She Has Done a Beautiful Thing, Mary of Bethany

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Matthew 26:6-13 (see also Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50; John 12:1-8)

Wherever this gospel is preached…Mary’s “beautiful” act was so significant to Jesus that he made it part of his Good News.  Is it truly even the Gospel without her story?  Men tried to stop her but Jesus told them to “stop bothering her.”  When Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus’ feet as a rabbinical student, Jesus told her sister Martha, who was trying to get her into the kitchen, to leave her alone—someone was always trying to deter her but Jesus said that, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

The perfume she lavished on Jesus was from the little pink-flowering spikenard, or ‘nard plant that was imported by the Roman Empire from the Himalayas! In the lower left of the collage, I’ve drawn the Himalayas.  No wonder it was worth a year’s wages—between the distance and the amount of tiny plants it took to make the perfume; can you imagine pouring out a perfume that cost in the five or six digits today? Nard was valued as a comfort for those in deep mourning, so suitable for anointing Jesus for burial.  That much perfume—a pint, would have permeated every corner of Simon’s home!  In the collage I’ve written, “Simon’s house would never be the same.” Not only would the perfume linger in the recesses for months but this “beautiful thing” would be remembered throughout the world and all history—and it happened in his house.  I’ve collaged copies of the Ten Commandments in Hebrew on Simon’s walls to represent the rigid traditions Mary walked into; intricately hand-cut palm branches further set the scene. On the purple waves of aroma, I’ve written the things that Jesus said in Mary’s defense such as “Leave her alone.”  The alabaster bottle was valuable in itself but Mary broke it as Jesus’ body soon would be broken.  I’ve fashioned the alabaster bottle with flecked translucent paper after a first century Roman bottle I saw in an art museum.

Jesus is on record as valuing women, their learning from him and service for him—despite society norms.  Go ahead, be like Mary of Bethany and choose “what is better”; be lavish in your love for him.

Do Whatever He Tells You

When the wedding at Cana ran out of wine, Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do--always good advice.

Wings of Dawn

In a sense, God perseveres with us. No matter how far we travel—even to the ends of the earth, He is there. While some run from Him to remote places, others must go there on mission, to still others these places are home. Wherever. He is there.

He Had Compassion

The people had stayed with Jesus all day. They were hungry but there was no place to eat. Jesus was concerned but He didn’t just say, Oh those poor people; He did something about it. He miraculously fed them with a couple fish and a bit of bread—all 5000 plus. They had all they could eat and then some. I’ve used open composition (the image flows over the edge) to represent God’s unlimited provision—whatever is needed, He provides.

It Is Not Good to Punish The Righteous Proverbs 17:26

China has long been on my heart. At the time I made this collage we had been hearing more about persecution of Christians in Communist China but most people still didn't know. I wanted to draw attention to their plight but didn't want to paint battered bodies. Instead, I chose to draw in the viewer's eye with beauty. When you look closely, the message unfolds with my "fortune cookie fortune"-- It is not good to punish the righteous and the Mandarin character for suffering. Painted in ink with an oriental brush on rice paper, the character was crumpled and torn to further speak of suffering. Papers from around the world along with my hand-marbled paper, clippings and a stamp from China comprise this collage.

The Lord Turns My Darkness to Light II Samuel 22:29

Light. Light is in the golden stars, the gold papers and the bright amaryllis bursting forth as from "the tomb". A Hebrew teacher told me that the Hebrew letter, aleph represents light since it is the first letter of the alphabet and light was the first to be created. I designed the elements of my aleph to resemble flames and the golden scroll of the Word of God.

The Fruit of Righteousness Will Be Peace

I once told a group of college students in a workshop-"If you live right, you'll spare yourselves a lot of trouble. You're a lot less likely to need a bail bondsman in the middle of the night and you'll avoid a lot of diseases." But beyond that, living in relationship with Jesus Christ brings a peace that nothing else can match.
Hand-marbled paper and block printed patterns.

Priscilla

Imagine walking up to a dynamic young leader who has just spoken eloquently and saying, “Excuse me, but you’ve left out something--Someone very important.” Priscilla & her husband Aquilla, strong teachers of the gospel, took Apollos under their wing teaching him about The Holy Spirit, symbolized by a dove. The tall vertical lines represent Priscilla’s strength; and the water, her travels by ship, rare for women in her time. The curved needle represents Priscilla’s tent-making trade.

May the Fire of Your Spirit Burn Within Me

Sometimes I'm fervent and sometimes I'm preoccupied and timid but I long to stay in that white-hot passion that the Holy Spirit burns inside us to serve the Lord wholly. I've built up texture in this piece like that of an ancient wall decorated with crosses. The intensely red Amazon lily represents the fire of the Holy Spirit contained in jars of clay (II Cor. 4:7). The relief printed "tribal" decorations call us to take the truth of Jesus Christ to the peoples.

He Led Them Safely Out

The Bible often refers to God's people as sheep. In this case, the psalmist recalls God leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Since middle-eastern sheep have shaggy coats, I tore many tiny pieces of rice paper for their wool. The sunset sky in Israel glows in a beautiful apricot color. I've depicted the land with papers that I painted and marbled. This "stone" marbling pattern can be traced to ancient Turkey.

The Earth is the Lord's and the Fullness Thereof

Nature knows that it didn't just happen; it knows that God created it. All creation joins in praises to God through its color, movement, texture, intricacy and great variety. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." Romans 1:20

Your Word Lights My Path

Without the scriptures we would have to rely on hearsay and guesswork to know God's will. With his written word, anyone who can read--old or young, rich or poor can see for themselves what God's truth is. Many peoples around the world still cannot read the Word for themselves, may we not keep such good news to ourselves

The Fruit of Righteousness is a Tree of Life

The book of Revelation describes the tree of life as "bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." Revelation 21:2. It doesn't tell us what the tree looks like but I've depicted as a palm tree because of its favorable reference in the Bible (Psalm 92:12) and the carved palm trees in Solomon's temple. Adam and Eve could have eaten from the tree of life and lived forever--they had permission. But instead they chose to know evil. Here again is the pomegranate as the fruit that adorned the priest's robes. The gold and cream-colored checkerboard pattern evokes the look of a palace or perhaps, streets of gold.

Sow Righteousness Reap Mercy

Throughout history, the pomegranate has represented the resurrection of Jesus in Christian art. It is dear to the Jewish heart as well in representing the 613 mitzvot or good deeds (laws and traditions) that God “asks the Jews to do". I'm told that every pomegranate contains exactly 613 seeds.

The Wells of Salvation (Sukkot) Isaiah 12:3

In the days of the Temple, during the Feast of the Tabernacles or Sukkot the high priest led a procession with a golden pitcher from the altar. The Hebrews processed joyfully with palm, willow and myrtle branches through the streets of Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam. Excitement built over seven days as they chanted "Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation." and "hoshanna!" save us now! The priest filled the golden pitcher with water and processed back to the Temple, pouring the water through a funnel in the altar, which fed underground to the valley of Kidron. "On the last and greatest day of the (this) feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him"
John 7:37 French marbled papers and reverse cut lettering.

God is the Strength of My Heart

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart.” Psalm 73:26 Like most of us, I felt as though my heart would fail after “September 11”. I knew though, that I must look to the Lord for strength and He carried me through. The clock represents upside down times, the torn edges chaos, the vertical lines and oak tree strength, seven acorns point to hope for the future.