Many people have at least a mental image of Jesus — do you?
Years ago I heard a homily in which the priest suggested we contemplate a picture of Jesus after receiving the Eucharist, as a way to develop a personal relationship with Him. It sounded like a good idea, so I got in the habit of doing so, by looking at this old prayer card I carry around in my wallet.
It really did help to study the card, but there was something not quite right. Eventually I came to realize this image of Our Lord did not quite resonate with me, but I could not put my finger on why. Too gentle? Too tranquil? Too bland in His expression? Whatever it was, I didn’t let it interfere with my devotion. But recently I stumbled across an image on the internet that grabbed my attention the way my prayer card never did:
After some digging, I found out this painting is called Crucifixion (The Passion of the Christ), by contemporary artist Anatoly Shumkin. I love this painting. To me it conveys strength, fortitude, and sacrifice, profoundly rooted in love. I am going to start using this image in my devotion. The painting captures the most important moment in human history, the moment when It was accomplished, when humanity went from having no hope to every hope.
Another image of Jesus that powerfully attracts me is the Jesus of Nikolai Ge’s, What Is Truth? Here is the full painting and a close-up of Jesus.
This depiction is quite different from Shumkin’s. Ge’s Jesus looks haggard, rough around the edges, unremarkable in his features. You can feel His mental suffering as strongly as His physical suffering; and through Ge’s expert touch, Jesus projects holiness not because of his physical appearance, but in spite of it. But the determination is still there; the divinity as well as the humanity is still there; and the divine mercy as well as the divine justice is still there, for I see Jesus responding to the arrogance of Pilate with pity and sadness rather than anger, disappointed love rather than vengeful hate.
What does Jesus look like to you?
Reflection
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- The fact these two portraits of Jesus appeal to me more than the prayer card says something about me — but what?
- What do I want to see in Jesus? Am I seeking the right things, the wrong things, or not enough things
Notes
