Jesus
Glory in the Dark
– a sermon on the Transfiguration
Glory is the greatness and otherness of God, and Jesus already had that mantle on him, that light within him – on the mountain that night his discples caught a glimpse of that brilliance for a short moment. But Luke makes it very clear, over and over, that this divinity was not something to be imposed on the world. For God’s loving power to be available to all people, available with fully freedom and respect for us, required the greatest sacrifice, the greatest outpouring of God’s own self, at the greatest cost – even to death on a cross.
– a sermon on the Transfiguration
Glory is the greatness and otherness of God, and Jesus already had that mantle on him, that light within him – on the mountain that night his discples caught a glimpse of that brilliance for a short moment. But Luke makes it very clear, over and over, that this divinity was not something to be imposed on the world. For God’s loving power to be available to all people, available with fully freedom and respect for us, required the greatest sacrifice, the greatest outpouring of God’s own self, at the greatest cost – even to death on a cross.
Who was Jesus?
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What did Jesus wear?
What did he look like? NZ Bible scholar Joan Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins at King's College, London. She is interested in the person and appearance of Jesus of Nazareth. "For me as a historian, trying to visualise Jesus accurately is a way to understand Jesus more accurately, too. ... While Jesus wore similar clothes to other Jewish men in many respects, his “look” was scruffy. I doubt his hair was particularly long as depicted in most artwork, given male norms of the time, but it was surely not well-tended. Wearing a basic tunic that other people wore as an undergarment would fit with Jesus’ detachment regarding material things (Matthew 6:19-21, 28–29; Luke 6:34-35, 12:22-28) and concern for the poor (Luke 6:20-23). This, to me, is the beginning of a different way of seeing Jesus, and one very relevant for our times of massive inequality between rich and poor, as in the Roman Empire. Jesus aligned himself with the poor and this would have been obvious from how he looked. The appearance of Jesus matters because it cuts to the heart of his message. However he is depicted in film and art today, he needs to be shown as one of the have-nots; his teaching can only be truly understood from this perspective." |
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