According to the revelation of God presented in the Bible and the proclamation of the apostles, Jesus’ personality not only unveils the God in Him (as well as God in the flesh), but above all reveals a King. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to a child who would inherit the royal throne of David, so that he would reign over the chosen people forever (Lk 1:31-33). When Pilate asked Jesus if He was really a king, He affirmed: “I was born for this” (Jn 18:37). In accordance with this consciousness, Christ did not preach only about Himself, that is, about His own divinity. Jesus announced to the people the coming of His kingdom, His kingdom. Only in the context of this proclamation can we understand the use of parables to convey the messianic message. “Parabola – παραβολἠ – means a general comparison or parallel, using something specific to illustrate something else. The similarity is taken from the realm of real or sensual (perceptible) or earthly events in order to convey the ideal, spiritual or heavenly meaning.” (Catholic Encyclopedia). Evangelical parables often begin with the words: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” , in which the word element “heaven” indicates the special quality of the future reign of the Messiah. Jesus was not an ordinary king, nor can His kingdom be perceived by the usual notions of the world’s socio-political systems. The new kind of rule of this unusual preacher is quite different: “My kingdom is not of this world […] My kingdom is not from here” (Jn 18:36). In fact, the Messiah proclaims the final triumph of truth and justice. He reveals Himself as the “light” that is to illuminate the way of looking at everyone who knows only the “here and now.” “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?” (Lk 13:18), says Jesus.
“And by many such parables He told them the Word as they were able to hear it. And without parables He did not speak to them” (Mark 4:33-34). Agricultural activities, lawsuits, family dramas, weddings, relationships between friends and neighbors, robbery and the wantonness of the rich, the suffering of the poor, goats and sheep, the making of bread, etc., all these activities are used to represent the “kingdom of heaven,” and the transfer of meaning forms what we call a parable. Therefore, the speaker warns the listeners: “Therefore see how you listen” (Lk 8:18). The parable is “mirror and riddle” (1 Cor 13:12). It seems like a simple story of daily and earthly life, but it has a heavenly meaning. The difference to metaphor or wisdom teaching is subtle but fundamental. Gospel parables are prophetic in nature and proclaim the events that will happen at Christ’s Second Coming, rather than an ethical system. They stimulate questions in the listener, reflection, but one cannot possess them as one can possess the definition of a metaphysical system. But the recognition of their importance is not the goal, but the fruit of the spiritual life.
After Christians adapt to the reality that the parables tell, depending on the accuracy of the spiritual assimilation, the parables reveal their meaning before the eyes of the believers, or they remain closed.
But first comes faith and then knowledge.
To grasp the spiritual meaning of Christ’s parables, one must go through the text verbatim. The coherence of the biblical text is the only correct framework in which the breadth of spiritual knowledge develops and opens up. It is precisely this dialectic that we can see in the work of Nikola Sarić. The painter shows us art in which religion and personal faith are the premise of artistic expression.
The limited canon of icon painting (or other ancient painting methods) is transformed into a fruitful interpretation of tradition through a living experience of biblical themes; remaining true to itself, this tradition reflects the novelty of the lived experience. In this way, Nikola’s icons reflect the tradition that breathes and develops within the concepts of modern man.
In fact, the artist does not go too much to the level of contemporary views in relation to pictorial statements, he does not cling to formalities, but he tries to represent the essence of the biblical proclamation.
The parables of Christ are made visible in these images in their immediacy and simplicity. Even if they contain many details of the events narrated, even if it is not clear at first glance what kind of parable it is, the message that is transmitted is clear and unambiguous. Christ’s message about the kingdom of heaven is the message of the coming of light, it is a message of friendship, mercy and repentance, and it is the call for people to enter this new world and take up the fight against darkness, selfishness and self-isolation. Salvation from darkness and evil is represented as a joyful encounter with others, as well as through a table with friends or through the care of animals.
Through Nikola’s artistry, the substance of the evangelical parables is revealed to the viewer through a cheerful panorama of colors and figures, whose harmonious arrangement corresponds to the artist’s childlike imagination, but also to the final message of the biblical texts, a message of hope. “Be like the children when you enter the kingdom of heaven” can be a paraphrase of Jesus’ call (Mt 18:3), the message of which is clearly visible in Sarić’s artistic temperament.
Of course, it should be noted that Jesus only spoke to the people who sought Him in parables, while He only revealed the true meaning of the parables to His disciples. The theme of the struggle between good and evil or between justice and injustice, which often predominates in the content of the parables, is not an end in itself for the moral rebuke of the individual. The ethical garb of these stories is the “fishhook” of mystical speech, the greater breadth of which can only be perceived in artistic works that are not a substitute for the biblical text, but a tool for understanding it. Rather, the characters and events in the parables are personifications of the eschatological actors and events, whose meaning goes beyond mere secular considerations beyond the difference between good and evil (good behavior and bad behavior). Only a painter can reproduce the dimension of the cosmic drama hidden in the parables, using colors to depict the contrast between life and death as a juxtaposition of light and darkness.
It is precisely this hidden meaning of Christ’s parables that we can find in the icons of Nikola Sarić, whose efforts are aimed at presenting the biblical truth.
Excerpt from “Nikola Sarić: Earthly Stories with Heavenly Meaning”, Hanover 2015, ISBN 978-3-00-050210-1