Last Friday, during our usual bargain hunting at a local Goodwill Store, my jaw must have dropped halfway to the floor. There on a shelf I saw what had to be the LAST thing I ever thought I would see! It was a ceramic figurine of Jesus with children, but unlike any I have ever seen (or want to see again).
This one depicted Jesus playing football with two little boys. They were in uniform, helmets and all. Except, not Jesus. He was in his "uniform"- a white flowing robe. No helmet or mouth guard.
One little boy had just grabbed him to tackle him. I know it was a tackle and not a hug because of the pained look on Jesus' face. Jesus was about to go down. That white robe was gonna get dirty.
I stood in shock- not sure if I wanted to laugh or wanted to cry. For some reason, this figurine bothered me... bothers me still. Why?
I have a figurine of Jesus welcoming the children of Matthew's Gospel. "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as those that the kingdom of heaven belongs." (19:14) It doesn't bother me. The children are neatly dressed and sitting on Christ's lap or kneeling beside him. Their garb is reflective of Biblical times.
I have a picture of Jesus welcoming the children in more contemporary times, still based on the same passage from Matthew. It doesn't bother me either. In fact, I love it! There is a child in a wheelchair, a little girl holding a "Raggedy Ann" doll, an Asian girl, an African boy... Their garb reflects all times and all places.
I even love the idea that Jesus' love surrounds our children at all times, including playtime. Woven into each verse of Brian Wren's song "Bring Many Names" is an image of God as playful, warmly embracing each child, growing and constantly on the move. Why shouldn't Jesus play football with our children, too?
Perhaps what bothers me is this little subliminal message, flashing in my mind, that reminds me of all the families that seem to worship sports instead of Jesus, our Savior. Even in the "Heartland of America", Sunday mornings have been taken over with games and practices for travelling sports teams, and parents are choosing to commit to these activities rather than committing their lives and their children's lives to faith.
Perhaps I see a figurine that places Jesus on that playing field, about to be tackled, as irreverent, a graven image and just a bit "tacky".
My husband says that the only thing that bothered him was that you can't play football in a robe! Perhaps I need to just lighten up. Perhaps.
But, perhaps I need to also take seriously the commandments that warn me that God is a jealous God who will not tolerate coming in second to any other gods- not even the little brown sphere. They are pretty clear about graven images and the misuse of God's holy name.
That bargain item at Goodwill may not be much of a bargain after all!
yes I have a problem with sports taking over the Sunday mornings. People have their priorities all messed up in my opinion. Not sure what the "true" meaning of this statue is though is it,
ReplyDeleteJesus is with us at all times
Or Jesus is ready for anything we throw at him
Maybe our faith has some similarities to football somehow I don't know enough about football but maybe your husband is right it is just a statue and it is hard to play ball in a robe. If they played in a robe they probably would not take the game so seriously or hit each other so hard
that was your sis in law but could not get it to work anyway but this
ReplyDeletethanks for raising awareness. this is yor sis in law again the mom of the one you spoke of. I appreciate you all not visiting. People do not realize how dangerouos the common cold let along the flu is for special needs populations like the elderly, children in poor health. This could kill our child. It just drives me nuts of folks that go out and then tell you well I'm sick. Do they not care about other are they selfish or what. People don't think of others like they should and not just the cold and flu season but just in general. People don't think before they say and do. God says love one another. We are called to love care and serve one another. Is it really that hard ! :-)
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