James Eddy had been a loyal customer of First Republic Bank since 2003, and had paid the bank in excess of one million dollars in mortgage interest over the course of his 16 year relationship. He had always been their greatest advocate. In the year of 2019, in the City of San Francisco James noticed some discrepancies in his checking account, which were later authenticated as not having been caused by anything he had done. Unbeknownst to James, an unauthorized person was writing fraudulent checks on his account, using their own name. When he discovered the anomalies and brought the discrepancies to the attention of his bank, rather than correct their own mistakes and offer an apology, which James would have accepted, they unceremoniously permanently closed ALL of his checking accounts. After a period of recovery, James petitioned Saint Matthew Apostle, the patron saint of financial matters, for assistance. Matthew instructed James first to spread the gospel and then to use his creative energy to warn others about their actions. Matthew counseled James to be thankful that this relationship had been severed given the bank’s unfaithful ways and the abandonment of their most basic fiduciary duties. James offers this retablo to commemorate the miracle of his survival and Saint Matthew’s divine intervention.

December 27, 2020, San Francisco, CA