ON THIS DAY OF CHRIST’S EVE

On this “Day of Christ’s Eve” I am reminded of my childhood memories with my good Mother, taking my sister and I to church on Christmas Eve. Sometimes my Dad would go. Sometimes not. But always Mother would take us. She made sure we had a relationship with a spiritual Master. And though her scope may have been focused solely on Jesus in this matter, that was enough. She set in me a reverence for the Teacher. The kind who teaches Life—and in this great lesson the only one lesson there is—that being Love. And the JOY of creation.

Sondra and I, on the day before this Christ’s Eve, went to hear the Messiah by Handel at the Kennedy Center here in Washington DC. We are very much loving the cultural offerings here in our Capitol City. For a few days we will be immersed in the holiday of the Christ. It is a great and joyous time, the advent of pure Love upon the planet, the Master of the Atonement, the One who came to impart Forgiveness to humanity. And what a great lesson that all has been. We still are learning it as a human race. “LOVE YE ONE ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU,” is about the only commandment he gave. And “FORGIVE YOUR ENEMIES.” (Because they are equally God’s Creations, even the dastardly ones. He even forgave his crucifiers!)

I have been painting Jesus for many years. Here are just a few of them. This one I painted in Perth, Australia. It lives with Melissa Hughes. She gives Him a good home. I think it transmits a presence. Melissa is sensitive to it’s energy, and I do believe she sees Who He is.

JESUS of PERTH

Another Jesus I painted in Barcelona last summer, “Christ of Catalunya.” It was purchased by my friend Prabhu there. He was struck by the force of it, and had to have it in his home. I was grateful to him for the purchase, because I can tell when a painting goes into the heart of a person. Prabhu was such a person who emanated gratitude. He, like Melissa, has done a good deal of inner work on himself—rebirthing, meditation and such. This makes a person receptive to deeper energies. This is the kind of vibration needed to really make contact with the Christ. These colors—deep cadmium yellow and fire red—are the colors of the Catalunyan flag. There have always been independent thinkers around Barcelona. And these colors were fitting for “Christ of Catalunya.” I am glad to be able to share Him on this Christ’s Eve.

CHRIST of CATALUNYA

Here is another Jesus I painted specifically for Lynn Delyx in Los Angeles. “Jesus Laughing,” I called it. Lynn had purchased a Babaji painting and she commissioned me to do this Jesus laughing. It was a stretch for me to paint teeth and make them look natural. I think I pulled it off. Anyhow, she liked Him and so did I in the end.

JESUS LAUGHING

Another stretch I did was to paint a green Jesus. How many green Jesus’s have you seen in your life? Maybe only one, and here it is on Christ’s Eve of 2018. The original I left with our organizer in Las Vegas. My sister liked it too, so I made her a giclee of Him. Green Jesus of Las Vegas was more powerful than I thought He would be.

You could ask, “Why do you paint Jesus in bright colors like you do?” There is a life of the color that comes before any preconceived notion of what the color would be. I start in some place with a colored ground, and then from there the color schematics unfold on their own. I consider the Masters “Colorful Characters” Who transcend the normal spectral range of boring flesh tones. They push me beyond the normal.

GREEN JESUS of LAS VEGAS

Jesus of Melbourne turned out red and deep pink. I tend to like the warm palette. This one seemed to suggest a halo, and some emanating rays. Zeroum Law has this Jesus in his house in Melbourne, Australia.  In fact he has paintings of the full Dream Team—Jesus, Babaji, and the Divine Mother. The full Triumvirate.

JESUS of MELBOURNE

One of my favorite Jesus paintings is one I painted in Szczecin, Poland, but sold to Anka and Nebosja Lalatovic in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also have a Triumvirate as well, with Babaji and the Divine Mother in a dual painting I did for them a few years ago. There is a softness about this Jesus of Poland. I captured the eyes and the mouth just right. It has a peace and quiet which emanates from itself. “I know that my redeemer liveth” is a line from Handel’s Messiah. Truly this painting gives me the sense that my “redeemer liveth.”

It’s not about the redemption of “sacrifice,” but one of example. A Being comes Who is pure Love upon the planet, and this has an impact on all of us. We are now given the example to emulate in His or Her extension of unconditional love. This is the purpose of an icon painting—to enhance and fortify that Presence of the living Master in our midst, so we may become as Him.

This is the full meaning of the “Birth of Christ” on this coming of Christmas. On Christ’s Eve perhaps we can more deeply invite Him into our souls. As in these quiet moments of thanksgiving—have a moment of appreciation for Life itself, for the glory of it all. God bless you and merry Christmas, our dear readers.

—Sondra Ray & Markus Ray—

PS. ALL THESE PAINTINGS ARE AVAILABLE AS GICLEES: BROWSE THE GALLERY HERE

JESUS of POLAND