Embodied Doubt, Embodied Faith
“Whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith”
Alvin Ong (b. 1988) is a Singaporean artist who has gained international acclaim from a remarkably young age for his surreal and evocative paintings exploring the human form and everyday life. This 2022 work, titled Lap, exemplifies Ong's talent for transforming ordinary moments into visually arresting, psychologically charged scenes that draw the viewer in.
With a diverse visual approach spanning figurative and abstract elements, Ong crafts a swirling vortex of indistinct bodies merging with and breaking apart from deep blues and vibrant golden washes of color. The dynamic composition conveys a dizzying sense of movement as these visceral, fragmented forms seem to grapple with existential questions of embodiment, doubt, and spiritual longing.
The painting's themes harmonize with the selected scriptural passages, which also probe awakening to profound truths through doubt and mystical encounters. Yet Ong's playful, imaginative style imbues this metaphysical exploration with vitality and even an undercurrent of earthly sensuality amid the disorienting swirls. The brilliant colors and intertwined shapes exude powerful energy and momentum – the ecstatic quest for meaning propels ever onward, paradoxically driven by the same doubts it hopes to resolve.
In this way, Lap offers a contemporary, enlivening meditation on encountering the divine through our grounded human experiences. Ong's dreamlike aesthetic invites us into an immersive realm where the sacred and everyday realties intertwine. As viewers, we become intimately engaged with the painting's existential drama as both flaneurs admiring the spectacle, and also implicit participants in the ecstatic dance toward transcendent understanding.
Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
— Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 20:27)
Second Sunday of Easter
Texts for Today
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Suo Gan
The gentle, melancholic lullaby "Suo Gân" may at first seem an unlikely pairing with the profound biblical themes of doubt, spiritual revelation, and the triumph of faith. However, the pure, lilting vocals of treble Cai Thomas singing this ancient Welsh melody tap into the humble, open-hearted childlike trust called for in several of the readings.
In John's gospel account, Jesus tells the doubting Thomas "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (John 20:29). There is a simple, unquestioning acceptance inherent in the lullaby's soothing tones, evoking that same spirit of serene faith without demanding proof. Like a child secure in unseen loving embrace, "Suo Gân" captures the sacred simplicity of belief in divine mysteries.
Yet the minor key and wistful feel of the Welsh tune also hints at an underlying human longing and struggle that resonates with the passages. We think of Peter’s exhortation: "Repent … and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out!" (Acts 3:19) The sad sweetness of "Suo Gân" suggests the turbulence of confronting doubt and unbelief inherent in spiritual journeys of repentance and renewal.
The lullaby's vocal centerpiece allows Thomas' young voice to soar with both tenderness and incredible power in its dynamic swells and phrasing. This duality encapsulates the scriptures' core message - only by humbly acknowledging our human frailties and uncertainties can we clear the path to encounter the divine's transcendent strength through faith.
So while a simple cradle hymn may seem disconnected from such weighty spiritual themes, the underlayers of emotional resonance and musical expression in "Suo Gân" prove an unlikely yet fitting conduit for the complex truths explored in these Easter scripture lessons. Sometimes the most elemental artistic gestures can speak most directly to the depths of the religious experience.
