Filed under: Art, Christianity, Thrift Store Jesus, religion, thrift stores | Tags: Art, Christianity, religion, Thrift Store Jesus, thrift stores
Jesus…asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:13-16 (The Message)
I name most of my “thrift-store Jesus” finds, but not this one. To me, this piece doesn’t lend itself to a clever name. This is one of my favorites, simple and striking. I’ve always been fond of the rustic wood-slice plaque look, to me it says old Colorado (even though I’m sure it was popular in other areas, too). But what is special about this piece is that I think it is very original. I don’t think this came from a pattern, it doesn’t look like a kit. The plaque was painted black, then the image carved out of it. I wish it was signed or dated by the artist, but there is nothing.
So, why this piece right now? We are nearing Easter, a time when many think about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This image is a typical Catholic Jesus, with the crown of thorns. I was always told that the Catholic images usually emphasized the crucifixion, but the Protestant Jesus was a risen Jesus (thus, the empty cross). To be real honest, I think both of them are missing half of the point—you can’t have one without the other.
But I do find it interesting how we tend to create our own “Jesus.” You could argue that it is “just an image…we know that wasn’t how Jesus looked, blah, blah, blah.” But I think we have a lot of reasons we imagine him as we do.
My husband, Jim, isn’t too crazy about “paint-by-number Jesus” (my first thrift-store Jesus). In mock frustration he asked, “When is this supposed to be? When was Jesus standing around in his “Sunday best” holding up a cross?” Jim doesn’t really understand all about promo photos and marketing and press releases and all that stuff, but I’m sure that is what this was. It’s just a public relations piece….right?
I can just imagine Jesus walking along with the disciples having the discussion quoted at the beginning of this post. I think he stopped right in the middle, looked each of them straight in the eye, and asked, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
I think he would have the same conversation with each of us, asking, “Who do you say I am…that’s what I really want to know?”
Filed under: Art, Christianity, Thrift Store Jesus, religion, thrift stores | Tags: Art, Christianity, religion, Thrift Store Jesus, thrift stores
Paint-by-Number Jesus
My ancestors must have been voracious hunters and gatherers. My husband and I get on “crusades” as we call them. One of us will get some wacko thing stuck in our head and nothing can get in our way. My latest crusade has been finding unusual, generally handmade, images of Jesus at the local thrift stores.
It began at the thrift store just 1/2 mile down the street. Recently, a number of unusual Jesus images started to appear (no, not miraculously, like in the mold spot on the wall). Paint-by-number Jesus was the first. It caught my eye, but at $7 it was a little pricey so I passed it up. But it stuck with me, until I finally went back. It was still waiting for me (the other Jesus image, of him peering into the windows of the United Nations, was gone).
Paint-by-number Jesus is very carefully done, and appears to be professionally framed. It really put my brain to puzzling over why we seem compelled to create images of Jesus (one reason for the name of this blog). Most of them are probably amazingly inaccurate, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We just want to imagine the Divine with skin on.
But, the thing that struck me most about p-b-n Jesus is the irony. Paint-by-number allows anyone to create a decent-looking painting with little or no thought. If only Christianity were that easy. I wish, when hit with a #4 in life, I knew to bring out the sky blue and all would be well. The #7 is dark green, and #16 is bright red…the answers would be easy. I would know the next step.
Instead, it seems I am usually bumbling around in the dark with my trusty paintbrush but no numbers to guide me. But one thing I know, my life’s “painting” doesn’t look like anyone else’s.
Matthew 7:13, 14; The Message; Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
