Unfinis Masterpiec
Some of the world’s most famous unfinished masterpieces are a “complete”
mystery.
Take the Eighth Symphony written by composer Franz Schubert in
1822. When the symphony was rejected by a prominent orchestra, it
ended up at the office of Schubert’s lawyer. He held onto it for 40
years after the brilliant musician died in 1828 at the age of 31.
Under-appreciated during his brief life, Schubert was considered a
master composer within 40 years of his death. When ardent fans heard
about the “lost” symphony, they tracked down Schubert’s lawyer who found
it in his files. But the two last movements were missing and only the
first three bars of the third movement were included. The lawyer
insisted that was all he’d ever received, but no one is sure if Schubert
did complete his creation. Regardless, the full symphony — considered
Schubert’s best —is lost to the world.
Another notorious unfinished masterpiece is Khubla Khan, one
of the most famous poems in the English language. In 1797, poet Samuel
Coleridge was ill and sedated with opium when he dozed off while reading
about Chinese emperor Kublai Khan. Coleridge slept deeply for three
hours and dreamed a complete 300-line poem about Khan.
When he woke, the poet quickly started to write down his vision. But
after 40 lines or so, there was a knock at the door. Rather than ignore
it, he answered and stood talking for more than an hour. When he
returned to his work, he was horrified to discover he could remember
just “eight or ten scattered lines and images.”
All he could recall was 54 lines. Though some scholars now think
Coleridge simply made up the story because he couldn’t figure outhow to
finish the poem, it remained incomplete.
So did what Leonardo da Vinci wanted as his crowning achievement.
Commissioned in the 1480s to sculpt a huge statue of a horse, the artist
laboured on the project for 17 years. He studied the animals, made
several sketches and sculpted a full-size clay model of the horse, 24
feet tall. But a war broke out before da Vinci could cast a bronze
statue of the beast. French soldiers riddled his model with bullets and
it was later left out in the elements. The artistic genius died, still
mourning the loss of his great horse.
Then, in 1977, American art buff Charles Dent used da Vinci’s
preliminary sketches to complete the project. Though no one knows how
accurate the horse is, the tribute was unveiled September 10, 1999,
exactly 500 years to the day da Vinci was forced to abandon his project.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul compares us to works of art wrought by God
himself. “For we are God’s masterpiece,” he says. “He has
created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.”
But in that grand scheme, each of us is an unfinished masterpiece.
So much of our spiritual potential goes unmet. Even when we know our
calling and recognize our gifts, we often fail to finish the work our
Father presents us with, perhaps out of fear, distraction or apathy.
Sometimes, like Schubert, we quit when others reject us. Sometimes,
like Coleridge, we let the interruptions of life distract us. And
often, like da Vinci, circumstances beyond our control force us to leave
the completion of our work to those who come after us.
But as much as possible, we should live lives of service born of
great gratitude. We should do “the good things he planned for us long
ago,” not to get to heaven, but because we get to go to
heaven. “God saved you by his special favour when you believed...
it’s a gift from God. Salvation isn’t a reward for the good things
we’ve done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Eph. 2:7-9)
Even our best efforts will be flawed. But though we may be
unappreciated in life, our work will be honoured after our death, by the
only One who really counts. Only then will our labour be done and our
character fully formed in the image of Christ. In the presence and
power of God, we won’t just be finished. We’ll be complete.
By Rick Gamble. Published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of
the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. To subscribe to this
free weekly article, send a note to Rick at
rgamble@bfree.on.ca