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Artist Elise Bergsten wrestled with the passage of 1 Timothy 5:3-16 and produced this gorgeous piece that stands as a personal tribute to overcoming adversity and as a memento to the universal journey through life that we all take.
1 Timothy 5:3-16
Grandmother's Shrine
By
Elise Bergsten
Credits:
Curated by:
Laurel Justice
2018
18 x 14 x 5 inches
Mixed Media Collage
Primary Scripture
Honor widows who are widows indeed.
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety towards their own family, and to repay their parents, for this is
acceptable in the sight of God.
Now she who is a widow indeed, and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day.
But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
Also command these things, that they may be without reproach.
But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.
Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,
being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
But refuse younger widows, for when they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry;
having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge.
Besides, they also learn to be idle, going about from house to house. Not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for insulting.
For already some have turned away after Satan.
If any man or woman who believes has widows, let them relieve them, and don’t let the assembly be burdened; that it might relieve those who are widows indeed.
1 Timothy 5:3-16
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This passage is referred to as "The Widows List". Paul was giving guidance to others for the new church, and most of the passage is in regards to defining requirements that a true widow ought to meet in order to merit help from the church.
Widows seemed pretty unfortunate, whether they fit into the narrow rules or whether they were left outside of them. Widows that brought property to their marriage or widows that had sons that could inherit their father's property and take care of their mothers were the most fortunate. I found that there were three different words for widow in the original Hebrew that differentiated between three types of widows. The widows list only pertained to widows with no means and no family to take care of them. As the passage makes clear, these widows still had a very small eye of a needle to fit through to receive help from the church.
I researched the passage and the historical context, and found myself processing my own feelings regarding marriage, various ways humans become trapped by their circumstances, and the concept of "widow" as helpless victim versus the opportunity of any human to make choices about how they act within their life circumstances. We humans have the ability to be free within very difficult conditions.
I was reminded of the Hero's Path, written by Joseph Campbell:
We have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known…we have only to follow the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination we shall find a God. And where we had thought to slay another we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outwards we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone we shall be with all the world.
The widow story that is most personal to me and is also a hero's journey is that of my maternal grandmother, so I reflected about her life, the ways in which she was trapped within very difficult circumstances, and how she lived her life in response to those conditions. She lived for more than two decades as a widow, and was fortunate to have property and means to live independently during that time.
This three-dimensional piece is a shrine honoring my grandmother. It has three levels, which represent many different trinities: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Maiden, Mother, Crone. Death, Life, Transcendence.
Spark Notes
The Artist's Reflection
Elise Bergsten was educated at the University of Wisconsin where she in majored in Fiber Arts. Her recent work is in paper and mixed media collage, and explores archetypal symbols and humanity’s search for meaning.
Elise Bergsten
About the Artist
Elise Bergsten
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