Water in the Desert

“And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”

This is John the Baptist’s ministerial tagline taken from the prophet Isaiah. Make straight paths, fill in valleys, lower mountains, all of these feats now possible by human ingenuity. But these accomplishments begin with a voice in a desert proclaiming the impossible is now evident: God is near. Culture is made through our longing for eternity.

Like John, artists are called to barren places to proclaim through word and deed God’s active and baptizing presence in the world. Here, little hope grows into highways and byways to God. Through our hands we smooth the rough places: one designs a bridge, while another writes a song that speaks into the heart of our universal pain. Either way Christians are called to be actively constructing wonders that reflect God’s salvation.

Isaiah and John the Baptist are usually associated with Advent for they make the bold proclamation that God will show himself in this world. In many ways artists are like these prophets. In the wilderness we live life preparing our communities for a final face to face with our Savior. Through our creations we acquaint, acclimatize, baptize, presage what ought to be, what can be, what shall be. Therefore, artists and prophets:

You who bring good news to Zion,

go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem,

lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

-Isaiah 40:9

This Advent become like John and Isaiah. Testify concerning Him through your art.

--Maria

How Much is Too Much?, or Wrestling with the Place of Culture in Devotional Life

"I was born in a house with the television always on," sing David Byrne and the Talking Heads in their song Love for Sale. What could be truer than that for most of us? Yet even with the television blaring (and sometimes because of the television blaring), we manage to hear God's voice in the culture...because He's everywhere, and not only in a monastery.

We know that, but we also feel a certain tension. Christians live in a gap between "Be still and know that I am God" and Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message." I for one often feel the pinch, wondering how to mind the gap.

Witness a recent morning, when I started the day with quiet meditation on events in Jesus' life using Ignatian

exercises designed to help me see Jesus aright so that I "might be with Him, become more like Him and serve Him more." After an hour or so in prayerful reflection on Scripture, I went to the gym carrying two novels, a year-end issue of Time, and an iPod with a Tim Keller sermon downloaded and an energy-pumping playlist. I read from and listened to each in the course of an hour. I also had access, anytime I looked up from my elliptical machine, to four television screens, each tuned to a different channel -- as I was invited to think about (for far less than 30 seconds each) the plight of freezing citrus, the unethical treatment of elephants, full-body scanners, "healthiest super-foods" and "why the Sun didn't swallow the Earth." Just an average couple of hours for an average middle-aged woman, trying to orient myself towards God and live out the implications that flow from what I know and where and who I am. All before 9 a.m.

I'm used to trying to pay attention to everything all at once, yet sometimes I wonder if I fully take in any of it. Sometimes I scream an Anthony Newley-esque "stop the world; I want to get off" as I long for solitude and silence. At other times I want to be in the middle of the action. I still wish I'd been in the crowd for Oprah's and The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" flash mob scene on Michigan Avenue last fall. Yes it was commercially produced and motivated; but it was an orchestrated act of joy, and I even imagine it as a foretaste of heaven (probably with different lyrics).

Feeling that tension, I've been thinking lately about the dichotomy between the positive role of popula

r culture in my devotional (yes, devotional) life and the overload I feel when "the world is too much

with (me)."

To continue reading go to its original placement on the Washington Institute's website.

--Cary Umhau

Cary is our guest writer, she regularly blogs at www.holyvernacular.wordpress.

com and can also be found at www.caryumhau.com

Affordable Art

Can you experience great art in NYC at prices you can afford? Yes! If you know where to look and can plan ahead and be flexible.

[Do you have tips for affordable arts experiences? Share them as a comment below!]

Visual art: Some major museums have "free nights." The Museum of Modern Art is free on Friday evenings from 4-8pm, and Brooklyn Museum has a great "First Saturdays" event (coming up on March 6!) that is free and includes live music, dancing and other programs. Both would be great to attend with a group of friends!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters (in Washington Heights) are always "pay what you wish" (check the fine print - it's a "suggested donation"). The Frick Collection - a great "unknown treasure" - is "pay what you wish" on Sundays from 11am-1pm, the Guggenheim on Saturdays from 5:45-7:45pm, and the Whitney on Fridays from 6-9pm (regular admission is only $8 at the Whitney through February 24!). Don't feel guilty - the museum would rather have you come for what you can afford than not visit at all! The staff won't hassle you. (If it would make you feel better, go to the museum three times in a year, and split your "suggested donation" into three installments.)

Check the Visitor Information page for other museums to see what they offer. Art galleries are always free and NYC has the best galleries in the world, featuring the most cutting-edge contemporary art.

Performances: A number of discount programs offer tickets to theater, dance and music performances for affordable prices. Theatre Development Fund, which also runs the TKTS booths, has a membership program that features tickets to all kinds of performances, between $9-$37, up to a month in advance of the performance. Annual membership is $30/year and is open to students, artists, teachers, those working in non-profits, retirees, and more. Click here for details.

Other ticket discount programs like Audience Extras and Play-by-Play have a higher annual fee, but only a small service charge for day-of-show tickets to a wide range of performances, including Broadway.

Many of the major venues also offer inexpensive tickets to their regular performances, including New York City Ballet ($15/ticket plus $20 annual membership), Metropolitan Opera ($20), New York Philharmonic ($31+) and more. Yes, you have to plan well ahead to get these tickets. And, no, you won't be on the front row. But let's face it, how big are the people on your TV set at home?

Some performances offer discounted day-of-performance "rush" tickets. Check the website of the organizations you're interested in for more details.

You also might consider ushering - it's a great way to serve the people and arts organizations of our city, and see some shows for free! Contact your favorite venue for more information.

Redeemer also offers group-priced tickets through our "Culture Club" program, which attends an arts event each month. Sign up for the email newsletter here to receive announcements about these events. Most Culture Club outings are not also announced in the worship service bulletin or elsewhere.

Enjoy some great art!
--Luann