Historical Setting, 626 C.E. The farm in the Vosges
It was just a little gift that Greg and Gaillard brought with them from their last journey to Constantinople.
They came leading a caravan with horses and some mercenaries as guards and also with pack animals laden with all varieties of riches. The treasures are being dispersed while Greg and Gaillard are staying in the guest quarters at Luxeuil. But this time, this one gift for our family is very special.
We are all in awe of this precious little treasure Greg chose to buy for us. It is probably something more expensive than would be an appropriate gift for any simple peasant’s family, but for us it has a particular significance. It is a little box that looks like a personal reliquary. It isn’t gold encrusted or bejeweled, it is simply a finely made wooden box with decorative carvings. Inside the box isn’t a saint’s actual hair or teeth or bones. The box is really a frame for a very small painting, very delicate and exquisitely prepared. It has particularly vibrant colors, with smoothed and finished shades for the flesh tones. The faces and hands of the people seem nearly touchable, as though, if you kissed them, they would turn and smile at you. They tell us this is a style of icon, painted and sold in Constantinople. This one is an imaginative perception of a bible story which is why Greg choose to bring this to us. Obviously one who was there would have seen it very differently, but this shows Lazarus being raised from death by Jesus.
This little artwork brings everyone to our door to see a story with their own eyes. I need to nurture the clarity: Jesus wept. God loves. We live.
Layla had her husband come with her and they took a Sunday rest to come over this way and see it and hear the story once again. This was the first visit from Layla and her husband since she left. And they are already expecting their first child. Ana is delighted.
Ana tells the bible story from John 11 to Haberd’s children and she will be so happy to have more grandchildren at her feet when she tells these stories over and over again.
Hannah wants to take the painting with her when she goes calling on those who are sick and have lost hope, because she thinks it is a story that would bring comfort. Others argue we have heaven for that.
(Continues Tuesday, January 9, 2024)
Lazarus Ink 