To Think About Jesus
What art do you keep in your home that reminds you of Jesus Christ?
For this Easter season, we invited a few friends of the Center to reflect on that question by sharing a work of art that lives in their everyday space and to tell us why it matters to them.
Do you have a meaningful reminder in your home? Share it with us.
1. Touching the Hem of God
James C. Christensen (American, 1942-2017)
Touching the Hem of God (2003)
Giclee print, signed, 31 × 21 inches
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Wilcox
“This is James Christensen's Touching the Hem of God. I love this painting for lots of reasons including the vibrancy, the patterns, and the content. I keep this painting in my home in a place where I see it often because it reminds me that miracles from Jesus can happen with just an outstretched hand and a touch. Miracles in my life have come through my own reaching, but also through the loving reach and touch of others. We are His hands and I have been blessed by many, many Saints who have reached out to me and lifted me up with their touch.”
— Jeniffer Wilcox, Board Member for the Center
2. Christ Discovered in the Temple
Simone Martini (Italian, 1284– 1344)
Photo of Christ Discovered in the Temple (1342)
Simone Martini (Italian, 1284– 1344)
Christ Discovered in the Temple (1342)
Tempera on panel, 19.5 x 13.8 inches
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Photo by George Ethridge, New York Times
“The work that I chose is one that I discovered along with my whole family when we visited the Siena: The Rise of Painting: 1300-1350 show at The Metropolitan Museum in New York in December 2024. The show was revelatory to me in many ways, but one of the most impactful works I discovered there was a painting by Simone Martini, Christ Discovered in the Temple, painted in 1342. I took several pictures of the relatively small (19.5 x 13.8 inches) painting while there. So many aspects of this work lingered in my mind over the coming months that I decided to have a print made of one of my pictures to have at home.
“What strikes me most about this work is how it contextualizes and humanizes the mortal experience of The Savior. The small scale and structure of the work makes us feel like a curtain was raised at a pivotal, psychological moment and we catch a glimpse of an intimate family interaction. The scene depicts the young Christ returning with Joseph after going missing for several days as he "was about his father's business" teaching and learning in the temple. He faces his clearly exasperated mother. "Where were you? How could you?" is written all over her face. Meanwhile Joseph's expresses, "Do you have any idea what you put us (me) through?" The response is a pouty, nearly eye-rolling teenaged Christ whose expression says what all teenagers want to say to their parents.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man, Luke 2:52 teaches. He learned as we learn. He felt what we feel. He was frustrated as we are often frustrated. He became all knowing by knowing the small things along with the great and magnificent truths. He chose and grew to have the greatest love of all for us. He understood us so plainly to truly fill his role as The Redeemer of the World.”
— Warren Winegar, Advisory Board Chair for the Center
3. Ten Lepers Healed
Brian Kershisnik (American, born 1962)
Ten Lepers Healed (1997)
Reproduction, photo courtesy of Brent Beesley
Hanging above an upright piano in a family room, Brent noted how this miraculous moment exists amidst their everyday rhythms—songbooks, blankets, and the lived-in use of the space. In Brian Kershisnik’s Ten Lepers Healed, nine healed figures flee into the foreground—leaving Christ at a distance with the one who stayed behind. The painting serves as a reminder that healing often unfolds in the middle of ordinary life, and that recognizing it requires a readiness to look around and be grateful in the moment.
