Images Of Jesus

For the past five weeks I have been involved with a class called “Images of Jesus.”  The diversity in this class has been such a gift.  One of the students is originally from Viet Nam.  She was a little girl during the Viet Nam War.  Others are from Africa, and they have described the systematic killing of Albinos in their country.  The remaining students are from around the United States.

The class challenges participants to answer the question Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”  The opening exercise asks the learner to imagine that a friend who has never heard of Jesus says to you "Tell me about Jesus. What is Jesus like?" How would you respond to this question? Take the time to write down a four- or five-sentence response to your friend's question.

It would be interesting to share responses to that question from around the diocese in The Message.  I am sure there would be a variety of answers.  Some would describe Jesus as a savior, friend, healer, prophet, etc.  These are just a few of the ways that we see or “image” Jesus.  It is an important exercise for many reasons.  Our image of Jesus derives from our experiences of him, Scripture, Church and, most of all from how others present Jesus to us.   

Dr. Margaret Ralph said that some will respond by saying what Jesus has accomplished for us: "Jesus saved us from our sins and reconciled the whole human race to God." Others might respond by trying to describe how Jesus' contemporaries experienced him: "Jesus was a great preacher and 'miracle worker.' People flocked to him all the time."

Others may be more interested in Jesus' compassionate side and say: "Jesus always had his eye open for the marginalized. He loved the poor and sought out their company all the time." Some will remember all the problems Jesus had in his ministry and say: "Jesus made a lot of enemies among the Pharisees. He called them 'hypocrites' and told them that prostitutes were getting into heaven ahead of them."

You can probably imagine that the student from Viet Nam expressed her image of Jesus differently from the Africans in the group, whose collective experience is much different than the students from different parts of our country.  Our images of Jesus are shaped by our context and experiences.  This is clear in the four Gospels.  Each Gospel is addressed to a specific audience, and all were written at different times.

In a time when we are asking ourselves as a Church, “Why are people leaving?” or “Why are people not attending Mass?” or “Why are people going to other churches?” maybe it is important to revisit who Jesus is, how we want to invite others to know him and what we want them to know.

Archbishop-elect Thompson and Pope Francis have called us to be missionary disciples. Jesus called us to “make disciples.”  As disciples we reflect the person we are following and thus, we have to know this person.  We come to know Jesus through others, in community and prayer, in service and silence. 

If you are interested in a five week course on the images of Jesus, prayer, Catholic beliefs, Mary or any of the rich teachings of the Church, the Diocese of Evansville has partnered with the University of Dayton to offer you these online courses for a low price.  You can take courses that will challenge and enrich your faith life. 

Like me these past five weeks, you will encounter others from all over the United States and across the world who bring different perspectives and images of the universality of the Gospel and our Catholic faith.

For more information go to:  https://vlcff.udayton.edu or call the Office of Catechesis at 812-424-5536.  We will help you in any way that we can.