This is a weird thing to say, but I just this second realized I have always thought of Jesus as taller than anyone else he came in contact with. Tall=power I guess in my little (short) world.
I’m sick, I’m on meds…perhaps it’s effecting me more than I thought.
I have been blessed with a face that often provokes people to say, “Cheer up! It might never happen!” Within the space of the 3 seconds that follow, I resist the temptation to smack them in the mouth, then my head VCR runs the scene where I say, “Actually, it just did, I’ve just been told that(insert any MAJOR catastrophe)…” and then I finally let it go (OK, I might do the withering look thing!). The moral? We can be phenomenally bad at understanding people’s brokenness. We can be even worse at prescribing cures. The one-stop healing shop sounds great but doesn’t always do what it says on the tin.
I visited a church once where a display of pictures of Christ’s face were laid out in a long row; we were invited to consider which picture we related to. Most were of the grieving, suffering Jesus, from all over the world; the one that caught my eye was of Jesus, head thrown back and laughing his head off. I suffer from Carole’s problem! – maybe that’s why I want to relate to a picture of Jesus laughing…
i like the image and thought of jesus laughing too, chris. if jewish humour was as funny then as it is now (jacky mason, woody allen et al) there’d have been a lot of laughter.
jesus, not in white… and shorter…. aaaaaagh! heresy!
The old preconceptions about what Jesus looked like are always interesting. I was in a ’small group’ once and we were having just that discussion. Two dear ladies of a certain age had a discussion which went something like this: (Think TV’s Royle Family for the pace)
A: I had an old auntie who had a picture of Jesus…
B: Oh?
A: Yes…she didn’t like it.
B: Oh…? So, why was that then?
A: I don’t know…I think it was because it didn’t really look like Jesus…
B: How do you mean…exactly?
A: I’m not sure…
B: Was it because it didn’t look like Robert Powell?
A: I don’t know…it might have been…it just didn’t look like Jesus…
How I managed to maintain composure in the midst of such surreality, I don’t know.
As for laughter, I don’t know of any other creatures apart from humans which genuinely laugh (I don’t think you can count hyenas). Good laughter is like the outpouring of liquid joy. So why just us? Could it be just another way in which we reflect God’s image and likeness?
Carole, Possibly from the Christ we share pack. It has some really thought provoking images of Christ. I too am ofter drawn to that image myself. Brings a real human quality to Jesus that i really enjoy. A bit like when i blogged a while ago on here about Jesus wept. It shows he was fully human.
it’s a good pack of images that.
for my part, i imagine jesus looking like the image on the shroud of turin. don’t know why, i guess it’s just a very powerful image however you view it.
it’s funny, but we are often scared about thinking of jesus as fully human, when jesus being fully human is the whole point. it wasn’t god doing miracles, it was jesus the man restoring the authority over the creation that adam lost. jesus was fully human… i too find that enormously encouraging and anything else will just not do for me. that’s why ghandi and martin luther king and mother theresa and nelson mandela are inspiring… not because they are perfect, but because in their humanity they have lived out jesus’ teachings in a way that changes the face of the world. god has made us human, wonderfully human and in christ we see just how wonderful humanity can be.
Yes, Will, I’m also encouraged by the humanity of Jesus. I think lots of people are prepared to accept the fully God but have problems with the fully human part of the deal. And we do want to create Him in our own image.
I’m reminded of a friend of mine who does lovely drawings. She was asking the opinion of her Christian friend about her choice for a picture she was going to do for a ‘Ladies’ night’ (why does that always sound like something that involves male strippers?!!) She had based it on that series of African Jesus pictures, I’m sure you know them. It was a close-up depicting a woman embracing the feet of Jesus on the cross. The response – “Whose legs are those?” My friend replied, “They’re Jesus’ legs – he is on the cross.” The other woman laughed, “But that is a black person, it can’t be Jesus…”
Hmmm…no, He’s the blue-eyed chap with blonde hair…
“There’s a wonderful woman named Charlotte who runs a Christian preschool in Florida. I sometimes go there to read stories to kids. She has a Jesus doll. It’s a two-foot high cuddly doll. Kids can play with him. She’s taken some heat for that. Some folks think it’s irreverent. “Inappropriate” is the word they use and the word I’ve come to loathe. I remember growing up with Jesus on a pedestal so high that I couldn’t hope to reach him. The kids in Charlotte’s school will grow up thinking Jesus is someone they can hug when they’re lonely or sad. I know which of these I’d prefer.”
one of my favorite scenes from the “Matthew” video series is of Jesus on the mount talking about empty wineskins when he pours it on the disciples head and He and everyone there laughs. always liked the idea of Jesus laughing and pulling pranks on the disciples just like one of the guys when they were resting. just a thought.
I caught the end of Vicar Peter Owen Jones hippy trip last night, and whilst thoroughly enjoying the very ‘vicar’ Jones walking through amazing scenery, I found myself musing on the depth of the Christian faith, in it’s ability to enter into suffering, to make sense of it, to come along side others at their time of suffering. Whilst the Buddhists community was enviably environmentally sustainable and obviously just a great place to be, I feel frustrated at the way the Christian faith is de-valued, when in fact I think it has a vast depth of insight to nurture us with.
So your cartoon felt like a mirror image of my musing, highlighting the short change version of Christianity that passes for the real thing …., yep, on a rant today.
[...] Yes, I know this is an exaggeration, but OTOH, it comes painfully close to some real-life experiences. While on the subject, note this cartoon from ASBO Jesus. [...]
This is a weird thing to say, but I just this second realized I have always thought of Jesus as taller than anyone else he came in contact with. Tall=power I guess in my little (short) world.
I’m sick, I’m on meds…perhaps it’s effecting me more than I thought.
Comment by Laura — January 4, 2008 @ 1:33 am
Ooh, that’s a good one.
Comment by Phil Smoke — January 4, 2008 @ 1:39 am
thanks, phil.
get well soon, laura!
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 1:50 am
Been following ASBO for a while and am a fan – your “cartoons” have prompted me think and reflect in ways that words cannot accomplish. Thank you.
Your Canadian friend,
Bryce
Comment by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo — January 4, 2008 @ 4:39 am
thank you, bryce… you are very welcome.
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 6:33 am
As usual, simply awesome! I can’t wait to share this with others!
By the way, in this one you have “you” in the first frame and I think you meant “your.” Just in case you want to fix that
.
As always, you rock!
Elle
Comment by Elle — January 4, 2008 @ 10:39 am
thanks elle, will correct immediately… no, you rock!
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 11:08 am
I have been blessed with a face that often provokes people to say, “Cheer up! It might never happen!” Within the space of the 3 seconds that follow, I resist the temptation to smack them in the mouth, then my head VCR runs the scene where I say, “Actually, it just did, I’ve just been told that(insert any MAJOR catastrophe)…” and then I finally let it go (OK, I might do the withering look thing!). The moral? We can be phenomenally bad at understanding people’s brokenness. We can be even worse at prescribing cures. The one-stop healing shop sounds great but doesn’t always do what it says on the tin.
Nice one, Jon!
Comment by Carole — January 4, 2008 @ 11:10 am
Interesting how we are conditioned, eh, Laura? It took me a while to get my head around the fact that Jesus isn’t the one wearing white!
Hope you are back to full fitness very soon.
Comment by Carole — January 4, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
So that’s how he did the transfiguration and ascension, I often wondered!
(Or was that the spirit of levitation?!) (Hell, here I come…. again)
Comment by Catriona — January 4, 2008 @ 1:25 pm
Thanks Jon – made me laugh out loud!
I visited a church once where a display of pictures of Christ’s face were laid out in a long row; we were invited to consider which picture we related to. Most were of the grieving, suffering Jesus, from all over the world; the one that caught my eye was of Jesus, head thrown back and laughing his head off. I suffer from Carole’s problem! – maybe that’s why I want to relate to a picture of Jesus laughing…
Comment by Chris F — January 4, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
i like the image and thought of jesus laughing too, chris. if jewish humour was as funny then as it is now (jacky mason, woody allen et al) there’d have been a lot of laughter.
jesus, not in white… and shorter…. aaaaaagh! heresy!
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 3:39 pm
[...] Used with Artist’s permission…333 « The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus [...]
Pingback by Only resolving to « Vade Mecum — January 4, 2008 @ 3:51 pm
[...] Used with Artist’s permission…333 « The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus [...]
Pingback by Sorrows in 2008 « Vade Mecum — January 4, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
The old preconceptions about what Jesus looked like are always interesting. I was in a ’small group’ once and we were having just that discussion. Two dear ladies of a certain age had a discussion which went something like this: (Think TV’s Royle Family for the pace)
A: I had an old auntie who had a picture of Jesus…
B: Oh?
A: Yes…she didn’t like it.
B: Oh…? So, why was that then?
A: I don’t know…I think it was because it didn’t really look like Jesus…
B: How do you mean…exactly?
A: I’m not sure…
B: Was it because it didn’t look like Robert Powell?
A: I don’t know…it might have been…it just didn’t look like Jesus…
How I managed to maintain composure in the midst of such surreality, I don’t know.
As for laughter, I don’t know of any other creatures apart from humans which genuinely laugh (I don’t think you can count hyenas). Good laughter is like the outpouring of liquid joy. So why just us? Could it be just another way in which we reflect God’s image and likeness?
Comment by Carole — January 4, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Carole, Possibly from the Christ we share pack. It has some really thought provoking images of Christ. I too am ofter drawn to that image myself. Brings a real human quality to Jesus that i really enjoy. A bit like when i blogged a while ago on here about Jesus wept. It shows he was fully human.
Very encouraging.
Comment by Will Taylor — January 4, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
it’s a good pack of images that.
for my part, i imagine jesus looking like the image on the shroud of turin. don’t know why, i guess it’s just a very powerful image however you view it.
it’s funny, but we are often scared about thinking of jesus as fully human, when jesus being fully human is the whole point. it wasn’t god doing miracles, it was jesus the man restoring the authority over the creation that adam lost. jesus was fully human… i too find that enormously encouraging and anything else will just not do for me. that’s why ghandi and martin luther king and mother theresa and nelson mandela are inspiring… not because they are perfect, but because in their humanity they have lived out jesus’ teachings in a way that changes the face of the world. god has made us human, wonderfully human and in christ we see just how wonderful humanity can be.
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 4:54 pm
Yes, Will, I’m also encouraged by the humanity of Jesus. I think lots of people are prepared to accept the fully God but have problems with the fully human part of the deal. And we do want to create Him in our own image.
I’m reminded of a friend of mine who does lovely drawings. She was asking the opinion of her Christian friend about her choice for a picture she was going to do for a ‘Ladies’ night’ (why does that always sound like something that involves male strippers?!!) She had based it on that series of African Jesus pictures, I’m sure you know them. It was a close-up depicting a woman embracing the feet of Jesus on the cross. The response – “Whose legs are those?” My friend replied, “They’re Jesus’ legs – he is on the cross.” The other woman laughed, “But that is a black person, it can’t be Jesus…”
Hmmm…no, He’s the blue-eyed chap with blonde hair…
Comment by Carole — January 4, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
Sorry, Jon, it seems like I’m repeating you – we overlapped.
Comment by Carole — January 4, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
hey funny, carole… we made the same ‘jesus humanity’ point at the same time… we must be right then!
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
hahaha! overlapped again! brilliant!
Comment by jonbirch — January 4, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
This discussion reminds me of something I read in an article one… it’s taken me a while but I finally found it. It’s from an article by Steve Case (you can find the full article here http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/consumerism/jesus_junk.php)
He writes;
“There’s a wonderful woman named Charlotte who runs a Christian preschool in Florida. I sometimes go there to read stories to kids. She has a Jesus doll. It’s a two-foot high cuddly doll. Kids can play with him. She’s taken some heat for that. Some folks think it’s irreverent. “Inappropriate” is the word they use and the word I’ve come to loathe. I remember growing up with Jesus on a pedestal so high that I couldn’t hope to reach him. The kids in Charlotte’s school will grow up thinking Jesus is someone they can hug when they’re lonely or sad. I know which of these I’d prefer.”
Comment by Tom C — January 4, 2008 @ 5:17 pm
Well, there may have been the spirit of levity after he went up to the front, but it was sure followed by forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Comment by Patrick — January 4, 2008 @ 7:17 pm
one of my favorite scenes from the “Matthew” video series is of Jesus on the mount talking about empty wineskins when he pours it on the disciples head and He and everyone there laughs. always liked the idea of Jesus laughing and pulling pranks on the disciples just like one of the guys when they were resting. just a thought.
Comment by john Q — January 5, 2008 @ 12:30 am
…and a very pleasant thought too.
Comment by jonbirch — January 5, 2008 @ 12:45 am
absolute top image J.
I caught the end of Vicar Peter Owen Jones hippy trip last night, and whilst thoroughly enjoying the very ‘vicar’ Jones walking through amazing scenery, I found myself musing on the depth of the Christian faith, in it’s ability to enter into suffering, to make sense of it, to come along side others at their time of suffering. Whilst the Buddhists community was enviably environmentally sustainable and obviously just a great place to be, I feel frustrated at the way the Christian faith is de-valued, when in fact I think it has a vast depth of insight to nurture us with.
So your cartoon felt like a mirror image of my musing, highlighting the short change version of Christianity that passes for the real thing …., yep, on a rant today.
Comment by subo — January 5, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
Well I must say, I enjoyed reading your material.
Comment by Marylin Dean — January 5, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
I enjoyed reading your material. Thanks !
Comment by Marylin Dean — January 5, 2008 @ 2:23 pm
thank you marylin.
Comment by jonbirch — January 5, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
This is stomach-powerful.
Shared it with all my church.
Know which person in the strip I’d rather be with.
x
Comment by sarah — January 6, 2008 @ 1:19 am
me too.
Comment by jonbirch — January 6, 2008 @ 11:51 am
[...] Yes, I know this is an exaggeration, but OTOH, it comes painfully close to some real-life experiences. While on the subject, note this cartoon from ASBO Jesus. [...]
Pingback by MetaCatholic » Let’s move into a time of drivel — January 8, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
The guy in white – his first name wouldn’t be Benny by any chance, would it?
Comment by Dave Faulkner — January 12, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
hmmmmmm, dave… now, let me think… might be… might not. um, er… i think it might be just someone with a passing resemblance, nothing more.
Comment by jonbirch — January 12, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
No. Cos Jesus would be lying on the floor or at least swaying backwards x
Comment by allatseawithabucketandspade — January 18, 2008 @ 9:14 am