Pacific Garden Mission ...
Do any of you remember a photograph from the late 80s where the photographer had taken a crucifix and submerged it into a jar full of urine. I remember people at Wheaton chattering away about this in a rather offended tone, wondering how an artist could dare to represent Christ in this fashion.
The reason I ask is because I was down at the Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) last night, listening to a friend preach to a crowd of 200 or so. The stench in this room was nothing short of horrific. Most of these guys hadn't bathed in a month (if even that recently) and to be honest, I really didn't know what to do with that. It was that overpowering.
Anyway, as I sat there listening to my friend, I couldn't help but think back upon that painting, and I started to wonder whether we missed the point entirely. We (being conservative evangelical Christians) were so worried about protecting the dignity of Christ, that we tended to forget that He sacrificed His dignity of His own accord. Leaving all that was pure and holy and set apart, He descended into our vulgarity for the sake of you and I ... And as I sat there watching these men, I found myself thinking about that painting and thinking about Jude 22 and 23: "Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
Kind of makes me wonder: was it Christ's dignity that we were trying to protect, or was it the illusion of our own dignity?
Do any of you remember a photograph from the late 80s where the photographer had taken a crucifix and submerged it into a jar full of urine. I remember people at Wheaton chattering away about this in a rather offended tone, wondering how an artist could dare to represent Christ in this fashion.
The reason I ask is because I was down at the Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) last night, listening to a friend preach to a crowd of 200 or so. The stench in this room was nothing short of horrific. Most of these guys hadn't bathed in a month (if even that recently) and to be honest, I really didn't know what to do with that. It was that overpowering.
Anyway, as I sat there listening to my friend, I couldn't help but think back upon that painting, and I started to wonder whether we missed the point entirely. We (being conservative evangelical Christians) were so worried about protecting the dignity of Christ, that we tended to forget that He sacrificed His dignity of His own accord. Leaving all that was pure and holy and set apart, He descended into our vulgarity for the sake of you and I ... And as I sat there watching these men, I found myself thinking about that painting and thinking about Jude 22 and 23: "Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
Kind of makes me wonder: was it Christ's dignity that we were trying to protect, or was it the illusion of our own dignity?
posted by Just a Few Things about Scott ... | 9:23 AM
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