René Magritte | When you see a cloud looming up in the West

Luke 12: 54-59   When you see a cloud looming up in the West

La corde sensible,  Painted by René Magritte (1898-1967),  signed ‘Magritte’ (lower right); signed, dated and titled, oil on canvas, Painted in 1960 © Christie’s London, 28 February 2017, lot 110 Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? ‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’   READ MORE     Reflection on the Painting In our daily lives we waste so much time arguing about trivialities or getting upset over small things, while missing what is more important. Yes, Jesus condemns in today’s reading the fact we are not spending our time on the right things. We have to remember that Jesus spoke these words as He was on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. So no wonder He shows his anger and frustration with those people around Him who cannot see what is happening. Christ must have felt very lonely at times, as He was the only one seeing clearly the sad days ahead and the cross He would have to carry. When we are distracted with trivial things, we can’t truly accompany Christ on the road to the Cross and be there for Him.  Jesus uses the image of a cloud and how we can read into the weather what is to come. Today’s painting shows such a cloud. Under a perfect clear blue sky, set within a vibrant green landscape,  an enormous crystal glass gently supports the cloud with its vaporous mass gently covering though barely touching the glass bowl itself. This mysterious and poetic painting by René Magritte, in a way illustrates what Christ wants to tell us in today’s reading: to be balanced in our lives: enjoy life but be vigilant; be joyous but don’t be distracted. The painting shows this equilibrium as well:  the weightless cloud meets the solid glass; the threatening cloud versus a joyous landscape; the opacity of the cloud versus the transparency of the glass; the soft touch of the cloud versus the hard glass, etc… Weather forecasting has improved dramatically over the last years with new technology coming into play. However, forecasting one’s life is not easy or even impossible. So we have to be vigilant and wise at all times, and accompany Christ on His journey…. and He will be there for us as well… by Patrick van der Vorst