From Death to Life

From Death to Life Commentary by Mark Scarlata Cite Share Show Bible Passage The biblical description of the Jordan crossing is filled with sacramental images. The Ark of the Covenant, Israel’s most sacred cultic artefact, is brought out by the Levitical priests as they reach the waters’ edge. Joshua tells the people to ‘consecrate yourselves’ (Joshua 3:5) which points to the sacred crossing that awaits the Israelites. They must be pure before they enter into God’s holy land. They are leaving behind the death of Egypt for a new life blessed by God’s presence, protection, and life. This powerful divide between death and life is displayed in the work of Howard Finster. His painting is a Christian reading of the Joshua narrative. Finster was a Baptist preacher and an untrained artist (Girardot 2015). After decades in the church, he felt a call to paint sacred art as a way to teach people the gospel. His work has an almost childlike simplicity (with lots of unconventional spellings!) but conveys a powerful visual impression of the choices one has on either side of the ‘Jordon’. Finster creates a sense of flow and movement towards the heavenly kingdom which dominates much of the painting. The great white paths draw the eye upward leading to the heavenly mansions. Each one is inscribed with characteristics of the promised land—KINDNESS, LOVE, PEACE, ETURNAL LIFE, HOME. In the middle of the work, Christ stands upon the waters with open, welcoming arms. Finster, like the Joshua passage, makes clear that it is the Lord who delivers his people. This is written on the face of the waters along with the promise ‘I WANT HAFTO CROSS JORDAN ALONE’. The combination of Old Testament and New Testament themes in Finster’s work offer a visual representation of what it means for the faithful to pass through the waters into new life. For the Israelites, the Jordan represented the final stage of God’s redemption as they moved into the land of blessing. For Finster, Jordan represents the Christian journey of redemption as the believer crosses into Christ’s heavenly kingdom. References Girardot, Norman. 2015. Envisioning Howard Finster: The Religion and Art of a Stranger from Another World (Berkeley: University of California Press)