A Learning Life
By Ana Mullan
(From the January - March 2021 issue of VOX)
A few years ago, I was happily surprised when my husband took me to Italy. Having been raised by an Italian family, I had always wanted to visit some part of that country. Someone had recommended we to go to Tuscany and we stayed in the beautiful city of Siena, not too far from Florence. We wanted to be in a quieter place but at the same time to have the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of the Medici. I was interested to see the famous statute of David by Michelangelo. I had seen it in books but now I would have the opportunity to admire it in person.
As we entered the room of the Galleria dell’Accademia that contained different works by the Italian artist, we were surprised to see that the first sculptures on display were the half finished ones. Beautiful pieces of marble showed the beginning of some work that was left unfinished though it was not clear why. As we walked to the end of the room there was the masterpiece: David. I had never realised how big it is and how much precision has gone into the carving of it. It was hard to believe, for me, that a human being could have such power of observation and such skill. Though I was deeply impressed with the statue, I was even more impressed that the unfinished work was also on display.
The intention seemed to be to show that to become Michelangelo took a lot of work, hours of training under a maestro with lots of mistakes and frustrations. A famous phrase attributed to him is: “Ancora Imparo” which means: “I’m still learning”.
“All of life is about learning; we never arrive, at least not on this side of eternity.”
All of life is about learning; we never arrive, at least not on this side of eternity. During the challenging times brought by the pandemic, I came to realise that at times as a Jesus follower, I can be a reluctant learner. I like the idea of following him but always knowing what is going to lie ahead, what the journey will look like.
It’s a bit like saying: give me the map so I can decide which areas I want to go to and which to avoid. I want to make sure that I don’t end up being too uncomfortable, that I am prepared for any eventuality and that by doing this, I know that God is with me. In my finite way of thinking He can only be in the places where things are going more or less ok.
As I was putting these thoughts together it helped me to remember that there have been loads of other people before me who also had to learn how to follow God in far more difficult circumstances than mine. This morning, I listened to a speaker refer to some verses from the book of Daniel, a book in what is called the Old Testament. The speaker was referring to a story that, for children and adults who have attended evangelical churches, is quite familiar. It is dramatic, so children really enjoy listening to it.
Daniel and his friends, committed worshippers of the God of Israel, had been taken from their homeland and were in exile in Babylon. Though they cooperated in many aspects of Babylonian life, they refused to worship their gods and in particular a gold statue set up by the king. The king got so angry with Daniel’s three friends that they ended up being thrown into a furnace. However in the flames a fourth man appeared who saved the three friends from the fire, to the amazement of the king and of the rest of the court.
The speaker then asked: where was God? His reply was: “He was in the furnace”. Daniel’s friends didn’t believe that God was only in the pleasant places. They were in exile, not in their own land; they had no temple to go to for worship and offering sacrifices. So, where were they going to find God? Well, He was always there, even when they were deprived of all the things that they considered “worship.”
God entered the furnace; He entered their difficulties. They held onto His word, they learnt that what He said mattered more than their circumstances. They found Him even though they couldn’t do what they were used to nor have the place of worship that was central to their Jewish faith.
2020 brought a lot of adjustments to make for people who want to worship and follow God. Much of what we were used to was not available and we don’t know what 2021 will look like. So where is God? Well, I believe He is present in our “furnace”, in the strange and unexpected circumstances. He is present because He is not a God who keeps His distance.
Remember the words of Jesus? “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” The availability of God is not affected by place, time or space. It is always at hand. Jesus showed us how we can find God and His activity in everything that we do, wherever we are and whatever we are facing. For Jesus, God the Father was always near.
Even when He was on the cross and in His humanity cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus also had to learn obedience so he could become the source of salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9). God was there as he said: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”. And God intervened in his own time and brought forward the most wonderful historical event: the resurrection and the victory of God.
To become Michelangelo meant making a lot of mistakes, leaving unfinished pieces of marble. To produce the statute of David took many hours of work, of chipping away pieces of marble, to get rid off parts that were unnecessary. For me, following Jesus is a bit like that. He is the master, He knows what He is doing and I know He wants to make a masterpiece of me though, at times, it might not be exactly in the way I would choose.
By the entrance door of our apartment hangs a plaque that my children gave me; it reads, “ANCORA IMPARO”, and reminds me that I am still a learner.
Ana Mullan is from Argentina but has lived in Ireland for 35 years, the last 18 in Dublin. She is an artist, a spiritual director, retreat facilitator and an enthusiastic grandmother.
