May 2007 - Vol. 8

Gerard Kavanagh, born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, studied painting at the National College of Art and Design. He received his Masters in Art History at Trinity College in Dublin. He has been an active member of Nazareth Community in Dublin for the past ten years. 

Some time ago, John Keating, the presiding elder of The Servants of the Word, spoke about a prophetic word which he believed the Lord was speaking to the communities in The Sword of the Spirit. He said that this was a time of grace for taking new spiritual ground or territory in our lives. The Lord wanted us to fight spiritually for this territory [with the spiritual weapons St. Paul the Apostles mentions in Ephesians 6), and the Lord himself would fight with us to help us achieve spiritual victory in our lives. John encouraged us to meditate on the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament,  especially chapters 13 and 14, which describe how the people of Israel were to prepare themselves for taking possession of the Promised Land. Our community took this prophetic word to heart and began to apply the spiritual lessons of the Biblical texts in a series of community presentations and reflections.  It was during this period of meditation and study that I began the painting, entitled "Nowhere Land". 

My work on "Nowhere Land"
This painting [shown above] depicts the Chosen People wandering on the borders of the Promised Land. God has instructed them to take the land, but they have succumbed to the sins of presumption and despair. They respond that they cannot take the land because it is already occupied by a people stronger than themselves. They doubt the Lord's word to them. The consequence of their unbelief results in their wandering in the desert for forty years. The Lord tells them that they will never enter the Promised Land. They will die in the desert.  Only in time will their children enter if they obey the Lord. 

This study gave me an insight into what happens to us when we disobey God's word. We end up wandering endlessly and aimlessly in a nowhere land - a land of doubt.  The Promised Land for the Christian people primarily involves our being in a relationship with the Lord and dwelling with him in his kingdom.  The taking of this land involves the conquest of self and sin in our lives and growth in holiness and virtue.