Toledo Remembered
May your Christmas be Happy and Joyful
Some years ago I visited Toledo in central Spain. From that visit I still have two strong memories in my mind. They are both of works of art, which you can see in that city. The first is a painting by El Greco who is particularly associated with Toledo. He painted a famous picture of the town of Toledo and you can still go to the spot where he did it and see the view remarkably unchanged. But that's not the image I have in mind. It is rather of his painting entitled The Burial of Count Orgaz.
This painting was, and is, an altarpiece. It still hangs in the church for which it was intended, although the church has long since ceased to be a place of worship and is now exclusively an exhibition hall for this work of art. You sit before it and as you do so the experience as I remember it is totally overpowering, such is the impression of the painting on those who see it.
The dead Count is cradled in the arms of St Stephen and St Augustine and the feel of the painting is one of great sorrow. We see a man surrounded by his friends and by the saints of God. Above, Christ is pictured in glory receiving the Count into heaven. The whole impression is grand and eloquent. It conveys the importance of the person being buried. All those represented in the painting are benefactors. In this sense it is a period piece from the end of the 16th century, but nonetheless conveys great spiritual presence and awareness.
The other memorable image I took away from Toledo is of the White Virgin, which is a sculpture you may view in Toledo Cathedral. Mary holds the figure of Jesus on her left arm, lifted up high. She is proud and confident as any mother would be with her newborn son. For his part, he puts out his hand and touches her chin. They are both robed in white, hence the title of the piece. Mary wears a crown, the queen of heaven: hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Both of these pieces, the painting and the sculpture, owe a great deal to Catholic and Spanish culture. An English view of Mary draws much more on her role as a mother and we stress her humanity. This may be by reference to her youthfulness: she is an ordinary young woman. Or it may be by the rough and ready nature of the birth of Jesus in a stable, rude and bare. This is emphasised by the many crib scenes that are displayed at this time of the year. There in the stable are sheep and shepherds, the ox and donkey, a good deal of straw and Joseph leaning on a staff and looking perplexed.
We see Mary with our own eyes, whether that be as virgin queen of heaven or young mother with her first newborn baby. Both are true in their way and each is needed if a full and rounded picture of Mary is to be drawn.
I like images of the Madonna and child and have at least three displayed around my study. They hold for me something very precious about being human: it is the bond between parent and child. The marriage earlier this year of our daughter, Carly, was one of the best days of my life. It was a day of great joy and exultation. It filled the hours with celebration and happiness and good feeling. Many other families can say the same. These family moments are very precious to us all.
If that's what the Madonna and child represents for me in human terms, the divine take is that Mary symbolises God and I am the child that she is holding. In this image there is great affirmation of God's love and rejoicing for us all. It is as though she holds each one of us up with pride and pleasure. It is Mary who does this because she represents the feminine in the divine. She is the image of God's lovingcare and concern. When I look on the white Madonna it speaks to me of God's regard. I am reassured that he is as present and real as he was in the stable at the birth of Jesus.
So, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas once again it is important to hold both the humanity and the divinity, which Mary symbolises, together. Don't let's forget she is a woman and mother and she will always hold these things for us. But don't let's forget also that God chose Mary to speak about himself. It is that in her we see that God holds us close and lifted up, such is his joy that we too have come into the world. In Mary we understand who God is and in Mary we understand who we are.
Canon David Eaton, from the December 2008 Parish Magazine