Guest feature
Traveling in God’s Pocket.
Pieta taken @ the Church of St. Giles, Prague
Images and reflection by Jeff Lefever
I thought nothing of this Pieta when I saw it in the Church of St. Giles off a busy side street in Prague.
I documented it anyway.
It was later in the evening after editing the shot and after going to bed that I awoke from a shallow sleep, haunted. This image was on my mind and under my skin. The agony depicted in this shot didn’t take immediately but became more as it simmered sub consciously.
But not just the image of the dead Christ laying in His mother’s lap, His lifeless arm curled up over his heart, their faces separated by opposite direction and a dark cross looks as a shadow of death – not just that – but what was just out of the frame to the left.
Sitting forward on a bench, her back to me, with her head in her hands leaning toward the front of the church, was a girl who appeared troubled. She had come here obviously seeking solace from some hardship. The church was closed except for entry to the very back, the main of the church was behind a locked cast iron gate. And it was cold in there. For me the light was soft and I moved to the other side of the back to peer through the gate for something of interest.
Then I heard a wail from the girl, her agony was vocal.
Now it is the middle of the night in my hotel on my hard bed, and I am awake because of this image and that memory, and my lack of compassion at the time for that girl. And I think of the compassion of Christ even in death. And I think of Mary’s anguish for her son. And I think maybe I will remember this next time and not hesitate to being of help, if even to say a prayer for someone in pain when I encounter them. Even as I write this I am convicted. And I think of the dead Christ in Mary’s lap.
That statue, at the time, did not move me. But art can do this – it can resonate within us for consideration even becoming indelible.
Recollection. Travel. Resonate Faith.
That was a recollection from February 27th, 2009. Now it is February 2022, 13 years later. I had spent a month or more every year at my own expense since 2003 for 14 years visiting and photo-capturing churches and cathedrals across the United States, Europe, and around the old city of Jerusalem (Bethlehem, too, one Christmas Eve). When I started that project, I kept a travelog with the subtext of “traveling in God’s pocket,” and photographed the churches from a perspective of resonant faith (not objectification).
I went looking to see God’s Hand moving in the experiences I would encounter. To do this takes intentional time and the will to seek and find - and be amazed, living by God’s Grace. Having the photo assignment and a will for witnessing the intersection of church aesthetics and Christian theology, I had a reason to be wandering the streets of foreign cities, with minimal financial support or connection, often times questioning daily what it was I thought I was doing.
As it turns out, my faith was being re-formed in experiencing the religious cultures across the family of God, and also the “life between the grace notes”. It wasn’t the product of my time that was so significant in changing me, but the process I underwent to obtain the photographic study. It wasn’t all joyful. I often felt lost, alone, anxious, bored and stuck.
I started my journey in 2003 to see if an aesthetically built consecrated space could affect one in their spirit. But much of my favorite imagery evokes in me an empathy for God’s jewels as they interacted with these remarkable spaces. It wasn’t the mass or ceremonies, or preaching or teachings or sermons that moved me most, or even the art (though that was exceptional and I feel a highly warranted pursuit); it was the heart of those single souls who came for private audience, on their own time through out the course of a day, off-program, to sit, kneel, pray and reflect, often in the dark or by the light of a candle. These people, these moments, became the face of grace and beauty for me; a glimpse of God’s heart for us all.
About Artist Jeff Lefever
A longtime friend. Jeff inspires, engages, and challenges the eyes, heart, and mind to explore life and its beauty and quirkiness all around us. As a fine artist and photographer, he suspends a moment and offers expansion to what is before the onlooker in and through his work. I have enjoyed travels, meals, walks, and long conversations with Jeff, and knowing the next time we meet we will carry on from where we left off in a new moment of time but with the sweet familiarity of friendship. I hope you will take a moment to check out more of his work below:
Foundation for the Biblical Arts (stories)
https://foundationforthebiblicalarts.org
Book on Consecrated Space:
http://www.blurb.com/b/8789423-the-consecrated-space-deluxe-edition
Travelog: Traveling in God’s Pocket.
http://travelog.jefflefever.com
