Artist's
commentary: A professor once approached Mother Teresa and
asked if she had a message he could bring back to his students.
She took one of his hands, and pointing to his thumb, said "You."
Pointing to his index finger, she said "Did." His middle
finger: "It." His ring finger: "For." His
baby finger: "Me."
"You did it for me." The line comes from one of the
most compelling stories Jesus tells, a story about how God will
judge people at the end of time. In the story, people of all nations
are separated into two groups. One group has loved Jesus and cared
for him when he was hungry and thirsty, when he was sick and in
prison, when he was a stranger, and when he needed clothing. The
other has not. Both groups are shocked that they have even seen
Jesus, let alone cared or not cared for him. But Jesus tells
them, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these friends
of mine, you did for me.'"
"You did it for me." Jesus says how we treat the least
valued of
society is how we will be judged at the end of time.
The paintings in this series use the image of two hands. We can
use our hands to heal or destroy, to protect or tear down. The
series encourages us to use our hands to build up, to feed, to
clothe, to protect.
Mark Dahle's paintings hang in collections around the United States, from Florida to Alaska.
See paintings in other series by clicking on the links below.
Leaving Chicago Creation Two Hands Autumn Leaves Home
