Facing Jesus

Met a delightful artist at the Portland Saturday Market with some very creative reimagined images of Jesus. Check him out at monkeyartstar.com and .

1. Bring Me Fish 2. What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs 3. King of the Dead 4. Unification. Thanks Brian!

Which one is your favorite?

The Shepherd by Jeff Angelo, 2012

Blessed are the doubters, for they take their time to truly consider their faith and strengthen it through questioning.

Doubting Thomas by Donald Dais

Christ Shows Himself to Thomas by Rowan and Irene LeCompte

https://www.umc.org/en/content/creativity-meets-the-sacred-on-holy-week-art-walk

Creativity meets the sacred on Holy Week Art Walk Using mediums ranging from pottery to woodblock, artists interpreted the events of Holy Week at West Market Street United Methodist Church's Holy Week Art Walk.

Stained glass window in Black Abbey, Kilkenny, Ireland, portraying the birth and death of Jesus. 15 panels skip straight from Jesus’s birth to his appearance in the temple at age 12, to his prayer in the garden, death, and resurrection. There isn’t a single depiction of his miracles, teaching, or time with the disciples. What stories do you wish were more readily portrayed in stained glass windows or art?

An alabaster carving of the Trinity at Black Abbey in Kilkenny, Ireland. The church is dedicated to the holy Trinity and this carving was created at Bristol around 1400. Can you make out the three distinct images in this carving?

I found my third “Homeless Jesus” statue by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz outside Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. The first one I found was at St. Peter’s Church in Capernaum, Israel, and the next at The Portico in Tampa, Florida. There are over 100 statues around the globe. Where have you spotted Jesus?

Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. Artist unknown. Skainos Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Stained glass windows in Knock Methodist Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Stained glass window depicting Jesus Christ giving a blessing in the Church of Martina Franca, Apulia, Italy. Artist unknown. Royalty Free.

Sundays during Lent are considered “little Easters” and are a chance to celebrate the resurrection. What’s your favorite version of the resurrection story?

Christ Appearing to Mary, Artist–Edward Middleton Manigault

In scripture, we see often several different versions of the same story. Jesus’ baptism appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and while they all have similarities, the differences appear in the details. What did one author include that another left out? Artists are the same. One story can be painted from several different perspectives, and it is in the details that the message becomes clear. Compare these two interpretations of Jesus’ baptism by artists Liz Valente and Dave Zalenka. What remains the same? What details stand out in one compared to the other? Which is your favorite?



Valente, Liz. Baptism of Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59319 [retrieved January 20, 2023]. Original source: Liz Valente, https://www.instagram.com/donalizvalente/.

Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385 [retrieved January 30, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg.