Lent: Everlasting

Many years ago an artist went to see Leonardo da Vinci for help with his paintings.

Although he made a decent living with the support of his patrons, the artist was frustrated with the quality of the paintings he made. They were detailed, they were accurate, they were marvels of composition. So when he came to the master artist for guidance, da Vinci was surprised.

"What is wrong with them?" da Vinci asked.

"They are completely forgettable," the artist said. "They are pleasant to look at, but they are forgettable. I made one for my patron that took me six months to create, and he lavished me with praise for it, then he had it hung in his privy and even I can't remember what it looked like."

"Ah," said da Vinci at last. "I understand. They are not for everlasting."

The younger artist looked confused, so da Vinci held up his hand for the other man to see. The hair on its back was gray, and the skin itself was so thin that the younger artist could see the veins within. The hand was frail and weary with years, and the younger man understood  that the master artist had only a few winters left. 

"The body is weak and decays," da Vinci said, "but the soul endures. The eyes dim, but the heart is made for eternity and longs to walk there. It yearns not for a different world, nor even a better one; but for this one to be realized properly, so that love ages gracefully and does not grow cold, so the mind remains as keen in old age as it was in youth, and so tears bring deliverance and healing. and conflict begets understanding and reconciliation rather than fighting. The spirit understand that redemption is coming, but the flesh cannot conceive it, and so life becomes fleeting and ephemeral."

He looked at his young acquaintance.

"Let your art reveal the longing of the soul and its faith that the world's redemption will one day be complete," he said, "and your work will be for everlasting."