Artist Statement: The word reliquary comes from the French word reliquaire, meaning “a receptacle, such as a shrine or altar, for keeping and displaying sacred objects. They could be made from metal or carved wood, often based on an architectural design, such as a church with a pitched roof or a Gothic style church window. They held precious stones, pictures, crucifixes and religious relics and were used as personal prayer altars.
This reliquary depicts Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus and its title is taken from Isaiah 9:6The Old Testament features hundreds of prophecies about Jesus’ life, his death, and how he rose from the grave. He fulfilled them all, including Isaiah Chapter 9, which foretold that Jesus would be born as a human baby and that he would also be equal with God. In this passage the prophet Isaiah looked through the next 800 years of time and talked about the “garments rolled in blood” (Isaiah 9:5). Then he declared, “Unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). The “Child is born” phrase establishes the fact of Christ’s humanity. The “Son is given” phrase establishes the fact of His deity as the Son of God. Jesus is God-man, God incarnated as a man. Though Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, he was also born “unto us,” a spiritually bankrupt, lost and broken humanity. And, as Isaiah prophesizes, he comes to as “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”