In accordance with Christian doctrine, the ascension of Christ happened forty days after His resurrection, but until that time He walked the earth and appeared to His disciples. Those were the last days of Christ among humans, so they are especially important and are described by all the evangelists, although mostly by John the Evangelist. He writes about the appearance to Mary Magdalene and to the disciple sat the Sea of ??Galilee. Jesus also appeared to Luke and Cleopas on their way to Emmaus on the first day after the Resurrection.
Jesus came to His disciples always unexpectedly. He appeared in a closed room, but then disappeared and left the disciples baffled. The border between His presence and absence now is obliterated – nobody can say that He is here, but also nobody can say that He is not here anymore, so He is nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Jesus appears in a new, transfigured body, which could take any guise and often the disciples do not recognize Him, as if they don’t see Him among them. In the 21stCantoof «Purgatory», Dante felt this very well. Luce and Cleopason their way to Emmaus didn’t recognize Christ, because their eyes were «closed». Dante compares this moment with that, in which he and Virgil met a shadow of the Roman poet Papinius Statius. When it got closer: «we didn’t see him, he addressed us first». With Luce and Cleopas it was the same: they drew attention to Christ only when He started to speak to them, despite the fact they were walking side by side.InJohn21 it is also mentioned that the disciples didn’t recognize Christ, so His appearance could be different from usual for the disciples and there is ascertain sense in this, because after death and redemption humans can’t see Christ in His usual terrestrial body anymore. It’s very important to be able to recognize Him in humans, because He is everywhere and therefore in every one of us.
The last days of Christ among humans was not just a time of His farewell with His disciples, but also a period of instructions and promises, not only for them, but for all humanity.
The submitted works disclose the subjects of the New Testament, which finish the Gospel, namely from the Resurrection and revelation to his disciples and followers until the Ascension.
Ivanka Demchuk
You can visit the exhibition of paintings by Ivanka Demchuk from 3 to 29 June in te Contemporary sacred art Gallery ICONART at 26 Virmenska Str., Lviv, 79008, Ukraine from 12am - 7 pm every day except Monday.