Vaulting the Abyss

"André Kamba Luesa (Congolese, 1944–1995), La résurrection (The Resurrection), 1992

In this scratched painting from Congolese artist Luesa, the risen Christ bounds victoriously over the pit of hell—using his cross like a pole vault! The flaming abyss has been conquered, cleared. Having crossed over from death to life, Christ brings humanity with him. That’s why the men, women, and children lift high their hands in celebration. His victory is ours!

The Gospel of Matthew describes both the death of Christ and his resurrection as events that cause a geological quaking; “the earth shook and the rocks were split” (Matt. 27:51; cf. 28:2). Kamba Luesa portrays this frightening phenomenon in his Resurrection. And yet he also uses warm reds, oranges, and yellows to convey the radiant joy of resurrection. The sky is awash in a soft glow. The Son rises with the sun, the sun giving a halo behind his head.

As is common in Christian art, the artist connects the Resurrection to his own African context. Jesus is visibly African and he wears traditional printed cloth, just like the crowds who praise him. While Jesus’s rising was a historical happening that took place some two thousand years ago outside Jerusalem, it is also an ongoing reality, a force whose effects continue to reverberate as the life of God is made manifest in believers all over the globe.