Amidst all the chaos....this week's sermon

It's time for another sermon...

This one was written for my interview on Thursday, or at least the basis of it was (preaching a sermon at the start of an interview is definitely a first for me, and I was more nervous than i have ever been at the start of a sermon! And during!)

I fleshed it out a bit for Sunday, and extrapolated more as I went along, but here's the basic text, or rather (as always) an introduction with more to be found at New Kid Deep Stuff...

Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30

Tricky Jesus

In my wife’s room as she was growing up there was a picture of Jesus surrounded by animals and children – a wonderful example of Victorian Kitsch, all soft focus and shiny blonde Jesus – around it was a line from a well known hymn which said ‘all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all...’

It was a meant to be a comfort, a picture of a Jesus who welcomed the vulnerable and who projected an aura of love and acceptance. It didn’t possess any particular artistic merit, but was unthreatening and warm.

I’m not sure what picture you have of Jesus in your own mind, perhaps you share such a ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ image, perhaps you have a mental image of the publicity campaign a few years back which had a picture of Jesus on a red background, looking remarkably like the Che Gevuara pictures which have adorned lots of student walls for the past thirty years or so which say ‘Meek. Mild. As If’ Or maybe an image of a man on a cross, or Christ surrounded by light rising into glory, or a Jesus who never blinks like Robert Powell in the Jesus of Nazareth TV series. I could go on and on... [more]

Comments

Nick Payne said…
Do you think Jesus is often thought of like the Doctor?

What I mean is, that perhaps people find the "Jesus image" they grew up with, or are most familiar with... to be their favourite.

One of my favourite images of Jesus is the statue Ecce Homo that was in Trafalgar Square some time ago. I liked it because it portrayed Jesus in a manner that related him straight back to the Jewish people. He was portrayed shaven headed, and with a tattoo on his arm... awaiting his fate.

Some really stupid London councillor complained it was racist because the material used was white marble... he completely missed the point.

I commented on this BBC article on the appearance of Jesus a long time ago... and it's an article that keeps getting replicated on other sites.

Another image I find interesting is the one that last Easter was denounced as obscene - The "Chocolate Jesus". I had a very poor attempt at being an art critic on that one, you can read my thoughts here.

And definitely spot on about wanting to know Jesus not merely know about him.
12:15 am
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