Who Is Jesus to You?

A quote from a fourth-century saint opens a new way of thinking for Rachel Watkins.

One of the most delightful aspects of our faith is that you can always learn or hear something new. We have a myriad of saints, new ones almost every year, to inspire us; authors, both new and old, to read and explore, not to mention Scriptures, the early Church Fathers and so on. We are certainly not lacking in inspiration. But, just recently, I came across both a “new” saint and his words:

Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face and restoring God's image to its full beauty. (Saint Gregory of Nyssa)

Now, I am not a scholar of his, and know only what I read online for his history, but this quote of his, relating Christ as an artist touched my heart deeply just when I needed it.

Christ as a shepherd, Christ as a vine, Christ as the word, the light, and my Savior, those I knew. We are coming into Advent soon with the O Antiphons, which list titles of Jesus for seven days, calling Jesus “root of Jesse’s stem,” “radiant dawn,” and more.

God has given permission to see Jesus in a variety of images and analogies. We know Jesus as Aslan from CS Lewis and many of see him as Jim Cavaziel in The Passion of the Christ, or more recently as Shahar Issac in The Chosen. And, I am certain, we all have a favorite image of Christ, be it from the masters or more recent artists. In other words, we all know Jesus but sometimes it is necessary to see Him in a new way.

Hearing this quote of St. Gregory’s on Catholic radio recently struck a chord with me, as I have often lamented that I’m not good artist. Sure, I’ve done a few of those paint and wine events with friends and family. My children and I even did a year of painting with Bob Ross videos for our homeschool art class. All of those paintings are hung around my house, but they would never be hung in a real art gallery.

My grandfather, on my mother’s side, was an artist. I treasure the two oils I have of his. They are clearly a seaside and a hunter’s cabin. A few of my children have inherited my grandfather’s gift for art, though they tend toward anime and less realism than Bob Ross.

Me? My paintings created while watching Bob’s videos on YouTube might, just might, be a mountain and maybe some pine trees. And, yes, they are “happy little trees” and I agree there are “no mistakes just happy accidents,” but I would love to be a better painter ... but I’m not.

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Gregory’s wise words came at a time when I was thinking more of what I wasn’t rather than what I was: listing my failures and lack of accomplishments was just so easy. In hearing that Christ is the artist (something I wished I was) helped create an image in my prayer life that allowed me to suspend my list of coulda, shoulda, wouldas and if onlys and focus on who I was.

I am a beloved child of God (1 John 3:1) and a lousy painter. But Jesus is at work wiping the grime of sin away, and pondering that image has done much to lift my prayer life. Perhaps your own prayer life needs a new image to ponder. An article by Msgr. Charles Pope in the Catholic Standard (Jan. 24, 2019) gives you more than 150 to choose from! Who will Jesus become for you?