Evangelists of Art: Picture-Sermons for Children — John Shaqi
Evangelists of Art: Picture-Sermons for ChildrenPatrick, James
Religion
Evangelists of Art: Picture-Sermons for Children
Patrick, James
Children's sermons; Christian art and symbolism -- Juvenile literature; Sermons, American
WISHART DISPENSING THE SACRAMENT BEFORE HIS MARTYRDOM
_With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I
suffer_.--LUKE xxii. 15.
Here we have a picture which represents a Communion service, yet a
service which is different in some ways from those which you have been
accustomed to see. The company is a small one, for there are only
about a dozen people present. They are met, not in a church, but in a
rather bare and plainly furnished room. In the centre of the picture
there is a table covered with a white cloth, on which is set a salver
with some bread and three wine cups upon it. Behind the table a man is
standing and speaking, with his hands stretched out over the bread and
the wine before him. He is tall and bearded, and wears a simple dress
of dark colour. His face is pale, and his whole look is full of an
earnest gladness. Beside him sits a richly dressed lady, with a
countenance of rare beauty and goodness. Her eyes are fixed on the
speaker, and she is drinking in eagerly every word that he utters.
Beyond her, at one end of the table, sits a gentleman with a refined
and thoughtful face. He also is leaning forward and listening with the
deepest interest. Opposite him, at the other end of the table, an old
man is sitting very erect, with one hand resting on a staff, and the
other grasping the arm of his chair. He too is gazing steadfastly at
the man who speaks. Beside the old man is a woman, and on her knee is
a little child who is playing with one of the pieces of bread on the
table. At the side of the table next us there is a chair with a
soldier's round shield set against it and a sword lying upon it. A
sweet-faced little girl is leaning over the chair and clasping her arms
round the hilt of the sword. She is another eager listener, and she
seems to understand all that is being said. Behind her stands the man
to whom the sword and the shield belong. Beyond them is another man
whose head is bowed down upon the back of the gentleman's chair, and
who appears to be hiding his face in sorrow. At the further side of
the table are two or three men. Above them a curtain hangs from the
roof. The only other bit of ornament in the room is a tall vase which
stands on the floor in front of the table. Behind the speaker there is
an open doorway, guarded by a soldier with a steel cap on his head.
You will ask when and where this Communion service took place, and who
the people in the picture are.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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