Watch & Pray

The titles of Taft Richardson's works often make reference to Biblical texts. For instance, there is "Watch and Pray." He calls the creature he created a "referee." It looks like a lizard or alligator, with a "little guy" on top. The eyes, Taft points out, will follow you. The reference comes from Matthew 28. Jesus is about to be betrayed. He goes to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, and tells his disciples, Peter among them, to wait for him. When he rejoins them, Peter has fallen asleep, and Jesus' disappointed comment is "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 28:40-41).

Let Not Man Deceive You

In some cases, a title is likely drawn from multiple places. "Let Not Man Deceive You," for instance, could come from Jesus' remarks to his disciples in Matthew 24: 4-5, or the similar passage in Mark 13: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." But it could also be from Paul, who uses the phrase a couple of times, or from John, who says, "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous" (I John 3:7).

The Head of John the Baptist

And sometimes, the titles just refer to stories. There is, for example, the "Head of John the Baptist," which refers to the death of John at the hands of Herod, after he had made a foolish promise to a dancer that he liked (Mark 6). John lived as a hermit, yet he was the one who announced that Jesus was coming, the "voice crying in the wilderness."