So, for those of you who choose to thank God (in a particular way for the incarnation of ‘the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of his people) today: ‘Merry Christmas’.
May we all keep thanking God for the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of his people, every other day as well. (Probably with less eating and more exercise, though.)
Now, for some culture.
A large framed print of Rembrandt’s ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’ hangs in my lounge room.
I hadn’t seen ‘Adoration of the Shepherds’ before seeing it posted as part of a Christmas greeting on Justin Taylor’s blog. The painting is another example of Rembrandt’s ability to layer story upon story in a single image. Every character seems to have their own narrative displayed in their faces and body positions.
The ‘Art and the Bible’ website has offers commentary on two paintings of this scene by Rembrandt here and here. The differnences in lighting and composition make for two contrasting, yet complementary images.
Both were painted in 1646. Note the dominant light source in both images.
Finally, a YouTube of Handel’s Messiah, uniquely rendered by Relient K.
Buy yourself a copy of their Christmas album ‘Let it snow baby… Let it reindeer’ and save it for next year. (Unless you can get a quick download.)
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