Photogenic Jesus

     At the international study for Youth Ministry, Kenda Creasy Dean, a member of the NSYR  (National Study of Youth and Religion) research team, spoke about the core attitudes and beliefs emerging out of young people today. At the top of the list,

“God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other as taught in the bible and by most world religions. (Mike King: Presence Centered Youth Ministry ((my emphasis))

While this sentiment is not entirely “off the mark” (equality is a really good thing!), I believe as youth workers, leaders, friends and families who are dedicated to loving others, we can provide a hardier picture of who this mysterious man is, that we call Lord. Surely, the Holy work of the Trinity has been inviting those who have authentically joined the Covenant Community of God to go beyond being…just… simply… “nice and fair;” in that spirit, Jesus the incarnate God of the bible must have gone beyond the safety and comfortableness that comes from being simply agreeable? This raises one of the most important and fundamental life questions for any one who has ever been lucky enough to have air fill their lungs and blood pumping through heart, namely…. who is Jesus? And natural follow up question, how do all the pictures of Jesus that we get from the Church at large, the Church at St. Andrews (while recognizing that we are part of the church at large), the media, friends, classmates, frenemies, pets, teachers, and finally, our own compare? The answer to these questions will have tremendous impact on the way we live our life, no matter what the answer is. It certainly did for the disciples, who after discovering that Jesus was the Messiah in Mark 8:29, were immediately invited to take part in the radical sacrifice and service that Christ was modeling for them, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”(Mark 8:39).

Jesus Invites Peter and Andrew to be his disciples

            The goal of guiding students through the biblical “pictures” of Jesus found in Mark 1:40-45, Mark 8:27-38, Matthew 20:1-16, Matthew 26: 69-75Mark 15:6-15, John 21:15-25,John 20:24-29, Romans 8:31-39 is to foster and cultivate in our church community, the great truth that Jesus Christ is living and dynamic God that can be trusted with of our love, adoration, praise, and ultimately our lives. Like any picture, these scriptural portraits of Jesus always come out looking a little bit different then we might expect. Yet, no matter what picture of Jesus we get in the gospels, he always comes out looking good (or Photogenic!). Not is the shallow (Zoolander) strike a pose sense, but in that knowing … deep down in our bones… gut feeling… that the most meaningful pictures are not photo-shopped, enhanced, or airbrushed… but…. instead… they are the true to life images that can harness, and frame, the light in a way that reveals the everyday truth and beauty, that is so often overlooked, and yet is ready to enrich and empower every frame. In other words, this curriculum is dedicated embracing with open arms what the author of proverbs says in 20:12, “ears to hear and eyes to see—both are gifts from God” (NLV). As students begin to devlope spiritual ears to hear the word of God, and spiritual eyes, to recognise when the kingdom of God is crashing into earth; our hope is that they will be compleatly swept off of their feet and totally transformed by the life and teachings  of Jesus of Nazareth.