Many Faces of Christ:
Full Statement

The series, Many Faces of Christ, began as a spiritual formation exercise while taking a class at Seminary. The exercise consisted of prayerfully copying the icon Christ Pantocrator on a daily basis for the duration of seven weeks.

During the exercise, I became interested in the variance of the images in their relation to each other. In some of the depictions, Christ had a sober demeanor, in others, his face seemed more radiant. Sometimes Christ appeared well proportioned while at other times, his face seemed distorted, even ugly.

After his resurrection, Christ appeared to his disciples but was not always recognized. In the Garden of Gethsemene, Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. On the road to Emmaus, some disciples walked with Christ for a long period of time without realizing with whom they were talking. Peter encountered the resurrected Christ while fishing but initially did not realize it was Jesus.

As I reflected on my finished drawings I realized that like the disciples, we also do not recognize the risen Christ. When circumstances seem good, and Christ seems familiar, he is easily embraced. But how do we entertain Christ when he shows up in ways that seem unfamiliar? There may be times when he chooses to appear to us through the uncomfortable situations of life. During those times, his face may not always be “well proportioned.” Are we ready to embrace the Christ we love as well as the Christ we hate?

At the completion of the spiritual formation project, I had a sizable body of ink drawings. I thought it would be interesting to select a few and develop them into finished paintings. Rather than choose my own icons, I decided to allow my classmates and professors to each choose an icon that resonated with their own personalities. As selections were made, I noticed that the icons chosen by others were often not the ones I would have chosen. This reminded me once again, that Christ speaks to all of us in unique and deeply personal ways.

As I developed paintings based on the selections of my classmates and professors, I came to realize that I was not only painting an icon of Christ. Since each icon was personally selected, I was also painting an icon of the one who selected it. Their personal experience of choosing “a Christ” was infused into newly painted icons. Perhaps it could be said that each participant was found “in Christ” as I painted their respective icons. As I explored the finished works, I once again painted prayerfully. This time, however, I prayed for each individual as I painted their personal selections.

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