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Title: "A Starry Night, A Darkened Church"

By: Pastor John Wiley

Though it hasn’t always been the case, I have come to really love and appreciate art. And if there’s one work of art that affects me, no matter when or where I see it, that work would have to be Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” I love the style of impressionism (and post-impressionism), which incorporates bold and bright colors to display emotion on the canvas, even more than precise realism would do. You can see how in “Starry Night,” Van Gogh illustrates bright stars in the sky, while homes and buildings all around the valley landscape are lit up as well. Wait, except for one building: the church.

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Did you catch that in the bottom-middle of the painting? The steeple is painted upward towards the heavens, but there is no light inside. Vincent’s father, Theodorus, was a pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church, there in the Netherlands. And it was Vincent who sought to follow in his father’s footsteps. Along that path, Vincent encountered some trouble. He tried and failed at two theological and ministry training schools. Still, the aspiring pastor went into lay preaching at a very poor mining town in Belgium. But even there, trouble seemed to follow Vincent. The church authorities hounded him for a lack of eloquence in his preaching, not dressing formally enough for supplying the pulpit, and even for following the Bible too “literally” in how he sought to take care of the poor. Soon after, Vincent Van Gogh experienced a crisis of faith and a crisis of mental health.

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Van Gogh got involved in immoral and erratic behavior, which ended up leading him to an asylum for those with mental illness. It was in that institution where Van Gogh painted “Starry Night,” among several other impressive works. Sadly, after exiting the asylum, Van Gogh took his own life.

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The story of Van Gogh is truly a tragedy in many ways. But it should cause us as a church to ask some questions:

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First, if Vincent Van Gogh came to our church, would he see the light of the church again? Jesus told His followers in Matthew 5:14-16, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

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Secondly, are we stifling younger believers who want to serve the Lord in ministry or are we sending them into full-time Christian ministry? We have a goal of “50 By Faith,” so that by 2035, 50 of our own people will be sent into vocational ministry. Van Gogh didn’t receive that kind of support. Would he have been a faithful pastor for decades if his church supported and empowered him instead of excluding and rebuking him? Perhaps so.

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Finally, are we a church that is compassionate enough to receive others who struggle with mental illness? Would we seek to restore others “in a spirit of meekness”? (Galatians 6:1) Can we be patient with those who fight crippling anxiety and heart-aching depression? How about people who struggle with eating disorders, gender dysphoria (transgenderism), self-harm, and many other problems? Can we be a place of refuge that gently speaks the truth in love?

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Even on the starriest night, our church can have the brightest light in our own valley when we become a solace for the mentally sick and a hospital for the spiritually hurting.

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In Christ,

Pastor John Wiley

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Blue Ridge, VA 24064

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10:30 | Worship Service 

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P.O. Box 550 Blue Ridge, VA 24064

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