Face to Face with Jesus
Since the earliest days of the church, Christians have depicted Jesus in art. From AD 300 the familiar image of a bearded man with long hair began to emerge, which is still prominent even in much contemporary art. Images often reflect the ethnicity of the culture they were created in as well as the artistic style of the era. Every aspect of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and kingship have been depicted over the years.
St Clare's Face to Face with Jesus resource curates 40 of such depictions on a series of postcards. There are pictures of Jesus from a wide range of times, places and styles, depicting his incarnation, passion, and resurrected life. They are designed to encourage people to think and to pray, in worship, discussions, or private devotions, and most of all to enable people to draw closer to the Jesus we are called to follow.
The following reflection is taken from St Clare's lent series based on the Face to Face with Jesus resource, and was originally published on their website.
Lent Day 8 - Korean Jesus (Photorealistic illustration generated with AI)
Should we try and portray Jesus as he really looked, or as a reflection of how we look?
Historically, the western world has done the latter, often portraying Jesus as blond and blue eyed, and when that (or any) portrayal is dominant, or considered ‘normal’ by those of other ethnicities, then it is a problem.
But representation matters. Portraying Christ as Korean (or black, or female or disabled etc etc) isn’t creating God in our own image, it’s remembering that we are created in God’s image, and so each of us should be able to see ourselves reflected back in Christ.
God of creation,
who made us in your own image,
help me to see all people in the image of Christ
and to see Christ in all people.
Amen.
This post was originally written by Revd Charlotte Gale for St Clare's blog as part of their 'Forty 100 word reflections for forty days of Lent' series. You can purchase the Face to Face with Jesus resource on their website.