JR. Forasteros - May 26, 2013
Trinity Sunday
The Trinity is the most basic expression of who God is: God is wholly self-giving love. God exists eternally as Father, Son and Spirit - three persons who are united as one being. And these three are constantly giving to and receiving from each other. This is God. This is Trinity. We were created in this God's image. The good news is that through Jesus' death and resurrection, God invites us to join in the Trinity's inner life. We were created to be givers, and we are never more fully ourselves than when we give.
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Five years ago, Portland-based comics artist Everett Patterson illustrated his family’s Christmas card. The image, which he called Jose y Maria, went viral. Take a look at Everett’s updated Nativity. Take about a minute and talk with a few of the people around you. See how many connections to the traditional Nativity scene you can spot. (There are approximately 4 million, so don’t worry about getting them all).
This image is super cool, and provocative for all the right reasons. I love it in part because it’s so creative. But I also love it because it helps us to feel some of the scandal of that first Christmas. After all, you don’t have to discuss this, but imagine the kinds of comments Jose and Maria might draw in real life. What kinds of assumptions might we make about them, about their life choices, about the circumstances that brought them to be stranded at the convenience store with nowhere to stay?
Jose y Maria makes me uncomfortable for all the right reasons. Because if you can feel a little of the scandal inherent in this image, then you’re ready to feel the scandal of the first Christmas story:
