08/10/2026
GRIEF AND GLORY
Around the year 1926, Henry Ossawa Tanner completed an oil on canvas portrayal of Peter and John arriving at Christ’s tomb on Resurrection morning. The artwork is titled, “The Two Disciples at the Tomb.” It is based upon the Gospel of John. It is the facial expressions of these two men that move the viewer the most. Peter is somber, perhaps thinking that Jesus’ body going missing is more than he can take. John, on the other hand, is looking outward with a great beam of light shining upon him, as if he is being transfigured himself. Two men, who have walked with Jesus together, sharing the same experience on this blessed morning, but seeing it from very different perspectives. Peter is swallowed in his grief, while John sees the possibility of hope.
Henry Ossawa Tanner was the son of an African Methodist Episcopal minister. He was one of the most renowned American painters of religious works around the turn of the 20th century. But he left America and moved to France, trying to escape the racism that had held back his career. His faith was strong, and he believed deeply in society’s future resurrection to new life. But he also experienced the somber feeling of waking to new mornings fraught with the same grief of the days that had marched on before. Perhaps the two disciples in this piece represent the duality of his heart. Regardless, the subject matter is the resurrection itself. God’s desire is to break down life’s greatest barrier of all, and transfigure everyone who stands in the glow of Immanuel and new life. Really, as with any piece of art, the viewer is called upon to contemplate where they fit into the scene. The real question, however, may have more to do with the artist than with the work. Does the light of hope reflect in our eyes, or are we all too willing instead to stare at the ground in grief? Tanner chose to do both. Amen.
-Rev Jeffrey G Mikyska
