Central Committee text on the sculpture “Invitation/Decalogue”
Rev. Theodore Gill, 31 August 2009, Ecumenical Centre, Geneva
The year 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, a 16th century Reformer from France who made his greatest impact here in Geneva. An immigrant himself, he encouraged Geneva to become a haven for refugees.
One of the temporary exhibits visiting Geneva is this gleaming sculpture now on the lawn of the Ecumenical Centre, ten gold-coloured pillars rising from the ground like ten fingers of God ranged in a circle of care.
The sculpture is the work of the Romanian artist Liviu Mocan. Its title is “Invitation / Decalogue”, and the artist has also given it the sub-title “God’s Hands”. Its exhibition in Geneva is sponsored by a local committee chaired by Jonathan Tame. During the month of July, the artwork stood in the Parc des Bastion near Geneva’s Reformation Monument. It was transferred here a month ago, and in mid-September it will move to another part of the canton for a longer stay on the grounds of a parish church.
John Calvin came to Geneva in 1536, to a city-state recently liberated from the rule of a prince-bishop. There was disagreement as to how the city should be governed. Calvin had his own opinion, and this was not always appreciated. Shortly after his initial arrival, he was forced into exile again, in Strasbourg for two years. But Geneva’s authorities came to realize that they needed a person of Calvin’s vision and expertise. Trained as a lawyer, he was coming to be known as one of the rising theologians of the Reformation.
So John Calvin returned to Geneva and agreed to write a constitution for the church here, and a reformed liturgy, and a catechism for youth – and also, a constitution for the city of Geneva that remained the law of this locality for three hundred years.
In all his works – on church and society – Calvin saw the 10 Commandments as central to the maintenance of order and the praise of God. They were, he wrote “not something to bind [our] consciences with a curse, but to shake off [our] sluggishness, by repeatedly urging [us onward], and to pinch [us] awake to [our] imperfections”. The Commandments serve three purposes, he taught: to remind us of our failure to live according to God’s perfect law, to admonish sinners to change their ways, and – for believers – to provide a pattern of righteous living. And Calvin continued, “It is easy to fathom the direction of all these things, namely, to teach love.”
A great believer in “good and decent order”, as recommended by the Apostle Paul, John Calvin warned that “social disorder is first and foremost disdain for the poor and oppression of the weak”.
Liviu Mocan calls his sculpture an invitation, and he leaves us free to provide our own interpretations of its form. He does point out that when one stands outside the circle, the outer face of each standing figure appears rough, sharp in places, somewhat threatening. The Commandments can seem that way, yet their sharp edges can shear away attitudes and practices that are inappropriate to obedience and fellowship. Once one has passed inside the circle that is formed by these “hands of God”, one finds a space for community, a shelter, protection from all that threatens and harms. The sculptor also points out that the shiny surface of each form reflects light patterns from its neighbours.
Some people who have viewed the sculpture find in it the themes of Relationship, Reflection, Freedom and Hope. Within these categories we might see aspects of “ecumenical space”, spiritual fellowship, Christian social ethics and the prospect of a world transformed by God’s grace.
The sculpture is manufactured in fiberglass and covered in gold leaf. As one commentator has said: “This interactive sculpture will invite visitors to walk in and out of the circle of pillars, to touch the gold, to sit on the small seat cut into each pillar, and to reflect on the artwork and the ideas that inspired it. At one level, the sculpture is a study on the nature and purpose of law in society: to create a space for freedom and human flourishing, while providing protection and security. At another level, the work of art speaks of the universal human quest for peace and spiritual well-being.”
[Jonathan Tame, “Description of the project”]
So – you are invited to see the sculpture close-up, to interact with it and to hear participants in this central committee meeting recite the 10 Commandments in ten different languages… [The Commandments are spoken in Samoan, Korean, German, Mizo, Swahili, French, Norwegian, Armenian, Spanish and Arabic.]
And to God be glory in the highest! Amen.
Persona 