Eros & Christ: Mary’s ecstasy in art

Annunciation by Trudie Barreras, 1970
Oil on canvas, 11” x 14”
(Collection of Rev. Emily Bel, Columbus, GA)

[First in a summer series on Eros and Christ]

Artistic and literary visions of Mary’s ecstasy at the moment of Jesus’ conception offer a new way to heal the split between sexuality and spirituality in Christian tradition.

Mary’s physical/mystical experience of God within her own sexual organs is the subject of artistic creations by two women of faith. Atlanta artist Trudie Barreras addressed it in art and a dramatic monologue, and I wrote about it in my novel “Jesus in Love.”

Working separately without knowing each other at the time, each of us dared to envision a new, sex-positive take on the Annunciation, one of the most common subjects in Christianity. The Annunciation has been painted by most of history’s great artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci. But the traditional version stops with the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will give birth to the son of God.

When Mary asks how this is possible since she is a virgin, the angel answers, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35).

But what happened next? Did Mary go into erotic ecstasy when Jesus was conceived?
How did it feel to be touched by the Holy Spirit?

In her “Annunciation,” Barreras goes well beyond the standard announcement scene to paint a vibrant swirl of spiritual and erotic energy. She reveals the thrilling moment when Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to conceive Jesus Christ. Mary reaches ecstasy as the Holy Spirit embraces her in a heart of flames that merges with Mary’s own golden halo.

“Only a few people got my point that being ‘overshadowed by the Holy Spirit’ had to be the best orgasm going,” Barreras explains.

Barreras painted her “Annunciation” in 1970 after getting involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which emphasizes the Holy Spirit.

“It was painted before my husband came out to me as a gay man, since that occurred in 1973. Hence it was painted before I'd become anything other than a conscientiously Catholic woman,” Barreras says.

“However, since I was not a ‘cradle Catholic’ but rather a convert, I'd been having a great deal of difficulty ‘relating’ to the traditional devotion to (and perspective on) ‘the BVM.’* I was trying, even then, to relate to the mother of Jesus in a way that felt ‘real’ to me.”

Barreras, now a member of Metropolitan Community Church, went on to write a poetic meditation celebrating Mary’s ecstasy. It will be posted here next week as the Eros and Christ series continues.
___
*BVM stands for the Blessed Virgin Mary

Eros and Christ series starts soon

A summer series on Eros and Christ starts this week at the Jesus in Love Blog.

The series will explore the interplay of sexuality and spirituality through art, poetry, literature and book reviews. It features the work of gender studies professor Hugo Schwyzer, New York poet Maruja, Atlanta artist/writer Trudie Barreras and Los Angeles author Kittredge Cherry.

Visit the Jesus in Love Blog from July through September for the Eros and Christ series.

Our computer crashed -- $330 still needed

Our computer crashed recently here at JesusInLove.org, and $330 is still needed to pay the repair bill so we can keep supporting GLBT spirituality and the arts.

Many thanks to the six donors who already gave a total of $145 this month for the computer. It cost $475 to get it back up and running, so we are still $330 short. Please donate now clicking the “chip in” button below.


“Your work is too important to allow a broken computer to slow you down,” one donor said in the email that came with her contribution.

Another donor wrote, “Your little website is spreading more Truth than the whole gay media put together. They're after out bodies. You're after our souls. Keep up the Good Work!”

All these financial gifts and words of support are much appreciated! Together we are promoting artistic and religious freedom. A big THANK YOU to the following sponsors who made donations this month to the computer fund: Simone Hodgson, Dusty Pruitt, Jendi Reiter, Julian Spalding, Dirk Vanden, and White Crane Institute.

Donors will also be honored by having their names listed on the sponsors page of JesusInLove.org.

Donations of any amount can also be made by clicking on the "donate" button on the left side of this blog.

British comic jests about gay Jesus

A comedian created “Was Jesus Gay?” as a comedy video, but most of it makes good sense to me as a lesbian Christian.

The popular video was made by Pat Condell, an English comedian and outspoken atheist. His online video monologues of what he calls “godless comedy” have gotten more than 15 million hits. “Was Jesus Gay?” has nearly half a million views.

I started watching Condell’s gay Jesus video without knowing that it was intended as comedy. I thought he was a serious church leader, and kept wondering, “Why haven’t I heard of this theologian before?!”

The video begins with some well-deserved barbs against the Church for mistreating gays. Then Condell states, “I’ve heard it suggested from some people that Christians are so irrationally obsessed with this subject because deep down they’re terrified that Jesus himself might have been gay.”

He talks about how Jesus spent the night with a naked youth in the Secret Gospel of Mark. He speculates about what John meant when he called himself “the one who Jesus especially loved.” He also discusses Jesus’ heterosexual marriage in some of the other Gnostic gospels. All these theories about Jesus’ relationships are common topics of serious study by queer scholars.

My favorite part of the video is when Condell asks, “If somebody could prove historically beyond all doubt that Jesus was in fact homosexual, would Christians then reject Jesus or would they reject the evidence -- as usual?”

Good question.

GLBT spiritual art blog marks 2nd year

Today we celebrate our second anniversary as a blog on GLBT spirituality and the arts. Thanks for all your support over the years! Here’s our official news release:

Los Angeles, CA -- June 25, 2009 -- The Jesus in Love Blog (jesusinlove.blogspot.com) celebrates its second anniversary as a blog about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) spirituality and the arts.

The blog has presented a positive vision of GLBT spirituality and tracked censorship of queer religious art since June 26, 2007. The Jesus in Love Blog is written by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author, minister, and art historian. It is part of JesusInLove.org, an online network that includes a website, videos, e-newsletter and image archive.

“I founded JesusInLove.org because Christian rhetoric was being misused to justify hate and discrimination against GLBT people,” Cherry says. “I hope to stimulate dialogue and consciousness of love by displaying and discussing the art that affirms GLBT people and our connection to God.”

Blog traffic and comments have grown steadily for the past two years, with many visitors giving high praise to the Jesus in Love Blog. A review by online magazine QueerDay.com declared that JesusInLove.org is “a rather heavenly idea.” Cherry compiled content from JesusInLove.org into the book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More,” which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award last year.

“We have won many honors -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians,” Cherry says. She reports that a typical comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.”

“Right-wing Christian bloggers labeled me ‘a hyper-homosexual revisionist’ and denounced my projects as ‘garbage,’ ‘insanity,’ and ‘a blatant act defamation and blasphemy,’” Cherry says. “The ongoing religious bigotry proves that JesusInLove.org is needed now as much as ever. Jesus loved everyone, including sexual outcasts.”

The Jesus in Love Blog will continue to display and discuss art on GLBT spiritual themes for gay, lesbian, bi and trans people and their allies. Cherry sums up the blog’s purpose by quoting the JesusInLove.org mission statement: “We hope that the new visions will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world.”

For more info, visit jesusinlove.blogspot.com or contact info@JesusInLove.org.

Gay artist says Jesus never married

“Jesus Never Married” by Dirk Vanden, 2009

Jesus supported love, but not marriage, according to a thought-provoking new poster by gay artist Dirk Vanden.

Large white words against a rainbow background state, “FYI: Jesus never married, nor commanded nor advocated nor performed ‘marriage.’” At the bottom is a Biblical quote from Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Vanden says that he creates artworks such as “Jesus Never Married” to help gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people who are “seeking equality, legitimacy, legality -- acceptance -- of ourselves and our unions and families.”

The poster is a welcome contribution to the current debate about same-sex marriage. Conservatives often use Christianity to justify denying lesbian and gay couples the right to marry. However, Jesus Christ himself was apparently not a big supporter of marriage. There are no records that he ever got married or performed a marriage.

Christian tradition says that Jesus supported marriage because he did his first miracle at a wedding -- where he turned water into wine. As Vanden notes, “He went to weddings and got drunk, but he never performed one.”

In the Bible Jesus spoke against divorce and adultery, but he said nothing at all about marriage (or about homosexuality). Since he didn’t advocate marriage for heterosexuals, it’s interesting to consider what Jesus would think of today’s movement for same-sex marriage.

Vanden’s “Jesus Never Married” piece is also a bumper-sticker. He displays it proudly on the back of his van.

“In my lifetime I have seen amazing changes,” Vanden says. “More are yet to come! I hope I have helped!”

For more info on Vanden and his art, visit:
http://www.dirkvanden.net/

Love between women honored

“Whither Thou Goest” by Trudie Barreras, 2004
Acrylic, 18” x 14”

Love between two Biblical women is celebrated in “Whither Thou Goest” by Atlanta artist Trudie Barreras.

The painting shows Ruth pledging her love to Naomi. Ruth’s famous vows to Naomi are often used in heterosexual weddings. Few people realize that these beautiful words were originally spoken by one woman to another:

“Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee.
For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”
(Ruth 1:16-17)

Now is a good time to reflect on Ruth and Naomi because same-sex marriage is in the news and June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month (even officially proclaimed by President Obama this week).

The painting “Whither Thou Goest” was commissioned in 2004 by Rev. Paul Graetz, pastor of First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, for a sermon series that he was doing on the Book of Ruth. It remains in the permanent collection of First MCC of Atlanta, where it hangs in the meditation chapel. First MCC of Atlanta is a progressive community of faith that welcomes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah. After their husbands die, Naomi urges both of them to remarry. The painting shows Orpah leaving while Ruth stays with Naomi.