A Sermon from an Old Dusty Painting

Don't act brand new. You all have seen this picture before. Whether on your Granny's wall in the den, on the church fan, or in the index section of that beat up Bible that sits in the back window of yo momma's Buick, you know this picture. This picture hung in my house for many years right beside the thermostat. This hanging dustbucket(we never cleaned it) spooked the hell out of me whenever I glanced at it. I always wondered why this picture was in every African-American household I entered. Is this what everybody hides their safe with? That question burned in me for years until now.

The Light of the World (1853–54) is an allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt representing the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating Revelation 3:20. According to Hunt: "I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be by Divine command, and not simply as a good subject." The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore be opened only from the inside, representing "the obstinately shut mind". Hunt, 50 years after painting it, felt he had to explain the symbolism. (Wikipedia)

 

 

Rev. Gardner Taylor, who is regarded to many as the greatest living preacher, takes a moment to explain what this picture really means. The interpretation really astounded me. All these years, this dusty picture actually meant something. Art imitating life, I suppose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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