‘Many Eyes’ was painted by Henry, aged 9 (2018), an Eastern Aranda and Wangkangurru boy. About his painting, he said:
It’s about how there is one God and there are lots of people … we are all different – that’s a good thing – because we can all see different parts of God and share that with each other … That way we can all learn from each other and love God at the same time.
Here is what some other people see in Henry’s artwork. What do you see?
Resource: ‘Many Eyes’ scripted devotion: word | standard ppt | widescreen ppt
There are ‘many eyes’ surrounding the cross. There are many views of what reconciliation is. There are many people who have walked and journeyed before us. There are many things that are yet to be done. There are many people who are needed to get these things done.
Through Christ’s death and resurrection we have been reconciled with God. This is a gift of grace. We are called now to be reconciled with each other.
Many coloured dots make up the cross, representing the many different journeys of reconciliation, side-by-side, together. There are no straight or uniform pathways, however. Each journey is unique. Reconciliation is complex.
The blue palette represents all peoples under the sky, and the rivers which are their intersecting stories.
The flowing shades of blue are the river and the sea, which meet at the centre of the cross. In baptism we each receive personal reconciliation with Christ at the heart of the cross. Here we find our common identity as children of God.
God’s love for every one of us is represented by the eye at the centre of the cross. He watches over every one of us as we come and as we go, ever calling us back to himself, the only place where we will find true and lasting reconciliation.
There are ‘many eyes’ watching us from outside the cross. What do they see? – how we treat each other, how we listen to each other, how we respect each other, how we bless each other. What is our witness of reconciliation to them?