Friday, October 12, 2012

What If Jesus Didn't Look Like That?

A few years ago, I played music for a small campus worship service nearing Easter time. I loved the pictures of Jesus shown on the screen, which portrayed him as deeply dark-skinned---not the fair-skinned, blue-eyed Jesus with golden-brown locks flowing over his shoulders.

And I wondered how people might be changed if we could view Jesus outside the typical portrayal of him?

I recently saw a picture of Jesus laughing. And I love pictures of Jesus smiling and laughing, expressing a personality. But this particular painting slightly turned me off by the drastic unlikelihood of his appearance. This Jesus boasted a huge square smile, the kind teenagers have right after their braces come off, as if he'd just had it manufactured right there at Palestine Orthodontia---Jesus after he'd completed his Hollywood look with Crest 3D White Strips. And I wondered again:

How might people be changed if we could view Jesus outside the typical portray of him?

What if we could see Jesus in every different skin color or ethnicity?
And not only varying skin color,
but what if we could even see Jesus as someone 
who wouldn't normally be considered overly attractive by society?
What if we could see Jesus as someone who would probably not be voted one of the
World's 20 Most Beautiful People?

What if we could see Jesus with a disproportionate nose,
and a mouthful of crooked or missing teeth?
What if we could see Jesus with a weight problem that couldn't be controlled
even by the grueling physical duties of carpentry work?
What if his face was blemished and scarred,
his eyes weak and not piercingly blue?
What if he was abnormally short or child-like thin?
What if we could see Jesus with a receding hairline or a shiny bald head?
A dirty, dusty, smelly Jesus?
A Jesus with ears that stuck out?
A Jesus minus a strong, masculine jawline?
A bow-legged Jesus or Jesus with a limp?
Jesus with a large, distracting birth mark?

Would we feel any differently towards him?
Would we feel any differently the next time we encounter people of all skin colors,
less socially desired body types, or faces that don't equal conventional beauty?

Would we pause before criticizing or making fun of others
(or criticizing ourselves) if we considered,
"Jesus might have had that same feature too."

How might people be changed if we could view Jesus outside the typical portrayal of him?

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Thank you, and thanks for reading.

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