But I decided that it might be interesting to leave responses open for sharing. I'd like to know your initial reactions/thoughts on this picture and I'll share mine, too. You don't have to write a dissertation or anything (though dissertations are welcome). Leave a sentence or two, or maybe even a couple of words. Leave a verse or a poem if you want. I would love to know your thoughts.
My blog serves many self-indulgent purposes, but it is also a safe place for reflection that, when shared, leads to further understanding. :)
*photographer is Mark B, the subject being, "from church whose name I forget at Little Venice, Regency Canal, London."
11 comments:
I think this picture should be called ‘constructing Jesus’. We all have the same words in red, but come up with very different deities.
I am not a hundred percent sure what is going on the picture but I at first glance it almost looks like God is caged. In our Christianity we seem to do this sometimes we put God in a cage or box and we forget he can do big things in our lives.
I know that it is scaffolding for repairing/restoring the statue, but on second thought, it does look like Jesus is being "jailed". How much more fulfilling could our lives be if we'd just free Him up. I know I limit God & therefore limit my own abilities, potential, vision, passion, etc. etc. How are you holding Him back?
Later,
Cliff
It's not the scaffolding that interests me here -- it's the fact that the years at the base of this crucifix are 1914-1918. Interesting. Contradiction?
My first reaction was, "That's weird lookin'." That says very little though. It looks quite a bit like Jesus has been put up in a very shoddily constructed house, in which case I'd say he should've picked a better contractor.
I like Deidra and Cliff's comments. God all boxed up, nice and neat, no causing any waves here. Not.at.all.like.the.real.Jesus. Plus, it's very Catholic in nature. The Jesus I know? He didn't stay on the cross. So, it should be empty. And the boxes? Please, shake them hard enough, and they'll come on down.
Furthermore, tells how we try to structure faith on OUR needs, OUR desires, OUR comfort zone. So very very sad, and leaves us all boxed up....and we wonder why folks don't want to join us in our faith!
Hey, you guys are amazing! I love hearing what you all have to say!
Thanks for participating and continue to do so, if you want!! :)
My initial reaction to this was similar to Rich’s in that it appears that the nailed, suffering Christ seems to be being constructed and kept there in a place that is individualistically constructed. (God in the personal mantel box, as opposed to being an almighty one, indefinable - unable to be sculpted – even by Michelangelo)
I think that history plays such a role in religion (which it’s why it is interesting that Christine mentioned the dates on the base (WWI) and the contradiction of the sacrificial lamb and war). This particular history is carved into the base, until that history is eventually decayed and forgotten, like so many other interpretations of God.
When researching the roots of man’s search for God, it seems silly to arrive at one conclusion, because God is bigger than one conclusion. And she is bigger than history.
It occurs to me that as much as we NEED faith, especially in times of uncertainty or fear (and in joy) we turn to our iconic images – the ones that remind us of a warm feeling – that we need in order to feel connected to each other or as a member of a team. The fact is that all people have had this need, even in the times of (and before) Paganism when the people called to Athena for justice, or cursed their neighbors through Minerva, or begged for healing/worshipped in order to not be afflicted, etc. etc.
In a sense, the fact that we as people have all sought that connection actually is that connection that we need, as opposed to factions that ‘religions’ offer to us under the scaffolding of righteousness.
That isn’t to say that teamwork is wrong or that religion is. It just means that God is the tie, regardless of image/icon. It means that we all have community in the very fact that we are all searching.
p.s. I happen to ADORE iconic images, especially those of beautiful Michelangelo..
The image for me spoke of protecting Jesus. In the birth narratives Mary wraps Jesus is swaddling bands to immobilize him and keep him from hurting himself. In this image it's like the scaffolding is there to protect and repair Jesus from the effects of the environment - almost as if we don't want Him getting damaged.
I see this a lot in the church. I think of the uproar when 'Last Temptation of Christ' came out (or even 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. The church railed against the 'blasphemy' almost as if it was hurting God in some way. But it seems like the church ignores true blasphemy - poverty, injustice, war, famine etc. We (and I include myself in this) should be getting angry at these things, because Jesus would. But instead we build cages for Him and keep Him safe wrapped in swaddlings bands, when the truth is really we are keeping ourselves safe.
A radical, dangerous Jesus is terrifying. I think of the line in 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' where one of the girls asks "Is Aslan Safe?" and the response is "Safe? He's not safe. But he's good."
We create cages of legalism, swaddling bands of conservatism and scaffolding of fundamentalism all to protect ourselves from Jesus. In my faith journey I'm discovering that the key issues that I thought were SO important to God really don't matter. It's a scary feeling to discover that I am more of a Fundamentalist that God is!!!!!!
My walk of faith has become a journey into Unknowing. Into Doubt. Into Grace.
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