December 12th, 2024
Revelation 12 - Painting by Jessica Gerhardt
La Virgen de Guadalupe – Beauty that transcends and includes
I have long been filled with wonder and awe when I behold the night sky. My ceilings adorned in glow-in-the-dark stars, a vintage sky map on my wall, and paintings depicting Orion and Scorpius chasing each other through the seasons all expose me for the astronomy nerd I am.
Today’s reading from Revelation uses the imagery of the constellations Virgo and Hydra to paint a tale about the Virgin Mary about to give birth to the Christ Child, threatening the power of King Herod and his dynasty:
“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet” (Revelation 12: 1).
The scripture passage inspired me to paint this piece (ABOVE, acrylic on canvas)
La Virgen de Guadalupe, whose feast we celebrate today, appeared on St. Juan Diego’s tilma dressed in a cerulean starry robe, sunbeams emanating from behind her, the moon and a cherub at her feet. Growing up in Los Angeles, CA and being drawn to celestial imagery influenced my connection to this Marian apparition. Beauty on earth draws us to the transcendent, to God – and the miracle of the tilma is a story certainly filled with transcendent beauty.
During Advent, we anticipate heaven meeting earth in our fully human and fully divine Savior, Jesus, who comes to us through La Virgencita. We pray “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” – crying out to our loving God to bring the divine realm into the midst of our world. Mary’s fiat gives way to the Incarnation and the God of “both-and” enters into all our human contradictions and categories.
In August, after 5 years of working on it, I released my debut full-length album, Alight Beyond the Sea – just one day after I began working full-time as a high school theology teacher. The album centers around Psalm 139, and themes of God-with-us in all things: darkness and light, grief and joy. The album explores vocation and discernment, and ironically, the opening track “Meant To Stay” I wrote when I was thinking about leaving my last job to become a freelance musician. While accepting this position has brought consolation and feels like where I’m meant to be, I’ve also felt grief about not having the time or energy to promote my record’s release as much as I’d hoped. My inner critic often tries to push me into “either-or” thinking: you’re an artist or a teacher, pick one. But I sense La Virgen lightheartedly responding with “¿Porqué no los dos?” The beginning of a new role doesn’t have to mean the end of another. Our God contains multitudes and we are made in the Imago Dei!
This Advent, may we as artists welcome God’s creativity being born anew in our lives, and may we be open to transcending the either-or and including the both-and as we move from outgrown notions of God into new ways of living in the Spirit.
Jessica Gerhardt is a multidisciplinary artist as well as a high school theology teacher from Los Angeles, CA. Follow her on IG @jgerhardtmusic and/or @workofhumanhandsart. Learn more and check out her music, paintings, rosaries, jewelry, embroidery art, and writing at www.jessicagerhardt.com.