ArtWay

Beauty is not pasted over suffering but grows out of it—like the proverbial shoot from parched ground. Bruce Herman

Art and the Church -> Materials for Use in Churches

Advent - Until He Comes and Barbara de Reus

 
Image: Remember Me by Barbara de Reus Kamma
 
Lyrics and music: Until He Comes by Peter La Grand
 
 
 
I am one who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me; But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth, for the Lord will not reject for ever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Lamentations 3 (NRSV)
 
*******
 
Until He comes
 

I have sought the darkness
I have been unwise
Since I was young I have hungered
for the sinful life
And when you called I ran from you
Down every easy road
My God have you forsaken me?
Is it too late for my soul?

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy love

I will wait on the Lord
Until He comes to make me whole
His promise is my hope
His promise is my hope

I have known affliction
Cried rivers from my eyes
I have longed for death to come
To still my worried mind

I will wait quietly for the one I seek
He will show compassion as He brings me grief
 
I will wait on the Lord
Until He comes to make me whole
His promise is my hope
His promise is my hope
 
On the CD Until He Comes, 2008, by Ordinary Time
 
 
********
 
Barbara de Reus Kamma: Remember Me, 1992, zeemleer en schroot, 140 x 75 cm.
 
Barbara de Reus Kamma (1933-2014) grew up in New Guinea. During her childhood war broke out and years in concentration camps followed. She lives in the Netherlands since1946. Her past may be the key to her work. She prefers to use weather-beaten, discarded, used and worn materials. 'The materials need to have gone through something. By including them in artworks I give them a second life, a form of survival. Human beings have a central place in most of my work: alone or together, in joy or sorrow, strong or powerless... and how one survives.' Her later work, since 1995, is filled with stillness and space.
 
The song Until He Comes is based on Lamentations 3.
 
Ordinary Time is a band made up Ben Keyes (guitar, piano, mandolin), Peter La Grand (guitar, banjo, dobro), and Jill McFadden (guitar, violin). All three members sing, taking turns on melody and harmony. The music ranges from bluegrass tinged Americana to straightforward sacred harp hymn arrangements. The band met in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they were all studying Christianity & the Arts at Regent College. Ordinary Time released their third album, At the Table, in December 2009.
 
ArtWay Visual Meditation August 8, 2010