The Transfiguration

Matt. 17:1 -3 ; Mark 9:2-13 ; Luke 9:28-36
The Biblical, New Testament account tells of Jesus with three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John going up into snow-capped, Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Phillippi. There the three observed an experience of their Master by which God sought to reveal Jesus as His Son. In the words: "This is my beloved Son...hear ye him" Jesus was established as the one who was the line of Elijah and Moses.

The details of the transfiguration as narrated by Luke are: the going of the four to the mountain top to pray, the change which came over the face of Jesus, the glistening of his garments, the sleepiness and awakening of the disciples to see the two prophets in conversation with Jesus.

Movable Mural 8'x7 1/2' (2-4'wide panels)

The Border

   Like great stone walls in the wilderness, borders threaten to rein in, to cut off, and finally, to destroy ancient ways of life in ancient lands. Wilderness has no chance to escape civilization that eventually becomes urban sprawl and finally, acres and acres of cement. Especially in this land of Israel/Palestine one could wonder, "where have all the trees gone?". It seems we can't be civilized without war. Israel is attempting to replace the forests destroyed through the years of bitter fighting that continues today. The border is, indeed, a great stone wall that confuses beginnings with endings.

Movable Mural 4' x 7 1/2'

Encampment in Jericho

   This encampment of nomads follows their flocks of sheep from one green grazing ground to another. Nomads are tent dwellers and use asses instead of camels as do the Bedoins. The word nomad means 'to graze'. Nomads are herdsmen and shepherds. Flocks are owned in common for nomads own little personal property. The religion of nomads attained its highest development under Moses, who while tending the flocks of Jethro, came to the mountain of God at Horeb and after his great theophany became the shepherd of his people who became the nation of Israel.

30" X 40"

The Holy Book

   The semitic term 'sepra' means a "book" or a "scroll". From the Book of Exodus 17:14, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven". This is the first reference to writing in the Bible. The Hebrews would have been familiar with the various systems of writing which were invented and used by the Babylonians and the Assyrians. The Hebrew tribes always had scribes and learned men.

30" X 40"

Israel Heights

   Settlement in this region of western Galilee dates back 5000 years. Beit Jann is the highest settlement in Israel. The rugged terrain causes the settlements to be somewhat isolated so that little has changed and ancient traditions continue as enacted 5000 years ago. The seasonal heavy rainfall rushes down the steep mountain sides into the Jordan River which rushes southward 710 feet below sea level into the Sea of Galilee which continues the downward movement into Dead Sea.

36" X 36"

The Galilee

   Galilee is the north section of Palestine and west of the Jordan. Galilee was in the 'hill country'. Life was often difficult and food and water hard to come by. The nomadic life style was prevalent here and contrasted to the mercantile and naval life style of the neighboring Philistines. This was the land to which Abraham and his federation of tribes arrived to when entering the Holy Land. The Israelites returned to this land after the Exodus.

30" X 40"

Fishing Boats on the Sea of Galilee

   The Sea of Galilee appears in the Bible under various names: The Sea of Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret, and Sea of Chinneroth. The Sea is a heart- shaped fresh-water lake in N. Palestine. The Sea is part of the Jordan River waterway system. Fishing boats move between the lake towns and created a demand for carpenters in shipbuilding. 'The Sea', in reality a lake, is subject to violent storms especially on the north end.

Inside the Damascus Gate

   The Damascus Gate is known as the threshold of Jerusalem. The Wailing Wall leads through the Damascus Gate and the Arab quarter. Descending the Mount of Olives, one can reach the gate in half an hour. The Gate is the place of markets, outside and within the Old City. Inside the city's narrow streets and choked alleys the only transport is that of donkeys and hand- wheeled carts. The rest is a river of people. The shops are booths, open to the street in the oriental way. Wares seem to strew from every booth.

Descendents of Ishmael

   This painting is a depiction of the desolate, barren wilderness of Sinai. This unique geographical location has been in historical prominence since the most ancient times. Israel's national character was molded here. Here the Commandments that have become the foundation of the Jewish faith were given. From the dawn of civilization, Sinai was the link between the two continents of Asia and Africa and was also the link between the two great empires of the past: Egypt in AfricaandAssyria-Babylon in Asia.

   Inhabiting this land are numerous true Bedouin tribes that are said to be, through tradition, the pure stock descendants of Ishmael and through Ishmael to Ham, a son of biblical Noah. These desert dwellers are, then, descendants of Ham, the 'Father of Canaan' who is regarded as the ancestor of the peoples of the land from Phoenicia through W. Palestine into Africa and W Arabia.

Across the Kidron Valley

   The nomad in this 36" x 36" painting is standing on the west side of the Mount of Olives. He is looking west out across the Kidron Valley of ancient Israel/Palestine over the old city to the still barren western hill now called Mount Zion. To the north is the Temple Mount. At the far right stands Solomon's Temple. Moving to the left is the royal palace complex, and yet farther to the Ieft, the Citadel. Moving outside the walls is the site of the Gihon Spring.

   According to ancient rabbinic sources, the Ark of the Covenant rested on the foundation stone in the Holy of Holies in Solomon's Temple. The Second Temple was rebuilt on the same spot. Here, on this very 'navel of the earth' now stands the Muslim Dome of the Rock.

The Spring at Nazareth

   This painting is a depiction of a triple headed spring that was the only water source in ancient Nazareth of Israel/Palestine. For centuries people have come here to this spring in the Greek quarters of this little city with their water jars. At the present time, there is daily, the same sort of procession, as in the days of antiquity, of men and women quenching their thirst and the thirst of their herds and flocks here and then carrying away the precious liquid in jars on their heads or their shoulders. Men and woman, often wearing the white robes of their nomadic inheritance? Many decked with ornaments, all treading the same paths of those other carriers of two thousand years ago. Some traditions have enshrined this spring site as a marking place of the Savior's stay on earth and is said to be most probably the site of the Christian 'Annunciation'. This "Virgin's Fountain" would undoubtedly have been frequented by Mary and Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. Springs and wells had been the sites of people's rneetings and gatherings in antiquity.

The Damascus Gate

   For many believers, the way to the Wailing Wall leads through the Damascus Gate and the Arab quarter. The most elaborate and beautiful entry into the Old City is the Damascus Gate on the northern wall. Directly underneath the Damascus Gate, archeologists discovered the northern gateway of the Roman Aelia Capitolina. On the outside, wide rows of steps a lead down to a beautiful, spacious plaza which was used as a meeting place and as a market place in which vendors sold and displayed their goods.

The road to Damascus used to begin here, hence the name. This route leads through the town of Nablus. The gate is called Nablus Gate (Sha'ar Shekhem) in Hebrew. In the Christian tradition, St. Stephen was said to have been martyred outside this gate which has also at times carried the name of the saint as the St. Stephen's Gate.

The House of Veronica

   In today's modern Jerusalem the Via Dolorosa, or the rock of agony, which the Savior traveled from the place of scourging to the rock of Crucifixion, is marked by what are called 'stations'. These points having been selected as those being the halting places of Jesus that were marked by such extraordinary occurrences as would justify their preservation for all time. Among those spots revered by unquestioning devotees is the house of St. Veronica, whose ancient walls on the Via Dolorosa are reproduced in this painting. Of their antiquity there can be no doubt as Jerusalem is an ancient city. The connection of this building with the death of Jesus may not be readily recalled, yet it has been made the germinal point of one of the most touching stories emanating from the tragedy of the Crucifixion on the street that testifies to a woman's compassion and secured for her the glory of saintship and the perpetuation of her name in connection with the Savior. The story shows that Jesus stopped to rest on the way to Calvary in the road in front of Veronica's door and that she stepped out from the doorway and wiped Jesus' bloody face with her veil.

Bruno of La Grande Chartreuse

   This mural depicts Bruno of La Grande Chartreuse within the monastic walls of the monastery in France. St. Bruno is the patron saint of St. Bruno Parish in Dousman Wisconsin. A parishioner posed for the painting which was then fashioned and interpreted by the artist into the image of the saint that was most familiar to members of the parish. The painting was commissioned by Deborah Hendrick, parish historian, and then donated by her to the parish.