What does Jesus Look Like?
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January 19, 2020“He saw Jesus coming toward him.” (Jn 1:29)
This verse captures a precious moment in which John catches sight of the long-awaited One. He did not know him, but he knows him now, having seen the Spirit descend. Jesus walks toward him. John knows him, but he could be just anyone. Anyone could be Jesus walking toward him.
“What’s the one you love look like?”
This question was asked me by Dom Damian in his homily on my solemn profession day. I had spent a substantial amount of time deciding on an image of the face of Jesus for my profession card, eventually settling on an icon by Andrei Rublev. The image of Jesus can always be distinguished from others in icons, because of a number of visual characteristics that have become traditional – the arrangement of his hair, the shape and placement of eyes, nose and mouth, the color and style of garments. This does not mean every face of Jesus is the same, but there is a certain quality of gaze encapsulated in the image that pierces the heart. Good religious art mediates a presence. We know him when we see him, and with certain special images, we even feel seen by him.
Despite all that religious art has to offer us, we who have not seen and yet believe can’t help wondering with a holy and consuming curiosity: what does Jesus really look like?
Tall or short? (Someone once told me of a spiritual experience in which Jesus appeared short and stocky with a noticeable paunch.)
Dark or fair? (I once saw a movie in which Jesus had red hair.)
Long hair or short? (Some traditions give him a pony-tail.)
Bearded? (A fourth-century communion paten shows him beardless.)
For those with a taste for historical realism, historical/archaeological reconstruction of the facial characteristics of Jewish men at that time and place points to a broad olive-skinned face and large nose with short, dark, curly hair and beard.
Of course, inculturation of Christianity across the world has produced a great variety of images of Jesus, each tailored to particular racial characteristics and cultural ideals. We have the African Jesus, the Japanese Jesus, the Native American Jesus. This very variety speaks to the acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as the Savior of all peoples, who is close to them, one with them, even in appearance. What’s more, this tradition of inculturated images keeps alive the challenge of the gospel witness that Jesus looked just like anyone else. Why else would John need to point him out? Why else would he say explicitly that he did not know him?
The point of the one who asked me: “What’s the one you love look like?” was that I should look to the faces of my sisters in community. We do not see the One we love, the One to whom we have given our life, in the flesh. Seeing Jesus cannot be limited to a devotional practice. It must be lived daily in the context of ordinary life and other people. Those we see with our ordinary senses mediate the presence of Another, of the One who has drawn close to and dwells within every person through his incarnation. We should be like John, waiting for the Messiah to come at any moment. Anyone could be Jesus walking toward us.
That this is a great challenge is obvious to anyone who has lived in close quarters with others. After a period of time spent with people whose convictions and way of life we admire, whom we may idealize, daily irritations begin to creep in. “Why does she walk that way? Doesn’t she realize her cough is a distraction? There she goes again, shooting her mouth off.” Over the course of years, hurts can be stored up and our profile of others can become narrow, fixed, condemnatory. “She always reacts in an immature way. She is so selfish. She is hard on me.” If we are not careful, we start, unconsciously perhaps, to take notes on the faults and foibles of others. We can keep mental filing cabinets full of manila folders for each person we know. Of course, the problem is always theirs.
"Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29)
The Lamb of God takes away sin, he does not publicize, criticize and condemn. I also have the choice to keep the failures of those around me before my face, or to let them go and look again. Only if I make some deliberate choices to clear out the filing cabinet can I receive the person coming toward me with openness. Then I have a chance at seeing the face of Jesus.
“Open our eyes to the simple beauty all around us, and our hearts to the loveliness people hide from us because we do not try to understand them.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)
Image: Smilling Christ, Castel Javier, Spain
