new collage: lent 5 - the broken get fixed

"lent 5 - 2012: the broken get fixed"

mixed media collage on stretched box canvas (acylic paint, found papers, vintage papers, glue, marker)

march, 2012

gregory a. milinovich

 last sunday was the fifth sunday of lent, and our theme in worship as we continued our series called "upside down and inside out: the paradox of the gospel," was that "the broken get fixed."  this has always been one of my favorite lenses through which to view the gospel, because, as i look around at this world (and especially in the mirrors of this world) i see so much brokenness.  and i hate it.  seriously: i hate brokenness.  everywhere i see it, it breaks (pun intended) my heart, whether it's in reading about arson in the local paper, or in something as trivial as the neighbor's ornamental geese.  you see, she dresses them up all the time, to match the holidays and the seasons.  she obviously loves those stupid things, and puts a great deal of care into entertaining the passersby with clever costumes.  yesterday i drove by and one goose was naked and as i got closer i realized that it had a broken neck.  literally, it had a huge chunk taken out of its neck.  and my first reaction was sadness.  not for the stupid plaster goose, but for the woman who dresses them.  and as i drove on, i wanted to shake my fist at the universe and shout out: WHY?  WHY SO MUCH BROKENNESS?  WHY DOES THE PLASTER GOOSE HAVE TO BREAK?  WHY DO SO MANY MARRIAGES HAVE TO BREAK?  WHY DO SO MANY HEARTS HAVE TO BREAK?  WHY? 

and this is the question that people have been asking for, well, forever.  maybe they ask it in different ways, or maybe they get tired of asking it and assign themselves some sort of cool name to make it look like they are too detached to care, but in the end, we all hate brokenness and want things to be made right again.  we want things to be fixed.  we wants things to be aligned, to fit, to work, and to be the way they were meant to be.  we want the things we make to bring healing and hope.  we want cancer to end.  we want accidents to end.  we want disease to end.  we want despair to end.  we want addiction to end.  we want all the brokenness to end. 

and that's the Gospel.  that's it.  ever wonder how to share the good news of Jesus with others?  well here it is:  the broken get fixed.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers– all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross."  -colossians 1:15-20

and so here is my collage to represent this incredible truth.  the people get fixed.  the relationships get fixed.  the broken dreams get fixed.  the battered bodies get fixed.  the plaster geese get fixed.  all that is loved and lovable and even that which is broken beyond all loving recognition, gets fixed.  ALL THINGS.  even me.  even.me.  un-be-stinkin'-lievable.  and yet it is exactly what we believe.  the paradox of our Gospel. 

peace.