Christ in many faces. What would Christ look like today?

Have you ever thought about Jesus looked like?  I have seen many paintings of Jesus.  Sometimes with flowing brown hair, like he had just had it shampoo and conditioned along with trimmed at a salon.  I have seen him in paintings with no dust or even a scratch on him.  These paintings were not of the actual person.  Let's be honest, Jesus was a peasant, a commoner who would not be worthy enough or have the wealth enough to actually afford an artist to do the work of painting him.  However, more importantly, painting of people was not something that they did during the life of Jesus   People were more likely to have their faces carved into coins, statues or other mediums in which actual likeness could be achieved.  So none of the paintings that we have of Christ are actually of him but that does not mean that they do not give us insight into the person of who Christ is and what he did look like.

Jesus probably did have a beard, long hair and perhaps even was laughing. (Yes, there is a picture of Jesus laughing. )

This and other paintings are good reminders that Jesus was human, fully human.  He was one who hung out with friends, ate food, and even yes, got angry.  Jesus is just like you and I am.  We see some of the human side of Jesus when he is sitting with the children, when he is gathered with his friends for the Last Supper, and even suffering on the cross.  We see the humanity and Christ being a person just like we are.  We also are reminded of Christ's role within our life through many paintings. The one that I wish to focus on is Christ as the Good Shepherd.  This is something that has been conveyed for centuries.  People knew that a shepherd was one who had to care for the sheep especially when the shepherd owned the sheep.  The shepherd would watch over the sheep, ensure that there was food, water, and that the sheep were safe from predators or others who would steal them. Even when the sheep would wander from the herd, the shepherd would go and bring that lost sheep back to the herd.  The sheep knew the shepherd so well that they would follow the sound of his voice.  Christ is the shepherd that cares for his sheep (yes, we are his sheep).

I was reading the other day though that this understanding of Jesus is something that people do not understand.  People do not see sheep.  They do not care for animals, unless it is their pets.  However, there is only one or perhaps two pets within the family and so it is rather easy to care for them.  This got me thinking and wondering, how could people relate to Jesus.  What would be the image that most people today would understand and help them to reflect upon the all encompassing traits that Jesus held.  Jesus is caring, cares for the young and the old, ensures you have food and that you have everything that you need.

The idea came that Jesus is like a nurse.  He is caring for his patients, checking their temperature  ensuring they had their food, water, and medicine so that the person gets better from the illness that brought them into their care.   Many nurses I know have caring hearts and they enjoy the work that they do, despite the long hours and sore feet from running around so much.  Even when they are the unsung heroes and the doctors get the credit for the patient getting better.  However, we do not see a nurse everyday.  They do not care for our every need of every day.  They care for us when we are sick.

I began to ponder and for me, Jesus is mother.  Within our society often both parents work.  The father may not be the breadwinner anymore however, the wife is still assumed to be the caring one of the children.  I have heard more children say that when they are sick, they prefer to have their mother's around.  The mothers are typically the ones who still do the cooking of food and even the cleaning of the house.  (depending on how the roles have been divided within the household). So then I began to think about how could a person actually envision this.  What would Jesus wear as a mother?  an apron?  would he have the yellow gloves for cleaning?  With each mother being different, I don't think that a picture would do it justice.  So I will let your imagination paint the picture for you.

Yet I am curious, what would Christ look like within our modern world for you?