On my recent trip to Haiti there was a large mural on the wall of a religious school that had a painting of Jesus with black skin. That may be surprising to some, but is it really any different than the European Jesus with white skin or even the hippie Jesus popular back in the 70’s? Let’s face it; few of our renderings represent a man born to a Jewish woman in the first century.
I understand the reasons we envision Jesus appearance to be like ours, it’s because we want someone we can relate to, but I think sometimes we go further and try to make Jesus relate to us. So now he not only comes with our color skin, he also comes with our bias. He condemns those involved in sins we have no struggles with, but turns a compassionate eye on the ones we do. And though I believe there are clearly things that are right and wrong, true justice can only be administered by one who has all the facts, and usually we don’t.
Honestly, I believe Jesus is a lot less what we’d like him to be and a lot more what we need him to be. He is more accepting of people than we are, after all, he was known as a friend of sinners (how many churches still have that reputation?), but at the same time he effectively challenged people like Zacchaeus (a thief) to change and better himself as a human being. He seems to extend more grace than we do (the women caught in adultery), but has no problem delivering clear justice. He knows when we need to be encouraged and when we need to be confronted. In the end, he is someone who can actually help us and see above our ignorance and prejudice.
Through the years I have come to recognize that there are things in me I have no power to fix, but I also realize, neither can a Jesus that looks like me.
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