CCC PRAYER WALK: Masks Start by finding a quiet place and reading this poem One Hour to Madness and Joy ONE hour to madness and joy! O furious! O confine me not! (What is this that frees me so in storms? What do my shouts amid lightnings and raging winds mean?) O to drink the mystic deliria deeper than any other man! O savage and tender achings! (I bequeath them to you my children, I tell them to you, for reasons, O bridegroom and bride.) O to be yielded to you whoever you are, and you to be yielded to me in defiance of the world! O to return to Paradise! O bashful and feminine! O to draw you to me, to plant on you for the first time the lips of a determin'd man. O the puzzle, the thrice-tied knot, the deep and dark pool, all untied and illumin'd! O to speed where there is space enough and air enough at last! To be absolv'd from previous ties and conventions, I from mine and you from yours! To find a new unthought-of nonchalance with the best of Nature! To have the gag remov'd from one's mouth! To have the feeling to-day or any day I am sufficient as I am. O something unprov'd! something in a trance! To escape utterly from others' anchors and holds! To drive free! to love free! to dash reckless and dangerous! To court destruction with taunts, with invitations! To ascend, to leap to the heavens of the love indicated to me! To rise thither with my inebriate soul! To be lost if it must be so! To feed the remainder of life with one hour of fulness and freedom! With one brief hour of madness and joy. -Walt Whitman My disclaimer is this, if you know anything about Whitman s life you know he s not exactly a writer to be seen as a moral compass. I don t want you to think about what he was thinking when he wrote it. What do the words mean TO YOU? What lines stood out to you most? What thoughts, feelings, or revelations did you have as you read? How do you think this poem relates to the way you follow Christ, if at all : )? Pray: That the LORD might clear your mind and prepare you for what he has to say during this walk.
First Stop: P15 Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Caravaggio Take Time: to get as close to the painting as you can without getting in trouble. What do you notice about Caravaggio s rendering of John? What sticks out to you? This painting is regarded as one of Caravaggio s greatest masterpieces yet it was not accepted by the church who commissioned him to paint it because John had dirty toenails. What did Caravaggio understand about John that the church did not? What would a clean toed John represent? The truth or a mask? How can you relate with what the church wanted? How can you relate with what Caravaggio painted? Pray: about the unfortunate role that masks have played in the Church and how you can be an ambassador of authenticity.
Second Stop: P29 Masks by Emile Nolde Take Time: to think about a time in your own life when you ve taken to wearing masks (figuratively, not literally but if you actually wore masks that s probably worth thinking about too : ) ). What were you/are you trying to hide? It s hard to find a biblical character that doesn t at sometime struggle with mask wearing. Look at the masks in this painting. What thoughts, feelings, revelations come to you as you look closely at each false face? Which mask do you relate to the most and why? What does mask wearing do FOR us? What does it do TO us? Read this: Here s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won t be tempted to roleplay before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. Matthew 6:6 -The Message What if you were able to present yourself simply and honestly to others as well as God? Where would the focus shift then? What might you sense? Pray: about the fear and anxiety that these questions and this image bring up in you. Pray about what it means to know and be known. Ask God what he wants to say to you about this. Pray for courage.
Third Stop: 208 Upstairs in the Native American Art wing Pictographic Dress by Lakota Tribe Take Time: to read the description of this garment. Can you imagine literally wearing your past as a garment everyday for everyone to see. Take time to imagine what your garment might look like battles lost and battles won. Missteps and triumphs. How do you judge your past? Positively or Negatively? How so, and why? What part does our past play in our tendency to wear masks? Pray: a prayer of thanksgiving for the journey and that God has never left us or forsaken us just as he promised. Pray for a renewed imagination of how you see your past.
Fourth Stop: L6 Modern Wing Vault by Thomas Demand Take Time: to stand at the line in front of the picture. I don t know if it was the artist s intention to do so but as I stood at the line I could see myself actually in the vault with the reflection of the glass. It made me ponder my past, present, and my future. It made me feel the equal value of each. As I walked around the vault and flipped the picture frames around I saw pictures of what was and what could be. I found myself feeling the forgiveness of God for the places I ve been and hope for what God wanted to do with the empty picture frames. What is your experience like in the vault? Pray: for God to speak to you as you spend time in the vault. What lessons does he want you to take away as you leave?
Fifth and final stop: L9 African Wing First Lady, Azokouè, Fiozikpè by Romuald Hazoumè Take Time: to read the description of this piece. The problem with things being revealed is that we can t unsee what we ve seen once it s revealed. As we heard in our service with World Vision, these jugs are also used to collect contaminated water. What feelings, thoughts, or revelations do you have when you think honestly and simply about the masks we wear when it comes to our consumerism and consumption. The mask of apathy, justification, indifference, etc. What might your face show if you reacted honestly and authentically toward the things you see wrong in the world, like the clean water crisis? Anguish? Anger? Confusion? Pray: about all you ve experienced. Pray about how authenticity and honesty effect your relationship with God, yourself, others, the church, the world. Listen to what God has to say. END THIS PRAYER WALK WITH A TIME OF QUIET REFLECTION AND MEDITATION.