16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 11), Year B

​And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
~Mark 6:56
 
Even the fringe…
 
It doesn’t take much when such power and promise is present, does it?
 
Case in point: the event that fueled the frenzy preventing even a few hours off for Jesus and his disciples can be traced back to a singular event—the healing of the tormented man who had previously lived among the dead in Gennesaret. He called himself Legion (Mark 5).
 
Healed by Jesus, he is told to return home to the friends who had come to fear him: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” And he does: “he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed” (Mark 5:19-20).
 
Fast forward…one chapter. Now the region that couldn’t get rid of Jesus fast enough can’t get enough of him, bringing their sick to him, begging for the healing Jesus provides before he even steps off the boat. Oftentimes the Spirit shows up in places that (at first) scare us, breaking norms and taboos, unsettling our tired assumptions and fractured systems. Yet, where God’s Spirit dwells is good news and healing and hope. What stories do you have to tell? Where do you see the Spirit? Let us go there. Rush to it!
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a † Psalm 89:20-37 or Jeremiah 23:1-6 † Psalm 23 † Ephesians 2:11-22 † Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
 
About the Art: Latimore, Kelly. Christ: the Tekton, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57124 [retrieved July 9, 2024]. Original source: Kelly Latimore Icons, https://kellylatimoreicons.com/.
 
From the Artist: I started painting icons in 2011 while I was a member of the Common Friars from 2009-2013. Our collective work was about being more connected: to ourselves, each other, our surrounding community and the land. This manifested itself as a place called “The Good Earth Farm” where we held weekly services and meals, and grew produce for our community and local food pantries.

Iconography has since become a practice of more considerations: of color and light, of brush stroke and form, symbol and meaning...However, I do not wish to approach Iconography as an art form that simply follows an inherited tradition, knowledge and practice. I want it to be a creative process, meditation, and practice that brings about new self-knowledge for the viewer and myself. Who are the saints that are among us here and now?

I was not taught by a traditional Iconographer, and so to some, I am breaking many rules. There are icons here that people may find theologically unsound and wrong, or for others, helpful and inspiring. I think both reactions are important. My hope is that these icons do what all art can potentially do, which is, to create more dialogue.

The other may have something to teach us about what we know, about who God is, the world we live in and who are our neighbors. This is the real work of being human and of art. Being more present.

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