You know the story. The vain Emperor is tricked into thinking he has been given the most exquisite clothing when, in reality, he is parading through town naked. It took a child in the crowd stating the obvious for everyone to come out of the fog of fear and recognize that the Emperor had no clothes.
Reflecting on this story, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel to my experience of giving an announcement in church this past Sunday. It was a moment that made me think about the importance of seeing things as they truly are and the help we all need to do that.
I was wearing sunglasses as a prop for the announcement I was giving.
I began by saying, “I need some help. Has anyone seen my sunglasses?” As I looked around for a response, I could tell the audience was hesitant. Perhaps they wondered If I really needed help. I asked again If anyone had seen my sunglasses. And then came the response I was looking for. A young child shouted, loud and clear for all to hear, “They are on your head.” I took them off in mock surprise, thanked them, and received an equally loud, polite “You’re welcome!”
The audience laughed at the interaction, and I made my point that we often need help from others to see things right in front of us or, in my case, on top of our head.
What was my announcement? I was inviting our church to learn to pray using art through the practice of Visio Divina. The spiritual exercise of Visio Divina(Holy Seeing) helps us use our sanctified imagination to perceive and explore truth with a wholeness of heart and mind.
We will be able to do that in Annapolis on Saturday, August 24th, at 4 p.m. Two local artists created several beautiful works of art hanging in the church space that we will use for our Visio Divina. One of the works is featured in the invitation pictured. You can let me know you’re coming here. I hope to see my local friends, and I will provide some additional resources during our time.