the Bible that made and impression was the story about King David, a woman called Bathsheba, her husband Uriah, and Nathan a "prophet" who said a parable.

The story goes like this.

King David looks out from the roof his palace and sees a woman bathing and gets the hots for her. Even though she is married to Uriah, David has sex with the woman and she (oh no!) gets pregnant. So David decides to get rid of Uriah, a loyal soldier, and sends him off on a suicide mission. Uriah dies. David gets to keep Uriah's wife.

Then along comes along Nathan. He tells David a story.

"In your kingdom there is a very rich guy that has a lot of sheep, but he is so greedy that he steals the only lamb of a shepherd with only that one lamb."

David says something like "What a nasty guy. Tell me who he is, and I will have him punished."

Then Nathan says, "The rich shepard is you." and explains the allegorical, back story, metaphorical meaning of the parable.

King David then feels really bad about what he did.

This strikes me as the power of myth and parable.

Nathan could have gone up to to David and said "You should not steal your subjects wives." But David might have made all sorts of excuses. "I am King," "She was naked in my sight," "Uriah was a brave soldier that wanted to go to battle," etc.

Nathan succeeded in convincing David of his *mistake* precisely because he used a non-scientific, parable-like, or perhaps (I would say) mythic representation of what David had done.

Nathan represented David in a non-scientific way. Nathan invented a story about two shepherds. Neither shepard really existed. But by getting David interested in the story from a third person perspective, Nathan was able to turn the tables on the King and get the King to turn against himself and his own bad behaviour.

People make mistakes simply because they are misinformed, or make mistaken calculations. They also make mistakes because they want to - because their desire leads them to do so. In such circumstances, parable and myth is good at getting mistake out into the open. Parable and myth draw us in, get us involved in the plot, and then get us to see, "uh, ho, that is me!"

Parable tellers generally let the cat out of the bag. They say the parable, and then they say what it means. They get their hearers involved in a story and then say how that parable relates to the listeners lives. Myths however, often do not explain their punchlines.

If Nathan had been a mythologist rather than a parable teller, he would just have told David the same story and hoped that David would get it.

Myths such as that of the Fall in the Bible, or the Japanese creation myth, do not come out with their punchline. But I think that they narratives that show mistakes, and invite us to see how we are making them.

Science tells us a lot of new things about the world. Parables tell us about what we are getting wrong. Myths tell us about what we are getting badly, fundamentally, wrong, but without giving, or being able to give, a straight right answer.

Godfried Schalcken - The parable of the lost piece of silver

It is customary to see the parable of the Good Samaritan as a tale about how we should love our neighbour, but the Fathers of the Church also read it allegorically: God is the Good Samaritan who sends his Son to bandage our wounds, heal our sins and take us to the inn of heaven.

This fine Victorian window is in Pusey church.

"But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found"

– Luke 15:32, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.

From a series of stained glass windows of the parables of Christ in the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.

Franz Kafka - The Great Wall of China

Translated and Edited by Malcolm Pasley

Penguin Classics, 2002

Photo of Franz Kafka © Hulton Archive / Getty Images

"Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

– Matthew 13:24-30, which is part of today's Gospel for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

My sermon for today can be read here.

This photo was taken as the sun rose on a winter morning in the African savannah.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.

So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

– Matthew 13:47-50, which is part of today's Gospel.

Stained glass from the National Cathedral in Washington DC.

The Parable Vision: Glimpse one

Model: Tanya

Ian Arneson Photography

I don't know how I ever lost this. From last October, it should have gone up with poor little melatonin.

La parábola de la adolescencia (segunda versión)

The parable of adolescence (second version)

Das Gleichnis der Adoleszenz (zweite Version)

Foto realitzada des del mirador de La Cala de Benidorm (Alacant)

En la primera versió, m'ha semblat que el "futur" no era suficientment negre...

Processat: augment de saturació per zones. Filtre graduat neutre a la part dreta per enfosquir l'aigua. Lleuger enfosquiment de l'ombra de la nena.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

[Luke 12:13-21 NIV]

5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)

2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)

4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)

5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)

Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!

Seeing the line of reeds I couldn't resist playing around with this one.

Artist: Simon Liddiment

Title: Parable

Materials: traffic signs

Snape Maltings

Snape, Suffolk, England, UK

An illustration of one of the parables of Jesus about coveting too much wealth. An already rich man became richer and instead of using any of his goods for religious or charitable works, he built larger warehouses and gloated over his stored-up wealth. But God said to him 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God' (Luke 12).

[Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 85 cm]

gandalfsgallery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/david-teniers-youn...

polymer clay, duck decoy cord. Each square is 1"x1"

Based on the parable of the sower: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

From an extra-illustrated copy of Macklin’s Bible in Bolton Museum

1998 by Dr Spencer Johnson - A parable of how to make the most of everything in the maze of life.

"And the maze is where you look for what you want - the organisation you work in, or the family or community you live in"

... those who embrace change and take proactive steps toward new opportunities will thrive, while those who resist it will struggle.

Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life is a 1998 motivational business fable by Spencer Johnson that describes four reactions to change. The book is written as a parable about two mice and two "Little people" during their hunt for cheese. A New York Times business bestseller upon release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. As of 2018, it has sold almost 30 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books.

Wikipedia

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I call it the Monkey Parable, a story I heard years ago:

You have five monkeys living in a room. One day a banana is placed up near the ceiling, with a ladder to reach it.

When one of them climbs up the ladder to get to the banana, jets in the ceiling douse all the monkeys with ice-cold water.

This process is repeated every time a monkey tries to go up the ladder. Soon enough, in order to avoid the freezing shower, the rest of the monkeys will forcibly prevent any one of them foolish enough to make a move toward the banana.

Then remove one of the monkeys and replace him with another.

The new monkey will naturally go for the banana. To his shock and horror, all the other monkeys attack him. Later he attempts it again, and is assaulted again. He quickly learns to keep away from the banana.

Remove another of the original monkeys and bring in another new one. The newcomer goes for the banana and the others beat him into submission, the next-newest monkey gleefully joining in the punishment.

Keep replacing the original monkeys in this way. Soon you will have five monkeys in the room who have never been doused with icy water, but who all enforce the banana rule no less vehemently for that. If you could ask them why, they'd say something like: That's just the way things have always been done around here!

This story, along with slightly different scenes to illustrate each paragraph, can be found on MOCpages.

tiggyzcabin.blogspot.com

I was commissioned to do 30 watercolour pieces for an artshow in Singapore with a very peculiar topic: Stories from the Bible.

This project was very fun to do, because I had to research a lot on art history, religious representation and of course the biblicat text itself.

I'm not christian or catholic, so the main challenge for me was to show the depth of the stories in a powerful, innovative and respectul way.

This is my version of the Parable of the sower (After Van Gogh).

I hope you like it.

Me encargaron 30 acuarelas para una exposición en Singapur con un tema muy particular: Historias de la biblia.

Este proyecto fue muy divertido de hacer ya que tuve que investigar mucho sobre historia del arte, representaciones religiosas y por supuesto el texto bíblico.

Siendo yo ni cristiano, ni católico el reto siempre fue mostrar la profundidad del relato de una forma poderosa, innovadora y al mismo tiempo respetuosa.

Esta es mi versión de la parábola del sembrador (Siguiendo a Van Gogh).

Espero que te guste.

Created in 1876 by Melbourne stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie, the Edward Whitby memorial stained glass window may be found in the eastern wall of the nave of Christ Church Brunswick. It depicts the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveller who is stripped of his clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road by robbers. First a priest and then a Levite comes by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveler and helps the injured man. The window depicts the Samaritan cleaning the injured man's wounds with water from his flask. The Samaritan has already been at work binding up the traveller's wounds. A flask of oil sits next to his stick. The donkey on which the Samaritan will eventually carry the wounded traveller to an inn stands in the mid-ground, whist the priest in his robes and with his face buried in his holy book can be seen walking away in the background. The words "Go and do thou likewise" are written in gothic script beneath the main panel.

Mr. Edward Whitby was not only a member of Christ Church Brunswick, but a local Justice of the Peace and a wealthy merchant who believed in philanthropy and charity. The choice of the parable of the Good Samaritan was not chosen without thought. The dedication reads: "In memory of Edward Whitby J.P. who died 23rd of June 1876. Placed by the Victorian Society of Blues." The Society of Blues crest is depicted above. The North Melbourne Advertiser of Friday 7th of July 1876 gives us an insight into Edward Whitby's life: "Death of Mr. Whitby, Brunswick. Another of our old residents has been removed by death - the late Edward Whitby, Esq., J.P., of Whitby field. He was held in high respect by most of his neighbours. His modest and kindly nature, united with considerable culture, and his unasssumed Christian deportment, invested his character with rare interest. As a Melbourne merchant, his business was conducted with the utmost integrity. He was true disciple of the English Church. He was a native of London, and educated at the Blue Coat School, and many years he took pride managing the Victorian chapter of the Society of Blues, with the object of assisting the poor and unfortunate who had been members in that institution. His end was peace."

The Society of Blues still exists today as the Benevolent Society of Blues. The Benevolent Society of Blues (BSB) provides benefits for those educated or employed at Christ's Hospital and those closest to them who are in need, hardship and distress.

Christ Church, built almost on the corner of Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Street in Brunswick, is a picturesque slice of Italy in inner city Melbourne. With its elegant proportions, warm yellow stuccoed facade and stylish Romanesque campanile, the church would not look out of place sitting atop a rise in Tuscany, or being the centre of an old walled town. This idea is further enhanced when the single bell rings from the campanile, calling worshipers to prayer.

Christ Church has been constructed in a cruciform plan with a detached campanile. Although not originally intended as such, at its completion, the church became an excellent example of "Villa Rustica" architecture in Australia. Like other churches around the inner city during the boom and bust eras of the mid Nineteenth Century as Melbourne became an established city, the building was built in stages between 1857 and 1875 as money became available to extend and better what was already in existence. Christ Church was dedicated in 1857 when the nave, designed by architects Purchas and Swyer, was completed. The transepts, chancel and vestry were completed between 1863 and 1864 to the designs created by the architects' firm Smith and Watts. The Romanesque style campanile was also designed by Smith and Watts and it completed between 1870 and 1871. A third architect, Frederick Wyatt, was employed to design the apse which was completed in 1875.

Built in Italianate style with overture characteristics of classical Italian country house designs, Christ Church is one of the few examples of what has been coined "Villa Rustica" architecture in Victoria.

Slipping through the front door at the bottom of the campanile, the rich smell of incense from mass envelops visitors. As soon as the double doors which lead into the church proper close behind you, the church provides a quiet refuge from the busy intersection of Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Street outside, and it is quite easy to forget that cars and trams pass by just a few metres away. Walking up the aisle of the nave of Christ Church, light pours over the original wooden pews with their hand embroidered cushions through sets of luminescent stained glass windows by Melbourne manufacturers, Ferguson and Urie, Mathieson and Gibson and Brooks Robinson and Company. A set of fourteen windows from the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century by Ferguson and Urie depicting different saints are especially beautiful, filled with painted glass panes which are as vivid now as when they were created more than one hundred years ago. The floors are still the original dark, richly polished boards that generations of worshipers have walked over since they were first laid. The east transept houses the Lady Chapel, whilst the west transept is consumed by the magnificent 1972 Roger H. Pogson organ built of cedar with tin piping. This replaced the original 1889 Alfred Fuller organ. Beautifully executed carved rood figures watch over the chancel from high, perhaps admiring the marble altar.

Albert Purchas, born in 1825 in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, was a prominent Nineteenth Century architect who achieved great success for himself in Melbourne. Born to parents Robert Whittlesey Purchas and Marianne Guyon, he migrated to Australia in 1851 to establish himself in the then quickly expanding city of Melbourne, where he set up a small architect's firm in Little Collins Street. He also offered surveying services. His first major building was constructing the mansion "Berkeley Hall" in St Kilda on Princes Street in 1854. The house still exists today. Two years after migrating, Albert designed the layout of the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton. It was the first "garden cemetery" in Victoria, and his curvilinear design is still in existence, unaltered, today. In 1854, Albert married Eliza Anne Sawyer (1825 - 1869) in St Kilda. The couple had ten children over their marriage, including a son, Robert, who followed in his father's footsteps as an architect. Albert's brother-in-law, Charles Sawyer joined him in the partnership of Purchas and Sawyer, which existed from 1856 until 1862 in Queens Street. The firm produced more than 140 houses, churches, offices and cemetery buildings including: the nave and transepts of Christ Church St Kilda between 1854 and 1857, "Glenara Homestead"in Bulla in 1857, the Melbourne Savings Bank on the corner of Flinders Lane and Market Street (now demolished) between 1857 and 1858, the Geelong branch of the Bank of Australasia in Malop Street between 1859 and 1860, and Beck's Imperial Hotel in Castlemaine in 1861. When the firm broke up, Albert returned to Little Collins Street, and the best known building he designed during this period was St. George's Presbyterian Church in East St Kilda between 1877 and 1880. The church's tall polychomatic brick bell tower is still a local landmark, even in the times of high rise architecture and development, and St, George's itself is said to be one of his most striking church designs. Socially, Albert was vice president of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects for many years, before becoming president in 1887. He was also an inventor and philanthropist. Albert died in 1909 at his home in Kew, a wealthy widower and much loved father.

The stained glass firm of Ferguson and Urie was established by Scots James Ferguson (1818 – 1894), James Urie (1828 – 1890) and John Lamb Lyon (1836 – 1916). They were the first known makers of stained glass in Australia. Until the early 1860s, window glass in Melbourne had been clear or plain coloured, and nearly all was imported, but new churches and elaborate buildings created a demand for pictorial windows. The three Scotsmen set up Ferguson and Urie in 1862 and the business thrived until 1899, when it ceased operation, with only John Lamb Lyon left alive. Ferguson and Urie was the most successful Nineteenth Century Australian stained glass window making company. Among their earliest works were a Shakespeare window for the Haymarket Theatre in Bourke Street, a memorial window to Prince Albert in Holy Trinity, Kew, and a set of Apostles for the West Melbourne Presbyterian Church. Their palatial Gothic Revival office building stood at 283 Collins Street from 1875. Ironically, their last major commission, a window depicting “labour”, was installed in the old Melbourne Stock Exchange in Collins Street in 1893 on the eve of the bank crash. Their windows can be found throughout the older suburbs of Melbourne and across provincial Victoria.

This stained glass illustrating today's Gospel of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is in the church of St Mary de Castro in Leicester.

My sermon reflecting on this parable can be read here.

Created in 1876 by Melbourne stained glass manufacturer Ferguson and Urie, the Edward Whitby memorial stained glass window may be found in the eastern wall of the nave of Christ Church Brunswick. It depicts the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveller who is stripped of his clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road by robbers. First a priest and then a Levite comes by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan happens upon the traveler and helps the injured man. The window depicts the Samaritan cleaning the injured man's wounds with water from his flask. The Samaritan has already been at work binding up the traveller's wounds. A flask of oil sits next to his stick. The donkey on which the Samaritan will eventually carry the wounded traveller to an inn stands in the mid-ground, whist the priest in his robes and with his face buried in his holy book can be seen walking away in the background. The words "Go and do thou likewise" are written in gothic script beneath the main panel.

Mr. Edward Whitby was not only a member of Christ Church Brunswick, but a local Justice of the Peace and a wealthy merchant who believed in philanthropy and charity. The choice of the parable of the Good Samaritan was not chosen without thought. The dedication reads: "In memory of Edward Whitby J.P. who died 23rd of June 1876. Placed by the Victorian Society of Blues." The Society of Blues crest is depicted above. The North Melbourne Advertiser of Friday 7th of July 1876 gives us an insight into Edward Whitby's life: "Death of Mr. Whitby, Brunswick. Another of our old residents has been removed by death - the late Edward Whitby, Esq., J.P., of Whitby field. He was held in high respect by most of his neighbours. His modest and kindly nature, united with considerable culture, and his unasssumed Christian deportment, invested his character with rare interest. As a Melbourne merchant, his business was conducted with the utmost integrity. He was true disciple of the English Church. He was a native of London, and educated at the Blue Coat School, and many years he took pride managing the Victorian chapter of the Society of Blues, with the object of assisting the poor and unfortunate who had been members in that institution. His end was peace."

The Society of Blues still exists today as the Benevolent Society of Blues. The Benevolent Society of Blues (BSB) provides benefits for those educated or employed at Christ's Hospital and those closest to them who are in need, hardship and distress.

Christ Church, built almost on the corner of Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Street in Brunswick, is a picturesque slice of Italy in inner city Melbourne. With its elegant proportions, warm yellow stuccoed facade and stylish Romanesque campanile, the church would not look out of place sitting atop a rise in Tuscany, or being the centre of an old walled town. This idea is further enhanced when the single bell rings from the campanile, calling worshipers to prayer.

Christ Church has been constructed in a cruciform plan with a detached campanile. Although not originally intended as such, at its completion, the church became an excellent example of "Villa Rustica" architecture in Australia. Like other churches around the inner city during the boom and bust eras of the mid Nineteenth Century as Melbourne became an established city, the building was built in stages between 1857 and 1875 as money became available to extend and better what was already in existence. Christ Church was dedicated in 1857 when the nave, designed by architects Purchas and Swyer, was completed. The transepts, chancel and vestry were completed between 1863 and 1864 to the designs created by the architects' firm Smith and Watts. The Romanesque style campanile was also designed by Smith and Watts and it completed between 1870 and 1871. A third architect, Frederick Wyatt, was employed to design the apse which was completed in 1875.

Built in Italianate style with overture characteristics of classical Italian country house designs, Christ Church is one of the few examples of what has been coined "Villa Rustica" architecture in Victoria.

Slipping through the front door at the bottom of the campanile, the rich smell of incense from mass envelops visitors. As soon as the double doors which lead into the church proper close behind you, the church provides a quiet refuge from the busy intersection of Glenlyon Road and Brunswick Street outside, and it is quite easy to forget that cars and trams pass by just a few metres away. Walking up the aisle of the nave of Christ Church, light pours over the original wooden pews with their hand embroidered cushions through sets of luminescent stained glass windows by Melbourne manufacturers, Ferguson and Urie, Mathieson and Gibson and Brooks Robinson and Company. A set of fourteen windows from the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century by Ferguson and Urie depicting different saints are especially beautiful, filled with painted glass panes which are as vivid now as when they were created more than one hundred years ago. The floors are still the original dark, richly polished boards that generations of worshipers have walked over since they were first laid. The east transept houses the Lady Chapel, whilst the west transept is consumed by the magnificent 1972 Roger H. Pogson organ built of cedar with tin piping. This replaced the original 1889 Alfred Fuller organ. Beautifully executed carved rood figures watch over the chancel from high, perhaps admiring the marble altar.

Albert Purchas, born in 1825 in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, was a prominent Nineteenth Century architect who achieved great success for himself in Melbourne. Born to parents Robert Whittlesey Purchas and Marianne Guyon, he migrated to Australia in 1851 to establish himself in the then quickly expanding city of Melbourne, where he set up a small architect's firm in Little Collins Street. He also offered surveying services. His first major building was constructing the mansion "Berkeley Hall" in St Kilda on Princes Street in 1854. The house still exists today. Two years after migrating, Albert designed the layout of the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton. It was the first "garden cemetery" in Victoria, and his curvilinear design is still in existence, unaltered, today. In 1854, Albert married Eliza Anne Sawyer (1825 - 1869) in St Kilda. The couple had ten children over their marriage, including a son, Robert, who followed in his father's footsteps as an architect. Albert's brother-in-law, Charles Sawyer joined him in the partnership of Purchas and Sawyer, which existed from 1856 until 1862 in Queens Street. The firm produced more than 140 houses, churches, offices and cemetery buildings including: the nave and transepts of Christ Church St Kilda between 1854 and 1857, "Glenara Homestead"in Bulla in 1857, the Melbourne Savings Bank on the corner of Flinders Lane and Market Street (now demolished) between 1857 and 1858, the Geelong branch of the Bank of Australasia in Malop Street between 1859 and 1860, and Beck's Imperial Hotel in Castlemaine in 1861. When the firm broke up, Albert returned to Little Collins Street, and the best known building he designed during this period was St. George's Presbyterian Church in East St Kilda between 1877 and 1880. The church's tall polychomatic brick bell tower is still a local landmark, even in the times of high rise architecture and development, and St, George's itself is said to be one of his most striking church designs. Socially, Albert was vice president of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects for many years, before becoming president in 1887. He was also an inventor and philanthropist. Albert died in 1909 at his home in Kew, a wealthy widower and much loved father.

The stained glass firm of Ferguson and Urie was established by Scots James Ferguson (1818 – 1894), James Urie (1828 – 1890) and John Lamb Lyon (1836 – 1916). They were the first known makers of stained glass in Australia. Until the early 1860s, window glass in Melbourne had been clear or plain coloured, and nearly all was imported, but new churches and elaborate buildings created a demand for pictorial windows. The three Scotsmen set up Ferguson and Urie in 1862 and the business thrived until 1899, when it ceased operation, with only John Lamb Lyon left alive. Ferguson and Urie was the most successful Nineteenth Century Australian stained glass window making company. Among their earliest works were a Shakespeare window for the Haymarket Theatre in Bourke Street, a memorial window to Prince Albert in Holy Trinity, Kew, and a set of Apostles for the West Melbourne Presbyterian Church. Their palatial Gothic Revival office building stood at 283 Collins Street from 1875. Ironically, their last major commission, a window depicting “labour”, was installed in the old Melbourne Stock Exchange in Collins Street in 1893 on the eve of the bank crash. Their windows can be found throughout the older suburbs of Melbourne and across provincial Victoria.

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,

And took the fire with him, and a knife.

And as they sojourned both of them together,

Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,

Behold the preparations, fire and iron,

But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?

Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,

And builded parapets and trenches there,

And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.

When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,

Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,

Neither do anything to him. Behold,

A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;

Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,

And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Sears Tower opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building. It is now only # 23, and it has even lost its original name.

Though founded in San Bernardino, McDonald's is an Illinois company. It had its headquarters in Oak Brook, but has moved them to Chicago. Supposedly one in eight American workers have at one time worked for the company.

This is a photograph of me with the

great Leonard Cohen, taken out on the

porch of his L.A. home, his "tower of song," as he

referred to it in a song, taken by

the great Mr. Henry Diltz.

This is a good example of the kind of

wonderful photos Henry takes, and why

I have been honored to work with him. To see

my portrait of he who I've learned so much from,

see www.flickr.com/photos/zollo/149333034/

I was in the happy company of Leonard on this

day to interview him for SongTalk magazine, an

interview it took me many years to land. It's preserved

in my big book of songwriter interviews called

"Songwriters On Songwriting, Expanded Edition"

[Da Capo Press], which also has my interviews with

Dylan, Simon, Randy Newman and about 60 others.

Leonard is not only one of the world's greatest

songwriters and a gifted poet and novelist,

he's also one of the wisest and also funniest men

I've ever met. Every question that I asked was

answered with a wonderful parable of sorts,

a response abundant with poetry, humor,

celebration, resignation

and genuine wisdom.

When I asked him, as I did everyone in my book,

how he got in touch with the source that produced

such great songs, he said, "If I knew where the great

songs came from, I'd go there more often. It's much

like the life of a Catholic nun.

You're married to a mystery."

(Noah Stone, a fine songwriter and a flickr friend,

wrote a very good song inspired by this line, which is

called "Married to a Mystery.")

Leonard said, "Most musicians, you know, have

chops. I only have one chop. But it's a good chop."

He spoke a lot about the great amount of time

and labor it takes to write a good song, to "break

the code," of the song. He'll write 40 verses for

one song, and then discard many of them. I asked

him if when he was working to break that code,

if he was thinking about what a song should say.

"Anything that I can bring to it," he said. "Thought,

meditation, drinking, disillusion, insomnia,

vacations... Because once the song enters the

mill, it's worked on by everything that I can summon.

And I need everything. I try everything. I try to ignore it,

try to repress it,

try to get high, try to get intoxicated,

try to get sober,

all the versions of myself that I can summon

are summoned

to participate in this project, this work force.

I try everything. I'll do anything. By any means

possible."

I asked if any of these methods worked better than

others.

"Nothing works," he said. "Nothing works. After a

while, if you stick with a song long enough, it will

yield. But long enough is way beyond any

reasonable estimation of what you think long

enough may be.

Because if you think it's a week,

that's not long enough.

If you think it's a year, that's not long enough.

If you think it's a decade, that's not long enough."

"Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.

He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’"

- Matthew 12:1-9, which is the Gospel for the 15th Sunday of the Year.

Detail from a window in Ely Cathedral.

At Harvard, you continued to shine. “Perhaps more than any other boy who has been in the Grant Study,” the staff noted about you, “the following participant exemplifies the qualities of a superior personality: stability, intelligence, good judgment, health, high purpose, and ideals.” Basically, they were in a swoon. They described you as especially likely to achieve “both external and internal satisfactions.” And you seemed well on your way. After a stint in the Air Force—“the whole thing was like a game,” you said—you studied for work in a helping profession. “Our lives are like the talents in the parable of the three stewards,” you wrote. “It is something that has been given to us for the time being and we have the opportunity and privilege of doing our best with this precious gift.” —Joshua Wolf Shenk

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/what-makes-u...

This photo looks north and east along a deep valley in the Judean wilderness (midbar or "desert"), standing just east of Jerusalem. The ridge at right provided the path for the "red ascent" (Ma'ale Adummim), the main road from the Jordan valley (near Jericho) up to Jerusalem in the central hill country. This road was notorious in antiquity for banditry and it is this route that forms the setting for Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan.

This is one part of a four part series created for my Introduction to Digital Imaging Final. It's based on the parable of the sower from the Gospel of Matthew. All comments and criticism are appreciated!

If you're going to use this image for a project, please let me know by posting a link in the comments, thanks!

Photo credits:

caritasfive

Melissa Maples

ToNToN CoPT

EricaJoy

oed

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."

10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:

"Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15For this people's heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.'[a] 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Jesus tells the Parable of the Prodigal Son in part to teach us about a loving God who has run after a world turned away from Him. This shirt depicts the moment in the story where the younger son is returning home expecting condemnation and instead is greeted by his father running headlong toward him with forgiveness. Luke 15:11-32

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"For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept..."

- Matt 25:3-5, which is part of today's Gospel for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Detail from a stained glass window in St Giles' church, Oxford.