Jesus Calls

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
- John 12:20-21

The Gospel doesn’t reveal whether the Greeks succeeded in their quest or not, except to note that to see Jesus; one must follow him and be a servant to others. In that spirit, Christ belongs to the world. There is more than one picture of the Lord. Because in the Gospel account again, Jesus said, whoever loves me will keep my word, and our God will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. (14:23).

Kenny Loggins’ children’s song makes the point: ― “Some children see him lily white… Some him bronzed and brown… Some children see him almond-eyed… Some see him dark as they… The children in each different place will see the baby Jesus’ face, like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace.”

When the Detroit Institute of Art announced its exhibition of the Rembrandt portraits of the Head of Christ, it portrayed Rembrandt as a ground-breaking artist who brought new dimensions into view. As the first western-culture artist to portray Jesus as a Mediterranean Jew, he defied convention, but gave the world a truer view of Jesus.

The DIA exhibit is phenomenal and inspiring. Rembrandt’s masterpieces are surely worth the price of admission; yet not because the artist has somehow created a more photographic representation of Jesus for the world. The mastery is in the heart, mind and spirit of Christ, as portrayed in Rembrandt’s pieces.

Take a moment; try your hand at drawing an eye. Can you make it look sad or angry or full of joy? Can you draw hands that invite others into peace or into an embrace of love? Can you make a furrowed brow look intensely intelligent, or the tilt of the head become compassionate?

With a few strokes of the hand with charcoal or a pen, Rembrandt could do all this. And bringing his portraits of Jesus back to the greater truth of Jesus’ Middle Eastern heritage, he reminded the world that the love of God revealed in Christ transcended European culture.

That ground-breaking paradigm shift reminded the world that the Christ of faith can be witnessed in all kinds of cultural expressions that lift up Jesus’ spirit. No matter what the image, it is true to life when Christ is portrayed reaching out to care.

Yet there is no more important representation of Jesus Christ, than for his spirit to come to life. There is no greater testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ than for others to see Christ in us, with eyes that express our care, hands that work for peace, and hearts that turn over in compassion, minds that seek reconciliation, and words and deeds that share love.

May we, dear friends, help be an answer to the timeless desire, “We wish to see Jesus.”

GBU, Rev. David