You may remember a book published a few years ago called ‘Eats shoots and leaves’ by Lynn Truss. It dealt humorously with the pitfalls of punctuation. The sentence above could be referring to a murderer or to a panda bear, depending on where you put the punctuation. Or maybe you have read the poignant poem by Stevie Smith, ‘Not waving but drowning’ about the misinterpreted signals of a desperate person trying to attract attention. Our words and actions can so easily be misinterpreted unless understood in the right way.

The Mona Lisa
Art works in the same way, it needs to be interpreted and the interpretation depends on how we read the signs or symbols that the artist puts in front of us. The great art of the Classical and Renaissance periods relied on geometrical form and proportion, the triangle and the rectangle, arranged in perfect proportions to give a picture that sense of harmony that brings beauty to nature.

Yet for the artist there is more than just harmony, there is emotion and personality, that of the artist and of the subject. A perfectly harmonious composition would be boring, but one that combines harmony with emotion engages us in a relationship that lasts for a lifetime or indeed for generations of lifetimes. Consider, for example, what is acclaimed as the greatest work of art ever painted, the Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa is not only a painting of exceptional beauty, combining the perfect proportions of geometry, but is also famously enigmatic, posing questions about the personality of the sitter. Is she smiling or is she frowning? Is she looking at me, do her eyes really follow me around the room? All this is the work of the genius Leonardo da Vinci whose understanding of anatomy and light enabled him to play tricks with our eyes that bring the face before us alive.

The link between the Mona Lisa and our passage today rests on the same need for interpretation and the measure that is used is not beauty but love. How do we understand words such as Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement, that are so central to the Gospel picture? Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will interpret: “When he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgement” John 16: 8

Further, Jesus links these three words to what is to come: His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension: “He will make know to you what is to come” John 16: 13.

The key to interpreting these three words is love. The love of God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who Jesus tells us will shine a light on the work of the Father and the Son: “He will glorify Me, for he will take what is mine and make it known to you. All that the Father has is mine, and that is why I said, “He will take what is mine and make it known to you” John 16: 14/15.

The Passion: In the Passion, the spotlight shines on the Son. Here we see the love of God taking on Himself the sin of the world. The world had understood that sin was something for which each person must account, but the Spirit makes known that in Christ, God Himself has taken the sin of the world on himself. St. Paul puts it like this “Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him” 2 Cor. 5:21.

The Resurrection: As the Passion shows us how we die to sin in Christ, so the resurrection shows us how the Father raises us to a new life in Christ. The world had understood that righteousness was achieved by good works, but the Spirit makes known that this new life is made possible only by the Father, as we are raised up with Christ. Again St. Paul spells it out: “But God is rich in mercy, and because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead because of our sins... and he raised us up in union with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2: 4-6

The Ascension announces the final judgement of God as Christ takes his place in glory and ‘The prince of this world stands condemned’ John 16:11. The world had thought of the final judgement of God with dread but the Spirit reveals that it is not mankind that is condemned but the evil one. “The Spirit of God affirms to our spirit that we are God’s children; and if we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ... we are also to share His glory. Romans 8:16/17.

Those three words, sin, righteousness, and Judgement that sound so severe are in fact words of comfort when interpreted by love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in love working together to bring the whole of broken creation back into perfect harmony through the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of the King of love.

Rev. Simon Brignall