Woman gathering flowers, first century CE. Detached fresco, 38 × 32 cm, from the Villa Arianna in Stabiae, Campania, Italy, now in the Collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples, Italy. The woman may be Primavera (a personification of spring) or Flora (the Roman goddess of flowers, fertility, and abundance), or simply a generic maiden at leisure. Spring bursts today,For Christ is risen and all the earth’s at play.Flash forth, thou Sun,The rain is over and gone, its work is done.Winter is past,Sweet Spring is come at last, is come at last.Bud, Fig and Vine,Bud, Olive, fat ..read more

Tomorrow’s readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, for the fourth Sunday of Easter, include what’s probably the most famous passage in the Bible, Psalm 23: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest m ..read more

SONGS: >> “Empty Grave” by Zach Williams: Some southern rock! >> “Overcome with Light” by Bowerbirds, performed by Daniel Seavey and Liz Vice: >> “Look Who I Found” by Harry Connick Jr., performed by the Good Shepherd Collective, feat. Charles Jones: This song cover premiered at Good Shepherd New York’s online Easter service last month. The original is from Harry Connick Jr.’s 2021 album Alone with My Faith, a mix of new songs he wrote (like this one) and classic hymns. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Good Shepherd New York (@goodshepherdny) +++ ART VIDEO ..read more

Nicholas Mynheer (British, 1958–), Jesus Appears on the Shore: The Calling, 2007. Oil on canvas, 31 × 25 cm. Final painting from the thirteen-piece Sarum Cycle on Christ’s passion. [read artist profile] Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. (John 21:4) Lap lulled by lifeless waters,ill-cast nets bearing no weight,the fishermen see againstcharcoal dawnthe lone figure of the Lord—come to draw them in again,and launch them out. This poem is No. XXXII from 33: Reflections on the Gospel of Saint John by Andrew Roycroft (Baltimore: Sq ..read more

Here’s my new (nonthematic) playlist for the month of April! But also, because Easter lasts through May 18, be sure to check out the 184 songs I handpicked for the season, which includes some new ones mixed in since the playlist’s original publication. +++ NEW SONGS: >> “He Lives” by Emma Nissen: Emma Nissen is a Latter-day Saint singer-songwriter from Arizona known for her gorgeous jazz vocals. Here she performs an original song about God the Father giving his Son, Jesus, to redeem the world through his life, death, and resurrection. “Let there be light, let there be love . . .” > ..read more

Now on that same day two of them [to whom the women had reported the empty tomb] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them. . . .  As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. —Luke 24:13–15, 28–29 LOOK: Road to ..read more

LOOK: Voice of the Bell by Lumen Martin Winter Lumen Martin Winter (American, 1908–1982), Voice of the Bell, 1965. Oil on board, 18 × 52 in. Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, Stony Brook, New York. This was a design for a mosaic mural for the entranceway of a school on Staten Island. LISTEN: “Hallelujah Day” | Music by Abe Janowitz and Julius Grossman, 1955 | Performed by the Deep River Boys, accompanied by Sten Carlbergs kvartett, 1955 Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding Sing, sing the whole day long Sing the hallelujah song This ..read more

LOOK: The Resurrection by André Kamba Luesa André Kamba Luesa (Congolese, 1944–1995), La résurrection (The Resurrection), 1992. Peinture grattée on canvas, 45 × 58 cm. © missio Aachen. The risen Christ bounds victoriously over the abyss—using his cross like a pole vault!—in this scratched painting by Congolese artist André Kamba Luesa (1944–1995). The flaming pit of hell has been conquered, cleared. And crossing over from death to life, Christ brings us with him. That’s why the men, women, and children lift high their hands in celebration. His victory is ours! The Gospel of Matthew describes ..read more

Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll an ..read more

LOOK: (She thought he was) The Gardener by Helen Sherriff Helen Sherriff (Australian, 1951–), (She thought he was) The Gardener, 2013. Acrylic and oil on found medium-density fiberboard tabletop with parquetry veneer and bark insert, 15 × 10.7 cm. This painting by Helen Sherriff, which won the Needham Religious Art Prize in 2013, shows Christ appearing to the forlorn Mary Magdalene after his resurrection. Sheriff cut the figure of Christ out of the MDF substrate and “inserted a piece of thick tree bark which had a scar in an appropriate place suggesting a wound,” she writes at ArtWay.eu. The c ..read more