HeQui Epiphany

detail from jesusmafa epiphany

the magi: Ravenna mosaic This 6th Century mosaic reminds me of the carol : "three kings from Persian lands afar..." except that of course these are not kings, but three magi... wearing just the kind of clothes one could imagine being worn by Persians of that time ( I understand Persians introduced the wearing of trousers rather than long flowing robes ).Many years ago I found a lovely childrens book retelling a Chinese legend which gave the delightful story of a group of astronomers who, on discovering the new star, set out on a long adventurous journey all the way from China, via the silk route, and eventually down into Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem to find the young Christ child... Now theres an idea... it could be interesting to write a childrens story of astronomers from a country [ like India, where archaeological evidence has been found of buildings used for astronomy...] making a similar journey & bringing in the cultural background from Asia where astrology is so much part of everyday decisions...it could be fascinating...

c. janet driver

      jesusmafa painting : Footwashing; Peter’s initial shock/horror that Jesus would ever do this menial task of washing his feet...

villagers in the Mafa area of the Cameroon worked together on various Biblical narratives and acted them out so that they could be photographed and later painted to make posters which could be shown to groups learning about Christianity to enable them to understand the Bible... they amassed a large number of paintings which are beautiful in portraying Jesus as an African living among them...this painting is just one example...

and here is another.....          

                    jesusmafa : Jesus heals a blind man

                 Jesus as the Good Shepherd John ch 10 : jesusmafa, Camerounian painting

good !  It took me some time, but I did manage to access my photos again today & Ive found another “good shepherd” painting... and for anyone who finds it confusing that this is a very ‘white’/European style after the African painting above... does it really matter whether Jesus is portrayed as an African or Indian, Chinese or European ?   well... I think the answer is both ‘yes’ and  ‘no’... even more confused ?

Well... we really have no idea at all what Jesus looked like... oh there have been various legends, but they only go back to about the 14th or 15th century... not back to the first  century AD...the Gospel writers never mention what he looked like, and although its strange for us to realise, there were no phones or cameras around then, and so no first century photos !  So all we know is that he probably looked like any other first century Jew living in Palestine...often outdoors & travelling the length & breadth of the country, probably on foot & sometimes on a donkey, so he would most likely have been very brown and quite rugged.

Why then do we have so many paintings of Jesus showing him as a pinkish-white’ European-looking person ?

Maybe that has more to do with the history of art and both the artists and those who commissioned them than anything else...

For the first 200 years or so Jesus was depicted through symbols eg the first letter of the alphabet elongated into the shape of a fish, or an anchor drawn with the cross-bars as a reminder of the crucifixion and resurrection... were these perhaps hidden, secret symbols ? as Christians were persecuted and put to death for their faith... ?  By the third or fourth century paintings on the walls of the Roman Catacombs [burial chambers ] were portraying Jesus as the Good Shepherd, in a Greek or Roman style of painting

Then we have the great artists of the Rennaisancelike Leonardo &Michaelangelo...both Italians...commissioned by Italian Popes... so naturally they would have chosen an Italian model when painting their pictures or creating sculptures ...including those of Jesus... and so we have tended to follow these artists, and have somehow come to think of Jesus as a ‘white’ person, without really thinking about it...Fortunately there are several artists from different cultures & countries around the world who are now seeing Jesus through their own eyes and painting him in many different ways...Over this next week or two I will try to find you some examples of paintings of Jesus from Indian, Chinese & African  artists & more...

Ash Wednesday... beginning of Lent

Jesus is tempted...jesusmafa ... see more on curious christian.blog

Epiphany

Jesusmafa, Cameroonian paintings

Friday :

Last Supper : Jesusmafa

Tuesday

“ God looks at every human being with infinite tenderness and deep compassion “

Brother Roger : ateliers et Pressess de Taize

www.taize.fr

Sunday : St John 10 v 1 - 10

Jesus the good shepherd : c Jesusmafa : Cameroun

“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”                                     John 10 v 2-4 (NIV version)

Catacomb painting 

Christ the Good Shepherd was a very popular image in early Christian art... and again today

found on Pinterest /  Isaiah 40 v 11

artist : Yongsung Kim

Holy Week : Maundy Thursday St John 13 v 1 - 15

Jesus washes the Disciples Feet

Sunday : St John 11 v 1-45

 Why did Jesus wait so long before setting out to visit Martha, Mary & Lazarus in Bethany when he heard that Lazarus was ill ? 

It is worth realising that it was highly dangerous for Jesus and his followers to go to Bethany because it was so near Jerusalem, his life would then be in danger... 

...but you would only realise that by reading of the growing opposition he had been facing throughout the previous chapters in John’s Gospel [from about ch 7 onwards]... 

When he does decide to make the journey to Bethany, his disciples immediately point out how dangerous it would be. Thomas then says they should all go with him, and die with him, if necessary. 

Follow the narrative right through, and you will see that some of the mourners go and report what has happened to the Jewish Leaders who promptly decide they must arrest and kill Jesus...maybe Lazarus as well... if they are to save their nation from being destroyed by their Roman overlords. 

This is the background setting for this dramatic event.

You might be interested in “Jesus Wept” by Debie Thomas www.journeywithjesus.net