The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
October 2, 2011
Vol. 14 no. 38
On World Communion, the Lectionary strikes again with a universal theme for the universal meal: the Ten Commandments. It’s what we all naturally discuss around the Thanksgiving table every year, eh? Maybe ‘Thou Shalt Eat the Green Beans’! Banter about no graven images tends to stifle most conversations.
Among the People of the Book (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) there is no debate regarding the depiction of God in art. No one has seen God and it is a common assumption that no one can. But from this point on, there is lots of debate. Christians readily exhibit paintings of Jesus and since for many, Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus is God. Jews object to the idea that we can see God in flesh and blood. When Islam emerged the same problem came up, as well as an objection to the Christian perception of God as the Trinity – which they saw as polytheism, and the Jews said amen.
As the sauerkraut is being passed around, many Christians had problems with divine images – the colourful icons of Eastern Christianity. For over a century icons were not only banned from churches and worship, but smashed and destroyed. An ‘iconoclast,’ used today for one not afraid to challenge authority and customs, originally was for someone opposed to icons. The age of official iconoclasm did not last, but the question remains around the table, “How do we talk about a God we cannot see?”
It’s not easy to talk about God at dinner, but when an entire Christian Church gathers on one specific day for bread and wine, the topic comes up.
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan