Homeless Jesus

                                      Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star

Who is Jesus? This question has haunted the Christian church since it's very earliest days. In fact, it is the point of four different Gospels in the New Testament, each having it's own interpretation of Jesus of Nazareth. For all four, Jesus led a group of disciples, performed miracles, preached in Jerusalem, was crucified and resurrected from the dead. However, each of the Gospels has it's own particular point of view. (Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus, referenced in "Gospel", Wikipedia: 12 April 2013 http://bit.ly/B1WNk .)

"The synoptic gospels represent Jesus as an exorcist and healer who preached in parables about the coming Kingdom of God. He preached first in Galilee and later in Jerusalem, where he cleansed the temple. He states that he offers no sign as proof (Mark) or only the sign of Jonah (Matthew and Luke).[67] In Mark, apparently written with a Roman audience in mind, Jesus is a heroic man of action, given to powerful emotions, including agony.[36] In Matthew, apparently written for a Jewish audience, Jesus is repeatedly called out as the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy.[36] In Luke, apparently written for gentiles, Jesus is especially concerned with the poor.[36] Luke emphasizes the importance of prayer and the action of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life and in the Christian community.[68] Jesus appears as a stoic supernatural being, unmoved even by his own crucifixion.[66] Like Matthew, Luke insists that salvation offered by Christ is for all, and not the Jews only.[68][69]
The Gospel of John represents Jesus as an incarnation of the eternal Word (Logos), who spoke no parables, talked extensively about himself, and did not explicitly refer to a Second Coming.[36]
Jesus preaches in Jerusalem, launching his ministry with the cleansing of the temple. He performs several miracles as signs, most of them not found in the synoptics. The Gospel of John ends:(21:25) 'And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen' " (Multiple sources referenced in "Gospel", Wikipedia:14 April 2013 http://bit.ly/B1WNk ).

So, Jesus has ever escaped the grasp of the Church, refusing to be caricatured by anyone, even the earliest Christians. Was he Man of Wonder, Son of God, Son of Man, Teacher, Healer, Messiah?  Was he the Savior of all humankind or the fulfillment of Hebrew prophesy? The questions, seemingly, never end. And perhaps that is as it should be.

The latest formulation of " the Jesus question" appeared in the form of a statue by Timothy Schmalz. It depicts Jesus as a homeless person, covered and laying on a park bench. "Jesus, the Homeless" is the Savior who was made flesh, and lived among us. Jesus the homeless, became one of us and, more than that, identified with the poorest of the poor, the disenfranchised, the ones without a place to stay. In short, Jesus the Homeless is the Jesus born in a humble stable (or grotto).

This Jesus has not always been well accepted, especially by the wealthy and well-off. These folks prefer Jesus the Teacher. Teaching has always (till now) been a respected and accepted occupation. The wealthy have no problem accepting the One who came and taught humanity. They do not, however, care much for the Jesus who overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple or the Jesus who healed Lepers and related to outcasts. Most of all, they do not like Jesus the revolutionary.

It should be no surprise, then, that two prominent Roman Catholic Churches, one in Toronto, the other in New York, turned away "Jesus the Homeless". The statue was not welcomed by either archdiocese ("Sculpture of Jesus the Homeless rejected by two prominent churches"  by Leslie Scrivener in The Star, 14 April 2013 ) Apparently, church administrators do not appreciate the humility of Jesus either. Perhaps they do not like the mirror this statue holds up for them. In the homeless Savior, the well-off and powerful see themselves in stark contrast to Jesus who calls us all to identify with the "least of these"

It is too bad that "Jesus the Homeless" only found a home in front of a seminary. Somehow, I don't believe that this Jesus was meant to be seen and embraced only by the scholarly. Jesus was never meant to be captured by books but is understood best through service.