The Resurrection Polyptych is a depiction of the bodily resurrection of God’s children on the Last Day and of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, whom they adore. (polyptych: [pol’ip tik] n. a work of art composed of several connected panels.) It was created by Mr. Edward Riojas of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Grace Evangelical Luthearn Church’s dedication. It is based upon Martin Schalling’s hymnic prayer, the third stanza of Hymn 708 in The Lutheran Service Book:

Lord, let at last Thine angels come,
To Abram’s bosom bear me home,
That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
Until Thy Reappearing.
And then from death awaken me
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
My Savior and my Fount of Grace.
Lord Jesus Christ,
My prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end. Amen.

The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal states: “This hymn, ‘ a prayer to Christ, the Consolation of the soul in life and in death,’ after Psalms 18 and 73, is a treasure bequeathed to the Church from the heart of Schalling,” and “The tune…belongs to the best of Lutheran chorales. Fortunate is the congregation that has learned to sing it and appreciate it.” Johann Sebastian Bach closes his moving Passion According to St. John with this stanza. Speaking of this, the Reverend Kantor Richard Resch, a good friend of Grace in Fairgrove, from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wane has said, “It is a stroke of genius for Bach to end three hours about Christ’s passion with this hymn about the Christian’s death. The profound reality of what this truth means for each individual often overwhelms the singer.”

The polyptych begins in the narthex with the stark and simple prayer  that eagerly awaits the passing of this life and the glory to come:

Lord, let at last Thine angels come,
To Abram’s bosom bear me home,
That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
Until Thy Reappearing.

While the soul is whisked off to bliss to join with Abraham and all the saints in the great Wedding Feast, the body must rest in the grave. But upon the reappearing of our Lord, when He shall come and be seen by all upon the face of the earth, and every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; then our bodies will be awakened, perfected, and rejoined to their proper and intended places, with our souls. Mr. Riojas has reminded us of this safekeeping by closing the narthex prayer with the symbol of God, our heavenly Father, holding us safely in His hand.

As we enter the sanctuary, the words of the confident prayer continue:

And then from death awaken me
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
My Savior and my Fount of Grace.
Lord Jesus Christ,
My prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end. Amen.

With the resurrection trumpet by his side, an angel gently aids a man up to the joy that awaits him from the tomb cracked open by the glory of the Father. Lest any should dwell too long upon the angel, with pointing finger he directs all our attention toward the chancel. The awakening man is actually a depiction of the artist’s father. In the tradition of great Christian artists, Mr. Riojas paints not simply a piece of abstract future history, but the reality in which he lives and hopes. He explains that his father was included to “make this work more real for me.” And that is why there are not that many notable or historic figures in the work. The majority of rising saints in the polyptych are somewhat “generic.” It is the artist’s intention that everyone would see his own departed loved ones who died in the faith in this work, and the glory that they already enjoy.

As the other redeemed rise, the burdens of sin, along with the grave clothes, are left behind. Resting on the tomb are a pair of now unneeded eyeglasses. Discarded on the ground lie a sword and shackles. The man who required a cane to get around, in his newly perfect body is now liberated from such limitations, and it too is left behind. As we move through the scene, with the words of praise sounding in our ears, we see gathered there worshipping saints all arrayed in white, with only a few exceptions. St. John the Baptist retains his distinctive camel’s hair coat, and the powerful earthly king is without any clothing at all, as he gladly hands over his crown to the King of Glory. Finally, the naked and happy little babies that run forward with their palm branches represent the Holy Innocents, whom Herod the Great martyred in a vain, satanic attempt to stop the atonement. They, too have come to their reward.

Other significant and specific figures include the blessed Reformer and great hymnographer Martin Luther singing from a hymnal, King David gently playing on his harp, the prophet Moses with the Law in hand, the sanctified harlot Rahab with a scarlet cord in her hair, old faithful Noah with long gray hair and beard, and St. Peter the Apostle, bare-chested with the fisherman’s physique. Other individual saints are from varying nationalities and ethnic groups, from an array of historic periods and cultures, both sexes and all ages included. All are to find not only departed loved ones, but also themselves in the painting. No one is left unrepresented. The blood of Christ, our Lord, covers us all.

A yellow circle, called a “nimbus,” surrounds our Lord’s head, the dove’s head, the Father’s hands, and the hand on the end of the prayer in the narthex. The nimbus symbolizes divinity. Inside the nimbus are three rays, one for each person of the Holy Trinity.

On the three ascending walls in the chancel we see Him depicted whom the risen saints worship, the blessed Holy Trinity. One the first wall is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, descending upon His Church as St. John the Baptist saw Him descend upon our Lord at His Baptism.: in the form of a snow-white dove, with the seven flames fused into the tail feathers. Preceding Him are twelve flames, symbolizing the twelve tongues of fire that lit upon the holy apostles at His coming on the first Pentecost, through whose writings He still speaks to His Church.

The second wall depicts our heavenly Father reaching down benevolently and sending the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, piety, and fear, down upon His Church on earth. His hands are postured in the blessing position, with three fingers extended, one for each person of the Trinity. Emblazed upon what would be His chest is the Creator’s six-pointed star, for the six days of creation.

Finally, our risen and ascended Lord, larger than life, looms before us, with the cross behind Him. Mr. Riojas has depicted our Lord the same way that the oldest existing painting of Him does with a forked beard (legend attributes that painting to St. Luke the Evangelist). In His exalted state, at the Father’s right hand, He wears the royal color of Israel: blue, with gold brocade adorning His majesty. With compassion in His eyes, He points to the wounds which have saved us, even as He so gestured to St. Thomas the first Sunday after the resurrection.

In his nimbus, with the cross shining through, stand the Alpha and Omega, superimposed one upon the other, speaking of His eternal nature. One the other side is the divine monogram, the crossed Greek letters “I” and “X.” Those letters denote His prophetic name: “I” for “Jesus,” which means “God saves,” and “X” for “Christ,” which means “the Messiah.”

Lord, Jesus Christ, our prayer attend, our prayer attend, and we will praise Thee without end. Amen.

Soli Deo GlorIa