The Chair Before the Artist

The second reading for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time , 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, reminds me of a reflection given by Erin Obrien on The Chair of Hope. I came across the chair and her reflection as I strolled through the Spanish Village Art Center at San Diego’s Balboa Park. In her reflection, she explains that the “battered chair was abandoned”. After seeing it for some days, she decided “to pour love and attention into the chair.” As I read her words, I thought about how God sees us in our brokenness, weakness, and complete nothingness. 

The words “before God” in today’s second reading can be understood in two ways. The first way to understand “before God” is prior to knowing God, or who and what we are before encountering Him, His love, and His mercy. On its own, the chair is nothing; it can do nothing on its own; it is completely powerless. However, once it encounters the artist, love and attention are poured into the chair. In the same way, God does this with us -- He pours His love into our lives.

The second way to understand “before God” is in terms of location, or where we are relative to God. Although God is always pouring out His love, we may feel abandoned by God because we are turned away from Him and incapable of seeing or comprehending what He is doing in our lives. As an evangelist, part of God's invitation to us is to bring the chair before God the Artist. After all, someone needed to bring out their old chair into the street for Erin Obrien to begin the work of art!