|
raphah
I’ve been in a mode of taking Sabbath, a rest, being refreshed and revived; “stepping out of the traffic”, as Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version of Psalm 46:10 states. These thoughts have produced minimal works of art: white on white with gold leaf and stitching.
The NIV version of Psalm 46:10 says: Be still, and know that I am God. The Hebrew word for still is raphah* which is a causative verb and means to cause yourself to get quiet, to mend by stitching. The action on my part means that I intentionally find a place to be quiet, come just as I am and have a conversation with God.
There is also action on God’s part: to mend, repair, make whole. This piece reflects that mending. In fact, I had to “repair” a mistake. As I planned this work I researched various fonts for the word and when I transferred the letters onto the paper, I left off the “h”. When I saw my mistake, I almost stuffed the paper back on my shelf to start over and make the correct spelling. Then as I looked at it, I felt I could better translate this word into a visual concept of mending, by stitching the “h” onto the rest of the piece. I come to God imperfectly, with my mistakes.
The cord coming down from the top and stitching across the piece reflects the action that comes from God down to me: His healing power. It also refers to the prayer shawl since that is where the action takes place: in the stillness of prayer. I tied the tassel with the prescribed instructions of specific knots which hang from the corners of the tallit or prayer shawl of the Jewish faith.
To me, the completed piece reminds me to intentionally cease my activities, be still and wait for the still small voice of the LORD to whisper His words of wholeness.
*raphah
(raw-faw?); Hebrew 7495, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the
Bible |
