Have you longed for a simpler life, free from the chaos and noise? In Gauguin’s The Yellow Christ and in Colossians 1, we are invited to breathe in the calm and peace of Christ. This time of prayer offers a retreat into His presence — where peace becomes a gift we can carry back into daily life.

Colossians 1:19-20

Paul Gauguin once wrote, “Let everything about you breathe the calm and peace of the soul.” These words, taken from his journals, echo in the stillness of his painting The Yellow Christ. In this episode of Art and Prayer, Rev. Rob McPherson reflects on how Gauguin’s longing for peace in the late 19th century mirrors our own search for simplicity, rest, and renewal in the midst of modern life.

Gauguin left behind the bustle of Paris to seek refuge in the French countryside. Surrounded by a slower pace of life and the devout piety of the villagers, he painted The Yellow Christ as both a spiritual and artistic meditation. The warm yellow hues, drawn from the color of harvest grain, symbolize both life and the hope of peace found in Christ. His imagery invites us into the devotion of those gathered at the foot of the cross, their prayers lifted in simplicity and surrender.

As we pause with this painting, we are reminded that while most of us cannot retreat to distant shores or remote villages, we can still carve out moments of retreat with Christ. In stillness, we breathe in calm. In prayer, we breathe in peace. The scripture from Colossians 1 speaks into this moment with its promise: that in Christ, all things are reconciled, and that through the cross, peace is made possible.

This practice of retreat is not an escape but a return — a return to the center, to Christ who is present with us, who receives our anxieties, and who gifts us with peace. The time we spend in stillness with Him shapes us for the life we must return to, allowing His calm to accompany us into the world.

Through Gauguin’s art, scripture’s witness, and the quiet gift of prayer, we are reminded that peace is not merely an ideal, but a gift given by Christ Himself. In this sacred pause, we find a space of rest that we can carry with us, even when the world around us is anything but calm.