God is nigh - Angelus by Millet

It has been bad and worse news each day. I was looking at this picture (Angelus by Millet) last night. Months back I came upon a commentary and reflection in the local Chinese newspaper (it was a great pity I did not keep a copy of it).

The painting depicts a man and a woman standing in a field. They are farmers. He holds his cap reverently as he stands with bowed head, and she in a white cap and long blue apron over her dress clasps her hands as a prayerful look sets her face. They pause in prayer near the end of the work day. At the woman's feet is a basket of potatoes, and at her far side rests a wheelbarrow full of empty sacks. At the side of the man is a pitchfork spiked upright in the ground. The breaking clouds are blushed with light as birds flit in the twilight. The viewer can almost hear the bells ringing in the spire of the church in the distant right of the painting.

Towards evening, as the day and a day of hard work are ending, having only harvested a basket of potatoes, with the sun setting and the sound of church bell ringing in the air, this painting helps to remind me to put my trust in the Lord.

A song we used to sing at the end of a session of Girl Guide gathering durng school day:

Thanks and praise, for our day, 'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, 'Neath the sky. As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

God is nigh.