By Pr. Rich Futrell
Note: The paintings in this article are not yet finished, and so you are seeing them in their draft form. You only see part of the Hodegetria painting.
Last year, during a couple of Elders’ meetings, I discussed the possibility of having artwork in our church chancel that would boldly proclaim our salvation in Christ. And so the elders took my suggestion and put it our 2012 budget. Last autumn, our Voters’ Assembly approved that budget. So, here we are, many months later. On August 19th, we will unveil the paintings and ask for God’s blessing that such artwork will serve His Church in a virtuous way.
Yet, other than a passing mention during a couple of sermons, and an article on our church’s website [click here to see the older article], putting artwork in the chancel has been something you may have not heard about before. That’s why I’m writing this article. I want to share with you why such artwork is not only something theologically sound but also fully Lutheran.
From the beginning, Lutheran churches have always had beautiful artwork adorning their chancels. This has always been the case until about the last 150 years or so. This was partly the result of a movement called “Pietism,” which stressed feelings over doctrine, the means of grace, and artwork in our churches. Yet, historically, we Lutherans have not only considered such artwork not to be wrong but even something worthwhile to have in our churches! The issue has never been whether we should have art or not, but what the artwork confesses.
And so I wanted to beautify our chancel–but also confess something powerful through such art. And so I began to research. The artwork that Christians have used from the beginning of the New Testament Church intrigued me the most. The first Christians also beautified their worship spaces, including the caves and catacombs where they hid from persecution. Two pieces of artwork emerged as the oldest in the New Testament Church: The Hodegetria and the Pantokrator.
These two pieces of art are so old that they still are called by their original Greek names. Hodegetria means, “She who points the way.” 
It’s a piece of art with the Virgin Mary pointing to the infant Jesus as our Salvation. By depicting both Mary and Jesus, the painting confesses Christ’s incarnation, that Jesus became a real person, so He could live and die for our salvation.
If we have no incarnation, we have no salvation (that’s why in Luther’s day, Lutherans used to bow during the incarnation part of the Creed). Although Jesus is but an infant in the painting, he appears older. This testifies to His divine wisdom that He is also God. In the painting, we are to notice that Mary’s hands are pointing to Jesus, to show that it’s all about Him.
The Hodegetria will be placed to the left of the cross. Since we read from left to right, this puts the incarnation as taking place, in time, before the crucifixion.
With the cross in the center, the painting to the right of the cross will be the Pantokrator. Pantokrator means “all-powerful,” and it’s a painting of Jesus looking all-powerful. It represents Jesus returning in glory and power on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.
So, through both artwork and architecture, our chancel will soon confess Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, and second coming. In other words, our artwork will now confess more fully the salvation we have in Christ.
These two paintings can also be objects of meditation when you come to receive Jesus in His body and blood during the Lord’s Supper. They can also help you prepare for worship as you ponder your salvation before the Divine Service.
I have some other thoughts about what else we can do using art–but that’s for another time! In the mean time, may the artwork point you to the fullness of salvation that you have in Christ Jesus. Amen.
