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I would like to begin with a short, guided meditation on the image (above) that will hopefully let the art speak by itself. Artists usually don’t like to “prescribe” what the art means because the beauty of art is that it’s open-ended and expansive. Therefore, before I dive into my process and meaning in creating this, I want to give space to personal and unfiltered interpretation.

This prayerful meditation is called Visio Divina. Linday Boyer explains it as “a form of divine seeing in which we prayerfully invite God to speak to our hearts as we look at an image.” ¹ For those of you who are familiar with Lectio Divina, this has a similar structure. The difference is that we will be meditating on an image (the tapestry) instead of a Bible passage.

I invite you to focus your gaze on the tapestry. For the next few minutes, you can keep your focus there as I offer some questions for reflection. You don’t have to answer all of them. Choose the ones that resonate with you the most. At the end, you are welcome to share a word or phrase to express your experience.

With your eyes on the artwork, think about:

• How do you feel looking at the image?
• If you were in the image, where would you place yourself?
• What aspects in the tapestry look familiar to you and what looks unfamiliar? 
• How is God speaking to you in this image?

As a side note: There are no right or wrong answers in this exercise. If now I say something that is completely opposite to what you originally saw and felt, that is OKAY! Art has life of its own and its meaning transcends the original intention of the author. Keep in your heart whatever the image has already spoken to you. 

Now, let me share with you a bit of my thought process as I envisioned this piece. 

In our experience in the church, what images come to mind when we think of the New Jerusalem? Try to remember what sort of visuals we have when talking about the city of God, or the book of Revelation.

The depictions I usually saw had clouds, a castle of some sort, angels around, a lot of gold and fancy stones. Most of these were literal representations of Revelation 21 and 22. A square city, precious stones, twelve angels, etc. But in all honesty, these images didn’t feel inviting to me. I couldn’t imagine myself living in this city that almost felt like it came out of a fantasy book. My challenge, then, was how to depict the New Jerusalem in a non-literal way that would give the city, this special place, a different sense of belonging. 

The main problem of those literal images is that they miss or misinterpret one important detail in the passage. The City of God is not a place up in the skies where we will go. Revelation itself says the following (emphasis added): “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev 21:2). "He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" (Rev 21:10). Furthermore, the passage talks about God’s home being now among his people (Rev 21:3)!

This suggests that the city comes down to earth, and it’s established here, where we are. Therefore, this place isn’t foreign to us; this city is familiar. We might know these streets, we might recognize some infrastructure, we might see our own homes here. And yet, there is something different. For although this place is on earth, the divine has come to dwell in it.

Scenes of everyday life in the city of God.

In the artwork, you will see common places and things of our earthly experience, like houses, buildings, gardens, jungle, animals, people, water, etc. But they all are “stitched” together by dotted lines. These lines all over the city represent the spirit of the Lord flowing and bringing together all the different scenarios depicted. In a more literal sense, the centre of the city shows the throne of the lamb, from which “the river with the water of life” flows. Around this throne there is a tree shape that extends to create the walls of the city. 

My intention when playing with these elements is to create this sense of familiarity to the city while maintaining the crucial point that this place, as familiar as it may look, is a renewed and sacred space where the Divine dwells among us.

Another aspect I want to highlight is the multiculturality of the New Jerusalem. Going back to the visual representations we are used to seeing of this heavenly city, this was another thing that the images didn’t help us imagine.

Revelation 21:26 says: “And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.” For Robert Chao Romero, “This cultural treasure or ‘glory’ is a reflection of the glory of God in and through each of us as God’s unique children. ... By God’s design, we each bring distinct cultural glory and honor to the body of Christ as an offering of praise to Jesus—these are signposts that point us to God and draw us and the church into deeper understanding and relationship with him.” ²

In other words, those unique, beautiful, and creative features of each culture in the world will be part of the new Jerusalem. I find this fascinating because it means that the city of God is not a homogenous, monocultural place where we will lose our particularities and the riches of our beloved cultures. It’s quite the opposite: those singularities are so precious that they are like offerings of worship to the lamb on the throne. 

Diverse architectural styles suggest the welcoming of unique cultural gifts and perspectives.

Romero also offers two ways we can understand the wealth of the nations. One is “the tangible aspects of ethnic culture, such as food, music, dance, literature, and architecture.” ³ In my tapestry, I designed the buildings with different architectural styles to convey a city where all cultures are welcome. I want to clarify that this representation isn’t exhaustive, as it is hard to make sure you are representing every group of people in the world. The design hints at the multicultural aspect and opens the door of our imaginations to expand it. 

The second way we can understand the wealth of the nations is through “the distinct lenses and perspectives that every ethnic group brings to the world and the body of Christ.” Now, this is something that I can’t represent visually, but these various perspectives help to create a better understanding of God and his vision for a heavenly city and his kingdom.

One more note on this idea of the new Jerusalem being a multicultural haven. As much as we may love the cities where we live and cherish the treasures of the cultures we are from, these earthly cities are undeniably broken. In our cities today we find oppression, racism, sexism, classism, corruption, pollution, exploitation of people and nature, and the list can go on and on. Revelation 21:27 is essential to the vision of the city of God, stating that “nothing evil” will enter the city. The texts also lists all those who will not be part of this city: “cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars” (Rev 21:8). This means that God is sifting the nations and keeping the beauty and treasures of our cities but putting away all the sinfulness and brokenness.

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One final element I want to highlight today. As many artists will fairly point out: the medium you choose for your art matters. I’m a graphic designer and the illustrations I create are digital, so you might be wondering why I chose to print my piece into a tapestry.

In Bolivia, there is an ancient and long-standing tradition of women from different Indigenous tribes who weave beautiful and intricate garments. There is a museum in Sucre that showcases the magnificent collection of tapestries and garments from early colonial times. 

In Bolivia, traditional Indigenous textile production uses woven patterns to express a person's identity and story.

According to art historian Maria Teresa Gisbert, Indigenous textile production in Bolivia is a living testimony of a culture and a way of life from very long ago. ⁴ Furthermore, these designs tell stories of the merging of cultures that happened throughout history. They have elements of Aymara and Quechua culture (pre-Inca Empire), then Inca features, plus clear influence of Spanish colonial style. Even contemporary symbols such as trains and cars may appear on some designs. ⁵ The activity of weaving is tightly linked to the day-to-day life and ceremonial practices of the Andean people.

These rich storytelling designs had a very important purpose—they were used in certain garments to identify the specific people and town they belonged to. In other words, these woven designs told the person’s story and identity. 

With the technological advances of today, I was able to print my artwork into a tapestry, and I believe this is what made the design come to life. 

When you get closer to this piece you can see the single threads each of a different colour being woven into patterns and shapes that then create the bigger picture—a city, a heavenly city. I think of those threads as being each one of us taking active participation in God’s great design. God being the great weaver, and us the multicolour (or multicultural) threads. 

My art is a visual depiction of this vision, but how do we apply these beliefs into our lives today? The Bible Project Podcast made an in-depth analysis of the concept of “city” throughout the Bible. They go through many different points, but one that stood out for me was that they found the logic and ethic of the heavenly city in the Sermon of the Mount. What this means is that when we embody the Beatitudes, we are, in a way, transforming our cities into the heavenly city. When we help the poor, when we act generously, when we seek justice, when we work for peace, when we are persecuted for proclaiming the good news of liberation for all, we are bringing the city of God down to earth. 

May you continue to reimagine a heavenly city where you are an active citizen helping to build it and expand it. May you rejoice in the treasures of your nation that is part of God’s kingdom, and may you work against all broken systems that will not take part in the new city. For, in the words of Nicholas Wolterstoff, “Paradise is forever behind us. But the City of God, full of song and image, remains to be built.” ⁶