Pamela and I decided we would spend our first wedding anniversary in Florence; I had not been there before, but she had been three times. She eulogised about it, and it caught my interest. I had been to Italy once to preach many years ago and then on to Venice, so my knowledge of the country was meagre. The 25th wedding anniversary with my first wife was to Brittany in France, and after that we spent most years in California during the month of November. All I knew from my limited knowledge, was that Florence became the centre of medieval Europe and was and is noted for its Renaissance architecture, art, monuments, and culture. All fascinating subjects to me, for I once taught building to student architects.
We stayed in a hotel dating from the 12th century, and our room was large. It was about 6 metres to the ceiling and 8 metres square. The ceiling was hand painted in flowers and was exquisite. It had a super king bed, a five seater sofa, two leather chairs and a further divan which could convert to a bed, with plenty of room left over. We had a balcony overlooking a narrow street which was one car wide. In fact, many roads were like that. Most of those roads were cobbles or large dressed stones acting as cobbles. Thus, when we decided to have a horse and carriage drive around the city, the journey was more than slightly bumpy. Thankfully the horse was 24 years old and knew the route.
The first place we visited was the old prison now a museum called The Bargello. Amongst many sculptures it had a statue called the ‘Deposition’ or ‘Florence Pieta’ of the Christ taken down from the cross, with Nicodemus [possibly Joseph of Arimathea], Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary. Because of imperfections in the natural stone Michelangelo defaced the statue in his fury. He worked on it from 1547 -1553 and after his death it was completed by Tiberius Calcagni, who also restored it. It is said that the face of Joseph was his face. There was one statue I noticed of David and Goliath. Goliath’s head was at David’s feet and had the stone still projecting from his forehead. Goliath can be viewed allegorically as those who taunt and persecute God’s people of any nation, therefore, no wonder they do nutty things with that kind of impediment in their spiritual heads!
The other thing I noticed was that the zebra crossings are designed to kill people for no vehicle stops. It seems they accelerate as soon as someone wants to cross, and before one even contemplates putting one’s foot off the pavement, you stop and look around even look up as vehicles seem to come from nowhere. But, worst of all were the bicycles for the sound they produce is minimal. I was almost clobbered by a female cyclist who came towards me with amazing speed, as if pursued by the demons from hell, as I tried to cross at a legal crossing point. I came within a few millimetres of being seriously injured but was saved by Pamela.
The city was beautiful and full of artistry and a joy to behold. The most remarkable thing was the largest unsupported dome at the Duomo Cathedral, even more astounding was the simple tools they used to construct it. However, where there is a vision obstacles can be overcome. I am never surprised at man’s ingenuity, labour, output and patience. The skill was remarkable. The details were profoundly accurate and spoke for themselves as a silent witness to superb craftsmanship. In other words, what was worth doing was worth doing well. Time appears not to have mattered; the job took precedence. Some buildings took centuries to complete.
It reminded me of our spiritual life, for God is in no hurry to perfect us. He has our lifetime to do it and his tools are very simple. A relationship here and there, a few crisis points, a storm or two, a wilderness experience and famine. Job done; trust perfected, foundations deeply built, superstructure developed through fruits of the Spirit. Grace undergirding, mercy overflowing and love cascading everything. God’s ingenuity in making us faultless to appear before Him at a future time is beyond our comprehension. Florence is a statement of man’s creativity, and the church is God’s manifested inspiration before angels, demons and people of His supreme skill at taking flawed materials and making them into something unimpeachable. He must, like Michelangelo, get frustrated at our imperfections, but overlooks them to complete the job – Oh yes.
