[Christ] is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being. (Hebrews 1:3a nrsv)

The author of Hebrews makes this bold proclamation which states that Christ is the heart of God. Who Jesus Christ is and what he does express the very nature of a holy and compassionate God. Martin Luther would say that, when we speculate about who God is outside of Christ, we can become terrified. For such a god becomes merely a product of our own imagination.

It is always interesting to me to ponder how artists depict this Jesus who shows us the heart of God the Father. The artists of the early Church and Byzantine periods depict a rather stern, stoical, and stylized Christ. I was moved by the recent exhibit titled Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. What I found captivating about Rembrandt's rendition of Jesus is that he broke out of the old model for depicting the face of Jesus. Basically, Rembrandt—who lived in a section of Amsterdam with a considerable Jewish population—used the face of an actual Jewish immigrant from eastern Europe as his typecast. What a warm, inviting, and truly Jewish Jesus greets you in Rembrandt's favorite Gospel scenes.

I am grateful for the Rembrandts of this world who offer us windows into the face of Christ. And it’s always helpful to be reminded that—in the words of Dr. Charles Sigel, my New Testament professor at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary—Jesus is a true Jew through and through.

Let us pray… God of glory, we long to see your face, yet our vision is clouded by brokenness and sin. Breathe your creating Spirit into the hearts and hands of those who, through their work in the visual arts, desire to serve you. Through this ministry draw us to your truth and beauty, and bring us to the perfect fulfillment of standing in your unveiled glory, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (ELW, p. 74).

Contributed by Pastor Dan
Monday Oct 24, 2011
Liturgical Year A: Week 48
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading:
Lectionary 30 (Proper 25)
Ninteenth Sunday after Pentecost