This week I had the blessing of attending the annual Theological Symposium at Concordia Seminary. It’s a wonderful few days of reuniting with classmates, professors and pastors from around the country. The theme this week was “Whatever is Lovely: The Role of Beauty in Theology and Ministry.”
Pastor David Schmidtt introduced the concept with the story of Jesus and the woman with the perfume. She finds Jesus inside with the disciples and bathes his feet and hair in sweet smelling fragrance. The disciples frown upon this act. They voice an objection saying, “The perfume would have been better spent going to the poor.” Jesus has the opposite reaction. He lauds the woman for this beautiful act of faith.
Paul says “Whatever is lovely, think of these things.” Beauty is not an ornament to the Christian faith but central. The cross looked barbaric and ugly. But Christ’s love for us that led him there makes the cross a hidden beauty. Even the death of our love ones can look ugly on the outside, but faith makes it beautiful. We await the joy of the resurrection. God calls us to look for the beauty of God, in creation and in his Son, Jesus.
