When something is beautiful we want to look at it from every possible angle.
When trying to see more angles of a beautiful thing, a mirror might be useful. A mirror pointed at other mirrors might show us many angles of a beautiful thing all at once. A well polished mirror lets us see clearly; and when carefully positioned, a mirror bounces light into the dark. In literature, we call this kind of mirrored reflection between words and ideas Chiasm - a series of ideas presented in a pattern and then presented again in reverse order. As we read, these patterns and their reflections help us remember the text; but also offer new lines of sight, new angles, new perception, an opportunity to see things we may otherwise overlook. This technique offers an opportunity to engage our own imaginations as we consider the structure of a story. The repetition of specific words, or the placement of entire scenes, invites us to consider symbols or objects in light of where they appear in the pattern. For example, instead of simply saying, “Water is like wine, and wine is like blood,” an artist of John’s caliber offers whole scenes considering the nature of water and wine and blood. He then positions these scenes within his story in ways that allow you, the reader, to consider the connections between these elements.
John as an eagle from the Book of Kells
John’s Gospel is beautiful. It is a a story where every word is purposefully placed, and it is full of chiasmus. Repetitions and patterns at every level encourage us to reflect on the beauty of the whole. You find chiasmus in individual sentences, you find it within individual scenes or speeches, and in the structure of the book itself. When mapping these patterns, they begin to appear as a feathered layering from smaller to larger concepts - similar to the ways small patterns of bird’s feathers work to build up the overall shape of their wings. Two large halves of John’s book give it flight, and the patterns draw us to the point of a very sharp beak at the center. The story pattern literally draws the reader from great heights - the creation of the Cosmos on the one wing and the rebirth of the Cosmos on the other - down to the sharpened point of a man’s finger drawing in the sand. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the fact our church fathers and mothers used an eagle to symbolize John was for this very reason - the shape of the story itself.
Outline of the top level of reflections (chiasm) in John
St.Cuthbert’s Gospel of John
St. Cuthbert’s Gospel of St. John’s cover is engraved with interlocking patterns and a raised relief of a grapevine. This grapvine is crafted as two symmetrically curved branches circling four fruits on either side of a central vine.
As another interesting piece of evidence that the shape of John’s story has been recognized for a long time, take the illustration on the cover of the St. Cuthbert’s Gospel of St. John, an early medieval manuscript treasure. The book’s cover is engraved with interlocking patterns that have their own meanings and connotations, but in the center of the cover is a raised relief of a grapevine - a very important image for John. This grapvine is crafted as two symmetrically curved branches circling four fruits on either side of a central vine. The central vine comes to a sharp point. Two large, layered wings emerging from a central point is the pattern or structure of John’s Gospel itself. Perhaps this illustrator was intrigued with the story structure and found a way to encourage readers to look for a similar pattern in the text.
Leading up to Easter 2022, I’m posting personal reflections on this pattern of reflection (chaisim) in John’s gospel. These reflections are in a simple poetic structure because poems help us recognize patterns and John’s book is full of interesting patterns. I intentionally keep most of the poems short - most are only seven lines (or groups of seven - or three). The poetry is only an invitation to come be “in” John’s story. My hope is we’ll spend some time together reflecting on John’s patterns and look at the truth they reflect from fresh angles.