Statue Of A Homeless Jesus Startles A Wealthy Community

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Rev. David Buck sits next to the Jesus the Homeless statue that was installed in front of his church, St. Alban's Episcopal, in Davidscon, N.C.

A new religious statue in the town of Davidson, N.C., is unlike anything you might see in church.

The statue depicts Jesus as a vagrant sleeping on a park bench. St. Alban's Episcopal Church installed the homeless Jesus statue on its property in the middle of an upscale neighborhood filled with well-kept townhomes.

Jesus is huddled under a blanket with his face and hands obscured; only the crucifixion wounds on his uncovered feet give him away.

The reaction was immediate. Some loved it; some didn't.

"One woman from the neighborhood actually called police the first time she drove by," says David Boraks, editor of DavidsonNews.net. "She thought it was an actual homeless person."

That's right. Somebody called the cops on Jesus.

"Another neighbor, who lives a couple of doors down from the church, wrote us a letter to the editor saying it creeps him out," Boraks added.

Some neighbors felt it was an insulting depiction of the Son of God, and what appears to be a hobo curled up on a bench demeans the neighborhood.

The bronze statue was purchased for $22,000 as a memorial for a parishioner, Kate McIntyre, who had loved public art. The rector of this liberal, inclusive church is Rev. David Buck, a 65-year-old Baptist-turned-Episcopalian who seems not at all averse to the controversy, the double-takes and the discussion the statue has provoked.

"It gives authenticity to our church," he says. "This is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society."

The sculpture is intended as a visual translation of the passage in the Book of Matthew, in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me." Moreover, Buck says, it's a good Bible lesson for those used to seeing Jesus depicted in traditional religious art as the Christ of glory, enthroned in finery.

"We believe that that's the kind of life Jesus had," Buck says. "He was, in essence, a homeless person."

This lakeside college town north of Charlotte has the first Jesus the Homeless statue on display in the United States. Catholic Charities of Chicago plans to install its statue when the weather warms up. The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., is said to be interested in one, too.

The creator is a Canadian sculptor and devout Catholic named Timothy Schmalz. From his studio in Ontario, Schmalz says he understands that his Jesus the Homeless is provocative.

"That's essentially what the sculpture is there to do," he says. "It's meant to challenge people."

He says he offered the first casts to St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Both declined.

A spokesman at St. Michael's says appreciation of the statue "was not unanimous," and the church was being restored so a new work of art was out of the question. That statue found a home in front of the Jesuit School of Theology at the University of Toronto.

A spokesperson at St. Patrick's in New York says they liked the homeless Jesus, but their cathedral is also being renovated and they had to turn it down.

The most high-profile installation of the bronze Jesus on a park bench will be on the Via della Conziliazione, the avenue leading to St. Peter's Basilica — if the City of Rome approves it. Schmalz traveled to the Vatican last November to present a miniature to the pope himself.

"He walked over to the sculpture, and it was just chilling because he touched the knee of the Jesus the Homeless sculpture, and closed his eyes and prayed," Schmalz says. "It was like, that's what he's doing throughout the whole world: Pope Francis is reaching out to the marginalized."

Back at St. Alban's in Davidson, the rector reports that the Jesus the Homeless statue has earned more followers than detractors. It is now common, he says, to see people come, sit on the bench, rest their hand on the bronze feet and pray.

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/13/302019921/statue-of-a-homeless-jesus-startles-a-wealthy-community?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=04132014

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That's an outrageous fabrication of history! There were no park benches in Jesus' days.

[Danno 1,228]

Any time the words or themes of Christ fit the Lefts agenda.... USE it.

As for the other 95% of Christ's teaching , dismiss it.

[JohnR! 5,495]

That's an outrageous fabrication of history! There were no park benches in Jesus' days.

If JC were alive today he would not be sleeping in benches. They would have crucified him all over again, for being a vagrant, communist and freeloader.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Any time the words or themes of Christ fit the Lefts anyone's agenda.... USE it.

As for the other 95% of Christ's teaching , dismiss it.

Fixed for you.

[deleted-05292014 331]

Ah but Jesus was homeless for much of his adult life. He was taken in and cared for by common people and his disciples.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Jesus was never homeless. No problem with displaying him as such though. Helps make people think.

Ah but Jesus was homeless for much of his adult life. He was taken in and cared for by common people and his disciples.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Any time the words or themes of Christ fit the Lefts agenda.... USE it.

As for the other 95% of Christ's teaching , dismiss it.

So Matthew's Gospel is liberal? I'm glad you're starting to see the light.

The artist who designed the sculpture is a devout Catholic and he said it meant it to be controversial - to make people think. He drew inspiration from this part of Matthew's Gospel:

The Judgment of the Nations.^*31^f “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,32^g and all the nations^* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35^h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’37Then the righteous^* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’40ⁱ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’41^{* j} Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.42^k For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,43a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’44^* Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’45He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’46^l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25

[Danno 1,228]

So Matthew's Gospel is liberal? I'm glad you're starting to see the light.

The artist who designed the sculpture is a devout Catholic and he said it meant it to be controversial - to make people think. He drew inspiration from this part of Matthew's Gospel:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25

The only thing that is "shocking" is the notion that Jesus would be a shiftless bum in the land of opportunity.

I think the Casting would have been more accurate to have had a bum on the bench and Christ before him with his arm around him.

[deleted-05292014 331]

The only thing that is "shocking" is the notion that Jesus would be a shiftless bum in the land of opportunity.

I think the Casting would have been more accurate to have had a bum on the bench and Christ before him with his arm around him.

So all people who sleep on park benches are shiftless bums?

[Danno 1,228]

So all people who sleep on park benches are shiftless bums?

Lets not do lob-logic.

When you ask if "all" are bums that is not an honest question.

Lets speak in generalities.

Yes almost everyone you see camping out on a public bench is a shiftless bum, trust me I know.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Lets not do lob-logic.

When you ask if "all" are bums that is not an honest question.

Lets speak in generalities.

Yes almost everyone you see camping out on a public bench is a shiftless bum, trust me I know.

Now I wonder whether we have a picture of you here given your claimed intimate familiarity with those shiftless bums on the public benches.

[Danno 1,228]

Now I wonder whether we have a picture of you here given your claimed intimate familiarity with those shiftless bums on the public benches.

[B_J 2,752]

The only thing that is "shocking" is the notion that Jesus would be a shiftless bum in the land of opportunity.

I think the Casting would have been more accurate to have had a bum on the bench and Christ before him with his arm around him.

If it is intended to be an actual depiction of Jesus; then I disagree with it. But if the intent is what the pastor says, then I think it is outstanding.

The sculpture is intended as a visual translation of the passage in the Book of Matthew, in which Jesus tells his disciples, "as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me."

Of course, it is also interesting that I know how Jesus would treat a homeless person sleeping on a bench; yet in a way, it bothers me to see Jesus depicted that way irregardless of the artistic intent.

Oh well, a little soul-searching is good for us all.

[Peikko 1,575]

Jesus was never homeless. No problem with displaying him as such though. Helps make people think.

Really? That's interesting. It's a long time since I did any bible study but from what I remember, his adult life was spent wandering around Galilee talking to folks, mostly poor folks, but anyone who cared to listen really. He didn't work and relied on charitable contributions for bed and succour. Not sure how that isn't to all intents and purposes (as the article says) homeless. I am not sure why it matters to suggest he wasn't. I can't see why it's a problem that he was.