Art Reading Scripture

How Well We Go Together National Gallery of Denmark Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne 1589-1662

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

My favorite wedding saying from the Bible comes from Ecclesiastes 4:7-8. Marriage is rewarding work we do together. In marriage one may fall, or even fail, yet the other lifts the fallen one up. For our wedding someone gave us a plague that said, "A Marriage is the Union of Two Good Forgivers." And yes, two keep warm together. Two also support and defend each other. In marriage, the cord of faith makes the union stronger. Much the same might apply to a good friendship, a good partnership, and many relationships that are not marriage. The point is in this life where we fall, when life turns cold or hostile, or when we need an advocate, we need each other, another, and faith strengthens what we need. Together is rewarding, filled with grace, intimacy, and advocacy. With faith, "Blest be the tie that binds."

Julie and I saw this painting in Copenhagen and immediately responded to it. We smiled with each other, "How Well We Go Together." So many paintings from the 1600's and the surrounding centuries were serious. They told Biblical stories, stories from Greek and Roman mythology, or they taught or admonished morality. Portraits were for honor and remembrance or maybe vanity. Maybe a portrait could have been sent over great distances for courtship purposes. (What does the prince or princess look like?) "How Well We Go Together" caught our eye because it was whimsical, seemingly not serious. The female owl has a mouse hanging from her chest. (Dinner?) The male owl, otherwise known for good eyesight, needs spectacles. And yet, how well it depicts a good relationship, and the saying of Ecclesiastes. Skating across the ice one might fall. After a skate one might need warming. But more, "How Well We Go Together" communicates playfulness rather than merely the seriousness of toil, or parenting, or conflict resolution, or financial matters.

We loved the title too: "How Well We Go Together." We go together well. We are compatible. We go, rather than are stuck in a stagnant place. We go together, not alone or our singly own separate ways. We go together well, in wellness, happiness, steadiness, and love. The artist could have painted a human couple skating or engaged in some other activity of life to say the same thing. We may have thought it nice and passed it by. The lighthearted image of owls skating on ice both made us smile and smile with each other.

Good relationships tend to the seriousness of life. We do need each other in the toiling and the sometimes cold thin ice of this world. Good relationships need playfulness, whimsy, and joy. Some laughter at our own failings or weakness sets things in perspective. Some warmth when we come in from the cold tells us we are loved. The strength the other offers to what we lack gives assurance and comfort. Faith binds us together in the wellness of God who makes all things one, together.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer