There is a statue of Jesus outside of the Church of St. Stephen in-the-fields in Toronto. It is the creation of artist, Timothy Schnaltz. It captures the imagination of everyone. The artist first named his creation, “the Homeless Jesus.” It only took a brief time for the artistic creation to be nicknamed, the “Panhandler Jesus.”
As you can see from the photo above it pictures Jesus as a panhandler/a beggar. His hand is outstretched to receive a donation. Why would Christians be so brave as to depict their god as a homeless man begging for food?
The people of this church community are trying to make a statement. Many people will be very angry that such a depiction of Jesus should even exist.
During this Christmas season we need a pause over how we depict the story of the nativity. This is not about power and well-being. It is all about the poor trying to survive and get by. Jesus and his parents are homeless. They cannot even rent lodging for the night. He is born in a stable. You would be shocked to hear of any baby today being born in such primitive conditions.
And then they were refugees in Egypt. This does not get the attention it deserves. Our divinity was a refugee: without home and power. Was there employment during this refugee period? How many thousands of displaced persons could identify with the ‘refugee Jesus?’
The life, personality and mission of Jesus cannot be depicted in one single image. Jesus is too big for that. Pay attention to the parts of Jesus life and ministry that are not depicted in our religious art. Why do we not see on our church walls pictures of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples? What has that been overlooked?
Our Christian faith leads us to not only see the poor amoong us but also to be able to see the very face and person of Jesus in the poor, the neglected and the marginalized. Panhandler Jesus places Jesus right among the homeless and the down-and-out. The street people count in the heart and the plan of Jesus Christ.
Christians may look the other way but the reality of Jesus identifying with the poor and the forgotten does not disappear.
When people study the statue of the panhandler Jesus they discover a change of heart. They begin to reach out a helping hand to those who are at the bottom of the society.
Small gestures of kindness make all the difference.
We had a parishioner, a businessman whose company serviced the much larger construction companies. Every week when he went grocery shopping he would always pick up a jar of peanut butter to bring each Sunday for the food bank collection. No one noticed his weekly donation but over the years the number of jars of peanut butter added up. He lived in a very quiet way a his strong concern for the people who had to use the food banks to make ends meet each month.
What reactions are you feeling when you study the statue of the Panhandler Jesus?
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