Today's Gospel in Art - The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head

Homeless Jesus, Bronze sculpture by Timothy Schmalz © Timothy Schmalz

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 28th June 2021 - Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, 'Master, I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.'

Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, 'Sir, let me go and bury my father first.' But Jesus replied, 'Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.'

Reflection on the Sculpture

Many of you will be familiar with this sculpture by Timothy Schmalz. Titled 'Homeless Jesus', it shows a life-sized figure shrouded in a linen blanket showing visible wounds on his feet. Jesus is depicted as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. His face and hands are obscured. Schmalz visited Pope Francis in November 2013 to present a miniature version of this statue. He recalled the Pope's reaction: "He walked over to the sculpture, and it was just chilling because he touched the knee of Jesus, and closed his eyes and prayed. It was like, that's what he's doing throughout the whole world: reaching out to the marginalised." Three years later, in 2016, over 100 casts of the sculpture were installed throughout the world.

What I like about the sculpture is that Jesus leaves just about enough room on the bench for someone else to sit down…. right next to Him. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus says that the 'Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head'. I guess we can say that as Jesus started his ministry he became homeless. He and his disciples kept moving around and stayed in the homes of those who would welcome them. I am back in London now for the summer and recently I was talking to a friend of mine who asked me what the biggest adjustment was of entering seminary. For me, it is probably the fact that everywhere has become my home and nowhere is my home too. This is how it will be in future. Not knowing where I will end up or be sent to, I will have to keep moving homes. And that is ok. It is as if Jesus in today's reading is asking us seminarians: 'Are you sure you want to be homeless with Me and keep moving with Me wherever I want you to go?"

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/851
Christian Art - www.christian.art