Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for projection

• high res image file to share on social media

• A PDF of the artist's statement & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit Info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

FROM THE ARTIST:

Deutero-Isaiah addresses a community that had been in exile for a while and had probably resigned themselves to their fate. But the prophet has the temerity to proclaim that God still has something in store and asks if they can “perceive” what it is. That word “perceive” would not let go of me. The Hebrew word can be translated as “know” or even “discern.” Christian churches don’t talk about this often, but one way ancient Israelite communities discerned God’s direction was through divination.

The water imagery in this text is strong and shows up in contrasts (“rivers in the desert” and “waters in the wilderness”). The Holy One is making something out of nothing, providing life-sustaining water to a thirsty nation as God’s “new thing” “springs” forth. It’s also interesting to me that water itself is a tool of divination. To the extent the prophet is inviting the community to “discern” what God is doing, I was reminded of the practice of scrying or “seeing”—looking into a reflective surface like water to get clarity on what Spirit might be saying.

Another translation of “perceive” is “feel.” Here I depict someone placing their hand in the water of God’s provision and direction. Is it God’s hand manipulating the water to send it forth, or is it the hand of someone trying to know/feel/discern the water? A sudden onset of water (like a flood or deluge) can be terrifying, but in this case water is coming to the rescue. What might be scary right now, but is actually coming to save us? How do the waters help us see God and ourselves? By claiming rest, what can we discern in the stillness when we divest from the cycle of fear and turn to the water?

—Rev. T. Denise Anderson