One of the junior high students pointed out to me last Sunday night, that she just realized that our church has two identical paintings.
“Did you ever notice that, Pastor Faith?” she asked, as she pointed to the portrait of Jesus Christ hanging above the sound booth in our sanctuary.
“Yeah,” I replied, “We like Jesus around here.”
“But it’s the same picture. Twice. That’s freaking me out,” she said and walked away.
I disregarded her comment as dramatic for the sake of being dramatic. But then I thought about it some more. She is right that there are two identical pictures in the church.
“Did you ever notice that, Pastor Faith?” she asked, as she pointed to the portrait of Jesus Christ hanging above the sound booth in our sanctuary.
“Yeah,” I replied, “We like Jesus around here.”
“But it’s the same picture. Twice. That’s freaking me out,” she said and walked away.
I disregarded her comment as dramatic for the sake of being dramatic. But then I thought about it some more. She is right that there are two identical pictures in the church.
At the front of the sanctuary hangs an oval framed copy of Warner Sallman’s “Head of Christ.” In the back of the church, hangs the same 1940’s Sallman painting except this one framed in a smaller, simpler, square frame. A person could be a bit freaked out, I suppose, especially if they never saw any other depictions of Christ besides the body-less, blonde man.
I appreciate Sallman’s “Head of Christ” as an American Icon. I know it is the most popular depiction of Jesus. When I travelled to Korea, I saw it hanging on the walls of a Sunday school classroom. It doesn’t freak me out, so to speak, because I have since learned that Sallman’s Head of Christ has been reproduced over 500 million times.
Like the “Head of Christ,” the scripture for this weeks lectionary (John 3:14-21) holds a particularly famous passage which is overly familiar to many of us. The words of John 3:16 have been reproduced in greeting cards, coffee mugs and neck ties.. even lifted up on cardboard behind the goal post at football games. It is a great scripture – it is worth repeating.. but, I wonder has it lost it's impact from being overly used?
I appreciate Sallman’s “Head of Christ” as an American Icon. I know it is the most popular depiction of Jesus. When I travelled to Korea, I saw it hanging on the walls of a Sunday school classroom. It doesn’t freak me out, so to speak, because I have since learned that Sallman’s Head of Christ has been reproduced over 500 million times.
Like the “Head of Christ,” the scripture for this weeks lectionary (John 3:14-21) holds a particularly famous passage which is overly familiar to many of us. The words of John 3:16 have been reproduced in greeting cards, coffee mugs and neck ties.. even lifted up on cardboard behind the goal post at football games. It is a great scripture – it is worth repeating.. but, I wonder has it lost it's impact from being overly used?
The truth of the verse, that God loved us so much that he sent us his only Son.. Does it continue to speak deeply to your soul when you see it again and again.... or does it become commonplance... and "hang" in your life like a painting you see everywhere and take for granted? I just wonder…
