God came near. This is my contribution for today's Advent Synchroblog. Take a look around and see what other bloggers have contributed.
I took the photo of the ladder [minus the words] in Spain earlier this year, outside the Theatre-Museum of Salvador Dali. Ladders [and stairways] feature prominently in surrealist art and I was exploring the theme of Jacob's ladder in Dali's art. What I like about this ladder installation, which stands outside his museum, is the way the blue fades into rusted iron.
Most likely Dali was thinking of the mystical journey, ascending into the unknown blueness of the subconcious but for me, at least today as I think of the Advent message, I see the journey in the opposite direction - the emergence out of one's protective environment and voluntarily thrust into the wild open to be abused the elements of wind, rain and sun. The adventure in the advent. Like Jesus laying aside his glory and entering the corrosive world of men. I hope Dali will forgive my words on his ladder but since addition and acquisition feature so prominently in his art, I am pretty sure he wouldn't mind.
History looked forward to the Creator coming near to us and as it worked out, he came a lot nearer than anyone ever expected. We look back at the Advent of his nearness-made-known, the coming-down and fleshing-up of Christ, his hanging-out-for-a-while alongside creation and we celebrate it at Advent. But we also look forward to a time when we will be with Him forever and that nearness will be fully realized as creation finds it's complete redemption: an adventure from rust to non-rust, from corrosion to permanence.
