Tim Speer's Blog - Posts Tagged "appearance"
The Beautification Of Jesus
I often see pictures and posts on Facebook that show glowing pictures of the Eucharist, or a priest holding the Eucharist up for consecration in a glowing light. Yet my experience at mass is that the priest, and the Eucharist, often look very plain, and nowhere near as dazzling as the pictures I've seen. Oh, to be sure, the priest is dressed in his fancy vestments, but his overall appearance is quite ordinary. And the appearance of the Eucharist itself is fairly ordinary.
Now before those of you who post these jump on my case, let me just say that I do believe in the Eucharist. And I have a great reverence for it. And I know that while the Eucharist may appear ordinary, it is in fact very extraordinary. And although the priest may appear ordinary, he is performing a very extraordinary task.
But we have a tendancy to make the physical appearance more spectacular than it really is. And it's not just with the Eucharist. Take most any picture you see of Jesus. He's basically made out to be the biblical age equivalent of tall, dark and handsome. Is this the way he really was?
The Reality
For our reality check, let's go back to when Jesus first came to earth. That angelic manger scene with Mary and Joseph looking so heavenly, looking down adoringly at the baby Jesus. The only problem is, it wasn't anything like that. The "manger" was most likely a small cave. And as for Mary and Joseph, they had been traveling on a dusty road all day. Joseph on foot, and Mary on a donkey. And they hadn't even had a bath! Later in his life, when Jesus was traveling and teaching, there were probably many times when he would have appeared a little dirty and grubby. A far cry from the beautiful pictures we see.
Underneath the Cover
Yet, with the manger scene, we know that despite outward appearances something very wonderful was happening. In that manger was a baby who would save the world. And beside him was the woman who would be crowned Queen of Heaven. And the sometimes dirty and grubby man going around teaching, was no less than the direct presence of God here on earth.
So if you go to mass and the Priest appears a little less than glowing, and you find the Eucharist to be somewhat plain looking, you shouldn't be deceived. Rest assured, it is far from ordinary, it is the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you leave Church and go out into the world, it might not hurt to keep in mind that if Jesus comes to you, he probably won't be suave and well dressed.
Now before those of you who post these jump on my case, let me just say that I do believe in the Eucharist. And I have a great reverence for it. And I know that while the Eucharist may appear ordinary, it is in fact very extraordinary. And although the priest may appear ordinary, he is performing a very extraordinary task.
But we have a tendancy to make the physical appearance more spectacular than it really is. And it's not just with the Eucharist. Take most any picture you see of Jesus. He's basically made out to be the biblical age equivalent of tall, dark and handsome. Is this the way he really was?
The Reality
For our reality check, let's go back to when Jesus first came to earth. That angelic manger scene with Mary and Joseph looking so heavenly, looking down adoringly at the baby Jesus. The only problem is, it wasn't anything like that. The "manger" was most likely a small cave. And as for Mary and Joseph, they had been traveling on a dusty road all day. Joseph on foot, and Mary on a donkey. And they hadn't even had a bath! Later in his life, when Jesus was traveling and teaching, there were probably many times when he would have appeared a little dirty and grubby. A far cry from the beautiful pictures we see.
Underneath the Cover
Yet, with the manger scene, we know that despite outward appearances something very wonderful was happening. In that manger was a baby who would save the world. And beside him was the woman who would be crowned Queen of Heaven. And the sometimes dirty and grubby man going around teaching, was no less than the direct presence of God here on earth.
So if you go to mass and the Priest appears a little less than glowing, and you find the Eucharist to be somewhat plain looking, you shouldn't be deceived. Rest assured, it is far from ordinary, it is the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you leave Church and go out into the world, it might not hurt to keep in mind that if Jesus comes to you, he probably won't be suave and well dressed.
