Engaging the Imagination

Imagination is the essential means, humanly speaking, by which faith becomes possible.

Edward Robinson, The Language of Mystery

In the Theological and Educational Foundations Paper for Seasons of the Spirit, the first affirmation is an invitation "to explore the meaning and mystery in the Bible through the lectionary." Further, these resources will "encourage children, youth, and adults to enter imaginatively into scripture, experiencing the message that transcends the printed words." Later in the same document, the fourth affirmation encourages us to nurture faith "by engaging the imagination through the Bible, tradition, science, technology, and the arts." One way that Seasons attempts to fulfill that affirmation is by providing "visual and other creative arts to form a pool of images for all to draw upon."

But what is it that imagination does for us as we study, interpret, or meditate on scripture? Imagination...

  • gives us ways to ponder new possibilities
  • sets us on a path to seek hope
  • helps us discover new meanings
  • encourages us to see, hear, touch, smell, and even taste something in a new way
  • places us where we can encounter mystery

It is our imagination that propels us toward the God of all creation. When we bring this gift of imagination to the scripture, it turns ever so slightly in order that it is new for us once more. Without imagination the message on the printed page is little more than ink and paper. Through our imagination, we can step into the world of New Testament Palestine or walk along the mountainous paths as the shepherd takes the sheep to still waters. Our imagination, fired by God’s Spirit, gives us a glimpse of God’s own vision and hope for all creation. Without God’s gift of imagination to each of us we would be stuck in the mire of each day, unable to look ahead or behind us with awe and wonder.

Easy access to our imagination too often disappears as we mature so that by adulthood we consider reality and facts the only valid measure of life. The poets and other artists around us manage to hold on to their imaginations. Some of us do too, but we shelter our use of it so much that others don’t know it’s there. In order to regain the use of our imagination, we have to bring it out into the open and use it. Like a muscle, when it is not exercised, the imagination withers and grows weak. Like playing a musical instrument, the imagination needs practice to grow and flourish.

Before you engage your imagination, think about the ways that our imagination is brought forth and made lively.

  • Our imagination may be nudged when we observe or participate in any of the arts: literature, music, visual arts, or dance.
  • Our imagination can be nourished when we play.
  • Our imagination can be brought forth in meditation and prayer, particularly if we allow time for silence.
  • Our imagination can be nurtured as we serve others.
  • Our imagination can be heightened when we spend time with children, allowing their imaginations to feed our own.
  • Our imagination can also be fed when we allow artists to help us see as they see.

As the leader of a group or congregation engaged in studying the Bible with the aid of Seasons of the Spirit materials, you are also the leader in fostering the use of imagination to those in your group. To exercise that leadership, begin by spending time nurturing your own imagination, making it possible to enter into the mystery of God’s creation and God’s realm.

Imagination at work

Begin now to nourish your imagination. Select an activity below to do today.

  • Get the common poster for Advent-Christmas-Epiphany 2003/04, Magnificat, by Judeth Pekala Hawkins. It is also in Behold. Place it flat on a table or the floor. Walk around it and gaze at it from many angles. What is this person in it saying to you as you move around the poster? How does the message change as you move from the bottom of the poster to the top? From side to side?

    As you do this, you are trying out your imagination by looking at a work of art from angles that you couldn’t were it displayed in a gallery. Trying out new perspectives prompts our imagination to take hold.

     
  • Sit in front of Magnificat with a child. Close your eyes and try to erase the image of the poster from your mind. Ask the child to describe the picture to you and listen carefully. What does the child see? How does the child name what she or he sees? What does the tone of the child’s voice tell you about the picture? Seeing the art piece through the eyes of a child can open your eyes to new sights. Our imagination allows us to sit on the margin between reality and mystery and watch and listen.

     
  • Display the poster on a wall. Stand in front of it and mirror the pose of the person there. What words come naturally to you in this pose?

    Our imagination comes into play not only through what we imagine, but also through how we move. Allow your imagination to grow as you dare to move into new ways of standing, walking, sitting, and resting.

     
  • Gaze at Magnificat. As you do so, imagine the person in bright sunshine. How does the change of setting change the figure in the art? Place the person in other settings, such as a field of wildflowers or a busy city street, to see what happens then.

    Our imagination helps us change the background of life and substitute an alternative. Without this part of our imagination, we have no hope in God’s future for all creation.

     
  • Place Magnificat where you can sit comfortably and gaze upon it. Slowly look at each part of the picture. Take note of the colours and the use of light and dark. What is included in the picture? What is not? What motions do the lines (solid and broken) of the picture suggest? What gives depth to the picture? What kind of message without words does this picture give you? If the picture were untitled, what would you call it?

    Reading a painting or sculpture in this way takes us into it deeper and deeper. This depth feeds our imagination and grows our ability to enter into the mystery of the work of art.

Choose another activity tomorrow. Repeat the same activity the next day, if you like, or select a new one. Devise your own activity to activate your imagination another day. Keep your imagination alive. Cherish this gift from God. Nurture it in others as you lead and as you live.

Carol Wehrheim is the author of Getting It Together: Spiritual Practices for Faith, Family, and Work. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
 
 
 
 


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