WARNING PREACHY
So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Have you ever seen the movie Mary
Poppins? The part where Mary Poppins and
the two children were caught in a rain storm and were required to take medicine[1], because as Mary Poppins pointed out, “People who get their feet wet must learn to
take their medicine.”
As she poured out a spoonful to each
child, and herself, the liquid in each spoon was a different color. And further, when each one took their
spoonful of medicine they proclaimed its flavor. Little miss Jane tasted hers and proclaimed “Yummm,
lime cordial”, then Master Michael tasted his, he proclaimed, “Strawberry!”,
and finally Mary Poppins announced that hers tasted like “Rum Punch”.
From the same bottle each person tasted
what pleased herself.
Have you ever seen that famous painting
of Jesus, just Google the Sallmon Head of Christ[2] and you’ll see which one I am speaking of, it’s a 1940’s painting
that has been produced millions and millions of times and has become the standard
visual cue for many people of what Jesus Christ looks like. Paintings of Jesus are very interesting to me
because what each painting is actually showing is the image of the individual artist. If we search Google close enough we will find
many paintings of Jesus, how some artists imagine Jesus as a black man, an Asian
man, a Mexican man, and each of these in their corresponding female versions. There are as many images of Jesus as there
are denominations of Christian churches in America.
It is natural for us humans to believe
that Jesus is just like ourselves, just as natural as it is for us to think
that the sun revolves around the earth. Heliocentricism
isn’t a big revelation to us today but it was a concept that ruffled lots of
feathers in the time of Pythagorean in 390BC.
A geocentric model of the universe is most naturally appealing because
each of us has a natural tendency to believe that all eyes are on us. Like a teenager, we have a natural tendency
to think that everyone (including God) revolves around me.
And this is why Mary Poppins’ medicine will
naturally taste like an 18 year old Scotch to me, and my painting of Jesus will
look a lot like a short gimpy white guy with gray hair. But when I am honest, I full well know that
Jesus does not look anything like me, nor is His medicine really all that yummy
at times.
In reality, the picture of Jesus that should
come to mind is that of a defenseless little lamb stained with its own blood:
which is bloody because we inflicted many wounds upon it. The painting, that we should see is dominated
by a Roman cross of public execution which is devoid of all smiles and laughter
and should taste like bile welled up from the bottom of our stomachs. This picture of Jesus should not be neat,
tidy, or clean, but should make us flinch in reaction to its site.
It is only in our own imaginations that
we can begin to conceive of medicine that pleases our palates.
As unpleasing as the image of Jesus is that
I have just painted, we must not flinch and avert our eyes because it is in
this unpleasant scene that we will find the empty tomb. Just as the disciples of our Lord endured the
horror of the reality of Jesus’ death, so also we must so embrace the death of
our Lord that we too may go to His tomb to prepare him for proper burial and be
surprised by His rising from the dead.
That His tomb is empty and that He is alive. He is alive proving that He
is victorious over sin and death in this world.
He is alive proving that we have truly been redeemed by his death upon
that ugly cross. He is alive proving
that we are forgiven, once and for all, that our relationship with God the
father may be restored if only we will only accept the grace that He offers to us.
Or do we simply prefer the clean and
tidy portrait of Jesus that hangs upon our walls and the yummy flavors of our
own imaginations?
Often, I believe I do.
6Then
I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne,
encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirit of God sent out into all the earth. 7He
went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And
when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls
full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. (Revelations 5:6-8)
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