The Incredulity of Saint Thomas,
Painting by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano (active 1459 - about 1518),
Painted circa 1502-4
Oil on synthetic panel, transferred from poplar
© National Gallery, London
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas,
Painting by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano (active 1459 - about 1518),
Painted circa 1502-4
Oil on synthetic panel, transferred from poplar
© National Gallery, London
You are only a man and you claim to be God
John 10:31-42
The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy: 'you are only a man and you claim to be God.’
Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'? If those to whom the word of God came were called 'gods' - and the scripture cannot be annulled - can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blasphemingbecause I said, 'I am God's Son'? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, "John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true." And many believed in him there.
Reflection on the altar painting
A few days ago we read that some Jews wanted to stone a woman accused of adultery. In today’s reading we hear how some Jews now wanted to stone Jesus. To be fair, the hostility of the religious leaders towards Jesus is in many ways very understandable. The way they saw Jesus was as a man committing blasphemy: ‘You are only a man and you claim to be God’. There is something scandalous about a human being claiming to be God.
Yet, we know that the observation which so scandalised the religious leaders at the time is indeed true: he was man, but also God. John the evangelist whose Gospel we have been reading these last few days closes his Gospel with the confession of Thomas before the risen Lord. Thomas says: ‘My Lord and my God’. Jesus, fully human, fully divine.
Our early 16th-century large panel by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, shows the moment that the Saint Thomas placed his fingers in Christ’s wound, checking that Christ had indeed risen from the dead. He is about to proclaim the words ‘My Lord and my God’. The painting was commissioned by a confraternity dedicated to Saint Thomas for their altar in the church of San Francesco at Portogruaro, on the Venetian mainland, on 28 May 1497. Initial payments to Cima da Conegliano are recorded from 1502. In 1504 the altarpiece was reported as nearly ready but deliberately left unfinished by the artist as he had not been paid. It was completed and installed later that year, although Cima was still owed more than half his fee. He eventually resorted to legal action and wasn't paid in full until 1509.
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Thinking of those scribes and elders – they believed they had the truth, didn’t they? It’s pretty difficult when somebody overturns that… But then, all faiths think they have THE truth. For me, Christ (and his teachings) bears testing but remains true in the end. May we hold fast. Still hard though.
Interesting painting, especially that I note it has been transferred to a synthetic panel from poplar…. incredible. I must read about that.
I’m glad the poor guy finally got his money- it is a lovely painting! Going to court is not easy these days either. In these readings it is common for Jesus to slip away into the crowd- He does it a lot. Sometimes we cannot find Him there, and need to slip away from the world ourselves to find those quiet spaces. Now it is Spring and my small private garden is coming to life. It is a perfect place to pray.
Going to court is usually a poor idea. My neighbour pinched a small slice of my garden. I was told to obtain an injunction but the whole thing wasn’t worth the candle….
I would never go to court over a piece of land either, or for any financial reason. Some things are much more important…
It seems that when Jesus is in larger towns and temples that he is attacked and disbelieved. When he is in the more deserted places people come to him and are healed by him. Are the Gospels telling us to go to meet Jesus out in the quiet of prayer?
I think Jesus asks us to go sit with Him in the desert where He leads us to the Father.
Doubting Thomas – an inspiration to many Christians wavering in their faith. When in doubt, it’s worth saying a prayer to him.
It was true then and it is still true today that Jesus and those who truly believe in Him are a threat to those in power. As regards to the painting, I find it a sad witness that the artist was being denied payment by the religious organization that commissioned it and had to resort to legal action in order to finally be paid in full even after, it seems, finishing the painting in good faith. It is a beautiful painting.