At the Gilcrease Museum there is a wonderful exhibit of the works of Norman Rockwell. Those of us of more than tender years may remember how Rockwell's paintings were widely seen, often on the cover of Saturday Evening Post magazine. His paintings captured in a unique way the very best of humanity and of American society back in the day. What made his work so special was his absolute refusal to use professional models. All his paintings are of real people in real life situations, and most all manage to bring a smile, a chuckle, an awww, or a few tears. A number of people who appeared in Rockwell's paintings as infants or children have served in mature years as docents at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Arlington, Vermont.
In one interview about his creativity, Rockwell commented that all his creativity was as nothing in comparison to the creativity of God. In the Catholic tradition, we speak of Trinity as a mystery and, despite our best efforts at analogies of shamrocks, spinning wheels, and sunrays, we are left with the unexplainable. I believe we are better to speak, like Rockwell, about creativity. God the Father is continually involved in the ongoing creation of the universe and of life. God the Son continually redeems us back to being the persons we were meant to be. God the Spirit supports and sustains us throughout our life's journey. All of this happens because God is love, and so God's essence is in self-giving. Love flowing out amongst the Persons of the Trinity. Self-giving we see in creation and the gift of life. Self-giving in Christ on the Cross, showing us how much God love us. Self-giving when we receive Him at our altar under the appearances of bread and wine.
We may also speak of God the Father perfectly imaged in the Son, and the Son becoming imaged in use through the work of the Spirit. We as Christians, then, live constantly in trinitarian life. We pour out our creativity in loving and serving others. Like Rockwell, we creatively paint the stories of our lives. When it is all over but the shouting, what will your picture look like?
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