153 Large Fish
“ I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”
The late John August Swanson made something of a life’s study of the episode we read of in this week’s parable, representing it again and again in his colorful, abstract style. Preparing this particular image seems to have been one of his last projects this side of passing from this life in September of 2021. It is best, then, perhaps, to let the artist describe the image in his own words:
Peter and his friends have been fishing all night; they are tired and have not caught any fish. Someone on the beach calls out: “Put down your nets one more time. Don’t give up yet.” They put down their nets and they catch so many fish that the nets are almost breaking! The sunlight reflects on the clouds, the sail, and the faces of the fishermen.
The Fishemen is envisioned in bright vibrant colors, as the sun rises bringing with it the new day. The ocean shines with a multitude of colors of patterned fish and waves. The words from the gospel in Spanish and English adorn the top and bottom of the piece in dark lettering on a golden embellished background. The scene is surrounded in a rainbow of colored squares on a purple border.
Over my life as an artist, I have created variations of this story. It helps me to accept our struggles, and to appreciate the casting of my own “net” into the waves, as well as my surprise in experiencing the fruit and the abundance of gifts that are there.
You can also read more about the history of the image, and see his iterating, on his website.
Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
— The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John (John 21:12)
Third Sunday of Easter
Texts for Today
Prayer
Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Hark, my Soul! It is the Lord!
I confess that the version of this old William Cowper standby I’m most inclined to grab is this one, very properly performed by the St. Michael Singers from the quire of Coventry Cathedral, or this one, beautifully produced and replete with subtitle lyrics and rich panoramas of robust congregational singing from the BBC’s Songs of Praise program. But I learned a lot from giving a prayerful and careful listen to Lor’s interpretation from her “Intimate Hymn Sessions.” Lor is a young Ghanan musician, who cut her teeth musically in the Apostolic Church of Ghana. Her interpretation represents an attempt to renew the old hymn through personalizing and interiorizing it, ornamenting her performance with improvisation and an emotive lilt to her vocal presentation. While it doesn’t appeal to me aesthetically as the more buttoned-downed versions, it helps me to understand the logic that motivates several contemporary church music trajectories.
And — as an added bonus — if you want to split the difference between the British style and it’s African appropriation, here’s the hymn performed (a little roughly) at St. Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral in Warri, Nigeria, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese in Jan 2020. (Check out those commemorative chasubles, tho. Nice!)
