Visio Divina—Rainbow Hands with Vesper Stamper [Eps 25]
Hands tell a lifetime of stories. So does art. Using a piece called Rainbow Hands from the book A Cloud of Outrageous Blue by Vesper Stamper, I lead a 10-minute visio divina exercise.
Visio divina means “divine seeing” in Latin, as we gaze upon a work of art and experience God’s presence through it.
Perhaps you have tried lectio divina, listening to a scripture passage and letting it wash over you as you pay attention to the words or phrases that strike you. Then you might God what he is saying to you through them. I offered a lectio divina with a liturgy in Episode 15 called Say Your Suffering and Bless It, and then Josh Banner offered one on Phillipians 3:10 for Episode 19.
We all connect with God in different ways. I experience him through movement, sometimes through nature, words, music, and many times, through art.
Visio divina engages the eye and the imagination. It can be done with a piece of art, religious or not, or even a leaf or landscape you discover outside. If you are visual, as so many of us are today, then visio divina can be a refreshing way to gaze upon the presence of God. It’s been said of lectio divina, that instead of you reading the text, the text reads you. In visio divina, instead of you seeing the art, the art reads or sees you.
Artist Tim Mooney says of visio divina: "It invites us to be seen, addressed, surprised, and transformed by God who is never limited or tied to any image, but speaks through them.”
Access an image of Rainbow Hands and a transcription of the meditation here.
Find Vesper's work at VesperStamper.com and on Instagram.
Purchase a print of Rainbow Hands here.
Book giveaway of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue through October 30!
Check out Parts 1 and 2 of the interview with Vesper.
These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.
