I'm so Glad - Kara is back this Sunday!

Message from Kara Laughlin, Seminarian

Hello St. Matthew’s!

I recently returned from a trip to Venice, where I spent a great deal of time inside churches, gazing up at mosaics, while my husband Jim spent a great deal of time gazing up at Power Point presentations about incomprehensible math. We both think we got the better deal.

One of the places I visited was a baptistry in Ravenna, Italy. The Baptistry of the Arians, and many other churches in Ravenna, dates to the 6th century and is tiled in stunning mosaics, many of them glinting with real gold, depicting stories from the Bible, as well as portraits of prophets, disciples, and the evangelists. In the center dome, a controversial depiction of Jesus’ baptism dominates. Jesus is depicted completely naked, and a pagan God of the water stands nearby.

Ravenna was a seat of ‘the Arian controversy,’ which was essentially a difference of opinion about exactly how human and how divine Jesus was, and what that meant for believers. As I think ahead to what is sure to be a year with a lot of high emotion about what our politics and faith call us to, I find it comforting to remember that people have always struggled to agree on the things that are most important to them. When we care deeply about what’s right, it’s natural that we struggle to understand people who see things differently.

In the thick of the Arian controversy, there were those who wanted to blacken the golden murals that I found so breath-taking, because they believed such opulence would distract believers from worship. Many murals did end up destroyed by people who decided they were wrongheaded for whatever reason. But I’m glad that some remain. They remind me that even the people I disagree with have a great deal to offer, and they remind me that even in times of deep division, people continue to express their faith in awe-inspiring and beautiful ways.

You are people who do exactly that, and I'm So Glad you are!

I cannot wait to see you again on Sunday, September 8th!

In peace and joy, Kara