May 22, 2009
The Second Half
An allegory of fortune
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
In Los Angeles, one of our favorite places to visit is the J. Paul Getty Art Museum. That’s where we were last week when the seven-foot painting, “An Allegory of Fortune,” caught our attention. Created in 1530 by Dossi Dosso, it has two human figures. A beautiful woman holding a horn of plenty and seated on a fragile bubble represents “Fortune,” abundant but fleeting. Nearby, a young man symbolizing “Chance” looks hopefully her way while he deposits lottery tickets in a golden urn.
Even though it was painted more than 450 years ago, there was something both contemporary and timeless about this picture. Later we learned it had been purchased in modern times at a flea market. Without even wrapping it, the anonymous buyer had tied it to the top of his car and brought it to an auction house in New York where someone recognized its true value. For more than 400 years “Fortune and Chance” had been carried on the tide of history until it found its rightful place alongside paintings by da Vinci and Fra Angelico.
As we write this, we are in Scottsdale visiting our older son and his wife as they celebrate their seventeenth wedding anniversary. When they married as college students 17 years ago, their future looked uncertain. In fact, they sailed through rough seas for some time after graduation. With time, their fortunes changed. They survived and found their own way. Today, their journey continues on much firmer ground. Even though their future seems far more secure now than it did 17 years ago, there are no guarantees for them, or for any of the rest of us, either. We all have to take our chances while we hope for the best.
This Sunday is also Ascension Sunday. Since our vacation seems to flow with the alternate readings for this Sunday, these are the ones we have chosen to use. In the first reading for this Sunday, lots are cast between Barsabbas and Matthias to determine which man would fill the place left empty by Judas. We know that the lot fell to Matthias, but we are left to wonder what happened to Barsabbas. Did he go away disappointed he wasn’t chosen, or did he find his own way in faith? Perhaps that isn’t important. The gospel and the second reading both offer clues to a different way of thinking. Circumstances don’t determine our destiny. Our fortune is held secure by our connection to truth and love and in our relationships with each other. Christ doesn’t pray for the success of his followers, but that they will remain united and grounded in truth. The conclusion of the second reading provides the key to our future. “God is love and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” When we swim in the tide of that Love, fortune always brings us safely home.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.