His True and "Unveiled" Face: A Personal Search and Perspective

By Charles I. Anemelu

His True and “Unveiled” Face! is both an educational and inspirational piece of work. It captures an honest attempt to explore the possibility of knowing what Jesus Christ might have looked like when he was on earth before his passion, crucifixion, and death. To keep it simple: The author put himself in the positio

• Language: English
• Publisher: CHARLES ANEMELU
• Release date: Sep 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998027524

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Preface

Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram. Ne abscondas faciem tuam a me ne declines. (Your Face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide Your Face from me.)

(Psalm 27: 8-9)

In the words of Sr. Patricia McCarthy, CND, prefaced in one of her brilliant works: Books are usually written to clarify ideas, express opinions, or propose theories. Sometimes they are written to give facts, raise questions, and encourage participation in living out the process of answering them (cf. Of Passion and Folly: A Scriptural Foundation for Peace, p. vii). This ingenuous suggestion finds detailed expression in this book: His True and Unveiled Face — A Personal Search and Perspective.

For some years now, various pictures and portraits of Jesus have surfaced on social media in particular and the Internet in general. Prior to the Christmas season of 2015, a set of ostensible but peculiar visage pictures of Him was displayed. These artistic representations attracted many enthusiastic commenters with, of course, expectedly varied opinions. A careful perusal of essays linked to those images revealed that their authors were apparently trying to showcase those portraits as what they believed that Jesus might have looked like during His physical presence on earth. One of those poignant portraits attributed to a forensic expert, artist, and sculptor, could leave someone a bit unsettled because our present generation is characteristically and tremendously visual.

Even though this fabricated portrait remained that of a human face, it still did not seem to have qualified as a potential face of Christ in my candid assessment, opinion, and perception. Moreover, it did not square well with my entire conviction, studies (thoughts and experience in life) about Christ: who He truly is and what He might have looked like. However, I gave the forensic artist the benefit of the doubt since beauty (or handsomeness) is not a measurable attribute. It is always in the eye and sense of the beholder. Notwithstanding, I resorted — though still uncompromisingly — to the cliché: You never know!

But then I asked myself: Does that matter? Does the Lord need to be ‘defended’ by anyone in any form? Perhaps, He might instead prefer that we represent Him better and more with our own lives in response to His saving grace, mercy, and love. Nonetheless, I kept reflecting on that. What was even more frustrating was that this facial portrait kept surfacing on social and visual media almost on a biweekly basis, as though calculated. Later (and oddly enough), the same portrait of a male figure was redisplayed, but this time with the hair shaven, leaving him totally bald while sparing only his beard.

Then, on second thought, I felt that the Lord Jesus, in His infinite goodness, humility, mercy, and love for the entire human race perhaps would accept any human face whatsoever ascribed to His person in the flesh. And despite its peculiar configurations — because we were not only created in His own image and likeness but also because He has infinitely loved us and had come to save us all — He could look like everyman, or any man. Moreover, my Christian belief and personal conviction that every single human face created in God’s image and likeness is beautiful intervened.

However, my dissatisfaction with the portrait, earlier mentioned, was stronger precisely because of the seemingly unsettling facial poverty of the portrait and its probable attribution to that of Christ — the claim that it was forensically fabricated (whatever that means) without any traditionally significant base besides some related comments that could be somewhat misleading. For various reasons, such an attempt at a forensic fabrication or reconstruction of the true face of Christ appears not only unrealistic and untypical but also conventionally unproven. This concern is briefly addressed, at some point, in this work. The urgency for a suitable response arose with my conviction that a diligent, systematic, transparent, and analytical scan of relevant pages of the Holy Scripture, as well as the use of available information on related subjects, might provide a deep insight into what, perhaps, was previously unknown as much as bring up what deserves further attention and comprehension. It was not an emotionally disordered instinct (or an impulsive feeling) that led to this personal reflection. Indeed, it was pondered and reasoned. Thus, this is an in-depth search with a view to establishing an important and possible proof: that the human nature of Christ (facial as well as general appearance) was distinctive, remarkable, and attractive according to human standards, contrary to some people’s elected belief.

Therefore, this existing challenge and personal persuasion were decidedly translated into a unique opportunity for a befitting broader exploration. Conceivably, it might help address people’s incessant curiosities about what Jesus might have physically and exactly looked like, or at least bridle our over-inquisitiveness in that direction.

Finally, I resolved to conduct a reflective but prayerful research into what the Word of God might have looked like in the flesh. This commitment and research would be solidly based on my abiding knowledge and thoughts, mostly from biblical lessons about Him with relatively broad consultations and implications. What kept pervading my thoughts was that Christ was and is all things for all peoples, a dictum adopted from St. Cyril of Jerusalem (and St. Paul). Therefore, His human personal appearance might have been a certain mysterious, pure, perfect — but also a real — incorporation of every single human person on earth with allied reasons considered.

In this thought-out exploration, some people’s skepticisms on whether Christ’s physical appearance, when He was on earth, was appealing or pleasant were taken into meticulous consideration. To put it simply: whether He was handsome, beautiful, or pleasant (that His human nature was pleasant) became part of my theological and scriptural consciousness. Hopefully, this seeming uncertainty was finally and satisfactorily discussed coupled with answering crucial questions. Latent scriptural insights were committedly and systematically plumbed in this process with a view to, expectantly, setting this biblical and conceptual ambiguity straight. Also, this was logically, psychologically, scripturally, and theologically examined with the understanding that beauty (which is beyond skin color and pigmentations) remains perspectival, humanly subjective but divinely objective.

A psychological approach in this type of study does not necessarily imply the analyses of the character(s) of any scriptural person(s), whom we have never met, let alone that of Christ, who himself is far beyond as well as transcends any human studies and all their formulators. Moreover, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI) has this to say in his introduction for the book, The Lord:

There simply is no psychological portrait of Jesus which can render His different features comprehensible solely from a human perspective. (Romano Guardini, The Lord, p. xii).

Such musings belong to the realm of the impossible, as hinted in the Old Testament’s elaborate response from God to Job (cf. Job 38-41). It is only about the analyses of circumstances and events involving normal human reactions and interactions. The behavioral analytical focus is on those around Jesus: their reactions, responses, and modes of interaction with Him. It is about analyzing or predicting what would be the common or usual human behavior in a set situation and context based on past experiences and studies, which of course do not determine those of Christ because of His unique person and natures (both divine and human). Besides, this exploration is not being restricted to any liberal, scriptural interpretation that would reduce the historical Jesus to a mere mortal man contrary to whom He was and is. Further attention would be paid to the reality that Christ has the power to accomplish anything as well as appear whenever, in whichever and whatever form He prefers as long as it is in accord with the divine will and providence. This last and specific suggestion is more applicable to His post-resurrection and post-ascension private apparitions to certain privileged individuals.

But does this personal reflection and investigation really matter? Or does it belong to the realm of what might be considered vanity of vanities, to quote Ecclesiastes? Unequivocally, the contents and trajectory of this project will, indeed, reveal its prevailing exigency especially in this post-modern generation where Christ is periodically treated as a mere human person, (like every one of us) sometimes even denigrated or disfigured, presumably out of ignorance, rather than malice.

Primarily, I asked the Lord to bless and permit me to explore the Scripture in search of His human nature, countenance, and appearance just as any imaginative, inquisitive and research artist who intends to objectively paint His portrait would naturally do. Like a child, I also asked Him to permit me to ask those questions that some people nurture in their minds or sometimes ask, which under normal circumstances I would not even have dared to ask, based on my deep-rooted and enduring conviction. For instance: whether Jesus looked beautiful or handsome to human sight even though I know that His beauty was part of His essence, which radiated in His human person. This is far beyond what any human sight and knowledge could ever comprehend and with a firm understanding that human beauty is essentially far inferior to that of the Divine, a status He never lost when He became man. Fully aware that all my analyses must be guided by the teachings of the Church, which He has established as a good and truthful guide, as well as the custodian of the faith, I also asked Him to give me the wisdom and courage to handle this inspired project properly. Having made these requests, with determination and humility, I began to dig deep into both the Old Testament (Hebrew Scripture) and New Testament, but with more concentration on the latter for possible clues.

Furthermore, I was deeply and prayerfully aware that while searching for the Lord in whatever way or form, we cannot and must not lose sight of (or overlook) the treasures of the Holy Mother Church. Evidently, the Fathers of the early Church who considered the mystery of Christ hidden in the Old Testament among prophecies, events, and peoples as foreshadows, types, prefigurations, or prefigurements also recognized it as fully alive and revealed in the New Testament (cf. The Word Among Us: Daily Meditations, March 5 – April 20, 2014, p.43). My primary endeavor (as well as optimism) is to discuss and possibly resolve the controversy on whether the Lord in His human form was pleasant to the sight. I employed theological deductions, scriptural analyses, and inferential processes. Subsequently, I consulted some available but not-too-complicated documents during this reflection and research.

Nonetheless, these investigations were guided by my reflective scriptural scans for clues and theological analyses cognizant of the identity of the special subject and object of research. During this informal but near-mysterious exploration, care was taken not to allow any personal-background prejudice or bias to needlessly influence the reflective research process and what finally tallied with my overall and long-standing conviction in this connection.

In retrospect, my journey to the priesthood would always present me with one of those experiences that remain beautiful, memorable, overwhelming, and soul-stirring at the same time. This consideration is partly remindful of a certain stretch of time during which I personally longed to see the true face of Christ. This longing was from a burning desire for divine strength, comfort, encouragement, and reassurance, triggered by an unsettling personal crisis. It was a crisis of uncertainty and indecision that was really trying and challenging, the details of which are not important here.

This adventure began even before one of my stunning and phenomenal experiences. One of those splendid experiences was indeed preceded by a favor that the Lord granted me in response to my heartfelt prayer and petition the previous day. This unforeseen response was both affirmative and positive. Although the message was indirect, it was still clearly understood. It was more of an interiorly audible message, which came a day after my adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (along with the rest of the seminarians) during one of our first Sundays of the month, holy hours at the major seminary in 1996. During this devotion, I did ask for a favor from the Lord that would have determined either my continuation or contemplated voluntary exit from a committed journey to the priesthood. The paraphrase of my petition prayer was as follows: "Lord, if indeed you have called me and want me to continue on this journey to the priesthood, please let something good happen to me tomorrow or next… I still believe that I added the phrase or next" (to my heartfelt petition to the Lord) because of my apparent weakness of faith then, coupled with a feeling of uncertainty over whether my prayer would be promptly answered.

The following day, around 11 a.m., I was both interiorly and intensely mulling over the same existing personal situation and the meaning of a happy message, in a written note, which a fellow acolyte and seminarian brought to me about one of my elder brothers’ thoughtful but sudden visit. It was my brother who left the written note, informing me of his arrival. Of course, it was for me a most welcome and happy message on his visit. I was enthusiastic about it. Nevertheless, the day of his visit was not any of the seminary visiting days. No sooner had I begun to get a little worried about why he set out to visit me on a wrong day than an unexpected message suddenly came to me in a human voice. Apparently, it was a voice from the Lord Himself, even without my seeing Him physically. The message ran exactly as follows: Charles, did you not remember what you asked (for) yesterday? It was an interiorly audible voice that could be described as clean, clear, healthy, and strong. It was neither high nor low. Also, the voice could be judged generic, neither male nor female. And the message, as you must have seen above, was brief. Indeed, in response to my inner distressful uncertainty at that critical time shortly before my diaconal (diaconate) ordination, it was encouraging and, above all, a touching reassurance that the Lord truly called me to the priesthood. Suffice it to mention that it was this protracted and unprecedented crisis of uncertainty and indecision that primarily activated my desire to search for the true and visible face of Christ. This reflective search was begun with the strong conviction and unwavering determination that the human face that I would eventually find as belonging to Christ would, surely, not be a mental or visual contradiction to the voice I personally heard, coupled with the type of simultaneous joy-giving experience that I had. It would indeed not present a surprise. It would be a complete match. The basis of this fervent conviction was further elaborated in the body of this work.

Honestly, and without prejudice, beholding a type of face like the one forensically fabricated and publicized on social media, though a human face, would have brought me little, (if any) strength, comfort, encouragement, or reassurance. My longing was simply to see the Face of the Lord, a type that could relieve my personal worries, anxieties, uncertainties, and distress, if possible, instantly. It was indeed a yearning for the true face of Christ, a type of face that could bring the comfort, inner strength and reassurance that I desperately needed at that time. When I could not find any image of such a perceptually fabulous nature immediately, some of His unique pictures (among others that were available at that time), served as helpful substitutes. Since then, I have had a deep but vestigial longing to still explore or at least get a glimpse of what Jesus might have truly or, if possible, exactly looked like before his passion and death, even if only facially.

Even though this work partly constitutes a considerately mild denunciation of that relatively poor visage of Christ as imagined by a forensic scientist, at the same time, it ironically comports like a careful revisit, heedful reconsideration, and restricted accommodation of the same, at some point, in this project. After all, that fabricated face is still not only unique and good in its own nature, it also represents the face of a human being (like any of us), created in the image and likeness of God. However, the focus here is about what Jesus might have looked like when He was on earth.

Therefore, this book, with its subjective — but I hope thoughtful — contents by no means intends (or pretends) to replace the Holy Scripture. While the basis of this project remains sensitive and sympathetic to the fundamental doctrine of the Church, it is still not a liturgical or prayer book. It is, rather, a personal reflection, exploration, and a heartfelt endeavor to discuss, enlighten, and possibly correct errors (including my own), probe, clarify, and explain as well as establish a proof of the seemingly mysterious but humanly beautiful Face of Christ. Expectedly, this project, besides being an offshoot of a personal exploration, constitutes a timely product of both intellectual and helpful spiritual exploits.

Across the ages — and remarkably, too — priests, ministers, theologians, Christians in general, and artists in particular have variously contemplated the phenomenon of the divine-human visage of Jesus. Some of them (especially artists) have even tried to depict the same Face of Christ as they envisioned it in icons, frescos, mosaics, statuaries, portraits, and various mixed-media images. In union with those well-meaning contemplatives and explorers, I resolved to search for the product of my own reflections, imagination, and biblical deductions, but this time in the already existing images captured or revealed, and in the inspired paintings of Christ (especially those in the public domain). Despite the depth of reflection, research, and analyses involved, invaluable suggestions utilized, coupled with the volume of resources (and persons) consulted, this work is far from being perfect, infallible, or errorless. It is still provisional and finite, at best.

I undertook this project not necessarily in my status as a priest, but primarily as a cradle Christian and Catholic, who is searching for what Christ might have looked like. Also, I put myself in the position of a research artist or an inquisitive painter who intended to eventually portray Christ in a picture. Since this work is not strictly spiritual or religious in nature, given its multidimensional approach, various nuances in the mode of reflection and exploration, certain restrictions and limitations will be observed. The links to online sources and websites consulted or referenced in this work will not be entirely cited within the body of the work. Instead, the complete URLs will all be relegated to the bibliography section for the sake of orderliness and tidiness.

Moreover, since the language employed in this project presupposes anthropomorphism (using human attributes in the description of divine beings), personal pronouns will be made generic. This applies to both human and divine persons. However, exceptions are observed (both and only) in this preface and in the introduction. Besides, any presenting common gender singular noun or pronoun will be represented as masculine: he, his, or him. It is noteworthy that some of the Latin terminologies and translations, used or provided in this work, are not strictly literal. Also, a few Latin words are abbreviated in some cases (e.g. Arg. for Argumentum).

Also, any resources — sources and books touched, cited, consulted, or whose ideas were used in the course of this exploration — are acknowledged in the bibliography. There may not be any displays or sharing of the pictures of Christ within the body of the work. Nonetheless, a few striking, favorite, and select pictures of Him will all be placed in the appendix section with references made to them as and when appropriate. Those pictures might include: portraits (or icons) of Jesus that suit my conviction as either closer or closest to what Jesus might have potentially looked like most of the time when he was on earth and other spectacular images of Him that are supported by other people’s candid opinions and consultations.

It is expedient to affirm that every human face (created in the image and likeness of God) is totally beautiful, handsome, and good- looking. These faces, among others, include the one fabricated by a forensic scientist discussed earlier. Nonetheless, the issue in this project is merely about the level of visible beauty and its distinction as applicable to each person. The same applies to the uniqueness, pleasantness, and attractiveness attached to each, all relative to general visual human standards. In this vein, we are exploring the uniquely unknown beauty along with the human countenance of the uncreated Man: Jesus Christ. One could rightfully suggest that it is somewhat known if not completely known (cf. Wisdom 13: 1-9; Romans 1: 19-20; John 10:14). With this type of belief and conviction, we can continue searching for it with the intention of possibly finding both its unique, perfect, and beautiful form both here and, hopefully, in eternity.

It is hoped that these personal reflections, and explorations will greatly appeal to all readers of goodwill, as well as lead us all closer to the truth of what our Lord’s visible physical appearance during His time on earth might have been according to the (impermeable and incomprehensible) will of His heavenly Father.

Fr. Charles Anemelu (MA, Ed. D)

Bridgeport, Connecticut

August 16, 2017

                                         Introduction

Domine Deus exercituum converte nos et ostende faciem tuam et salvi erimus. (Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.)

(Psalm 80:19)

The naturally strong desire to know — as well as learn — almost always arouses curiosity and indeed loving (and, in some cases, pious) curiosity in us. People often and generally long to know and seek out good, honest, lovable, and admirable human persons for possible friendship, closer and even deeper relationships in their lives, and sometimes for self-appropriation. This type of intense desire and longing among people is fundamental.

It is notable that even though the fundamental mission of Christ in the history and economy of human salvation finds expression in His words and deeds as present in the Holy Scripture, however, because those words and deeds emanated from a physical Human Agent and the incarnate Word and Son of God, Jesus Christ, it is only natural that people would always seek to know (consciously or unconsciously) what He looked like. They would as well long to experience or simply feel, if possible, His uniquely abiding presence. And it is not unlikely that this type of search for the physical nature and appearance of Christ will scarcely end, at least out of curiosity and for sundry reasons of personal growth, self-edification, and spiritual enlightenment.

This reflective search for what Christ might have looked like systematically finds expression in various chapters of this work that does not purport to become a memoir or biography. It is rather similar to an honestly intense reflection and wide-range research that gifted and inspired artists, painters, and even organizers, or choreographers of biblical film actors would primarily undertake — which in some cases might even take some years — before objectively depicting the true picture or facial image of Christ or attempting to play (or choose the right person to play) His role in motion films. Their performance would, therefore, be strongly based on what they figured out through deep reflections, scriptural insights, and theological deductions coupled with an in-depth research into what Jesus might have looked like.

Chapter 1, in a somewhat dramatic fashion, seeks to show that people from different ethnic origins, backgrounds, or skin complexions sometimes engage in disputes — even literally and aggressively — in attempts to figure out what body complexion the Word of God (Christ) might have assumed during his time on earth. Examples of this type of dispute abound. Nevertheless, one instance is comically utilized in the early part of this chapter. This type of dramatic encounter involving two people of different races and ethnic origins serves as a mental but practical prelude to this project. This chapter creates the impression that the desire to know what important personalities look like begins from childhood with the same applicable to an almost obsessive universal longing to know what Jesus might have looked like while He was on earth.

Ever since Christ gloriously ascended into Heaven, many people who were not privileged to set their eyes on Him have not stopped longing (inwardly or outwardly, directly or indirectly) to know what He looked like while on earth. The idea of trying to determine what the Lord Jesus might have looked like leads to an elaborate attempt at providing a brief identity of Him with guiding questions and illustrations, as we shall see in chapter 2. This chapter’s objective identification of the person, Jesus Christ, would enable us to keep the entire exploration in proper perspective. Also, a primary identification of who Jesus was and is will reveal more to us in the entire project. What was the physical and facial appearance of someone in whom, on whom, (and at whose Baptism and Transfiguration) God the Father, after centuries, finally broke his visual, audible, and symbolic silence in such a dramatic fashion that it was audibly and publicly heard (cf. Matthew 3:17,17:5; Mark 1:11, 9:7; Luke 3:22, 9:35; also 2 Peter 1:17)? People’s comments on whether it is necessary to search for what the Lord might have looked like are meticulously discussed and the outcome along with cited ecclesial documents would give boost and verve to this search and reflective commitment. These varying perspectives were further elaborated with some overarching questions and hypothetical comments. Invariably, this project sets out to establish the probability that Christ must have looked somewhat distinctive based on his identity as both God-Man and the Son of God. Moreover, that there would have been no discrepancy between what He did and taught and how He appeared physically, with latent evidence gleaned from relevant verses and pages of the Scripture — especially the Gospels — was considered most likely in this work.

On the impulse to determine what Christ looked like, people have made many potentially precarious assumptions, which they could neither reasonably back up nor, in some cases, historically substantiate. The same inability and attendant desperation to find out what Jesus might have looked like with regard to attractiveness (or distinctiveness) or lack of it, have also driven even some educated people to make various seemingly authoritative but obviously uncertain inferences as touched upon in some of the chapters in this project, but more detailed in chapter 3. Some of those inferences tend to suggest that Christ was of average height (or short in some instances) or looked exactly like his own people in appearance — his apostles in particular because, when He was betrayed, the chief priests, religious leaders, and the Roman soldiers wanted to ensure they had the right man and enlisted the help of one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (cf. Matthew 26:48), to identify Jesus out of a crowd at night. The argument here is that the soldiers should have been able to recognize Him if He looked remarkable or distinctive and perhaps would not have needed the help of Judas. After the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene should not have mistaken Him for a gardener (cf. John 20:14, 15), if He appeared attractive or distinctive. Based on the preceding arguments, they made inferences (and drew conclusions) that Jesus did not appear remarkable, beautiful, or handsome according to human standards. Similarly, some resorted to the prophecy of Isaiah in order to prove their points (cf. Isaiah. 53:2). Expectedly, potentially excessive restrictions and historical constrictions, would not have afforded people the latitude to first identify the person of Christ so as to allow for wider possibilities before drawing any sure-sounding inferences. We shall see these viewpoints and opinions presented here in an endeavor to explore both these assumptions and beliefs. Practical instances are gleaned from the pages of the Scripture (both the Old and New Testaments) to discuss some of those assumptions besides rational responses that would eventually lead us into considering why over the centuries some people have been uncomfortable or simply find it challenging to accept those who do not look like them. Consequences resulting from such sinister attitudes and behaviors are illustrated and provided at the end of this chapter.

Before delving into important but latent clues from the New Testament and even the Old Testament, Christ’s direct human identity, origin, and genealogy were revisited in chapter 4 to keep the goal of this reflective research in the forefront of our minds. This type of recapitulation enables us to keep envisioning the person we are searching for and keep Him continually in view. Not only was Jesus born to Jewish parents, Mary and Joseph, His genealogies as recorded both in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke also traced His lineage to Abraham and by extension to our first natural parent, Adam (cf. Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38).

With reference to the Old Testament — and contrary to many men whose life stories are written during or after their lifetime, the image of the person, life, and mission of Christ — the Word of God, the Son of God, and the Son of Man — are believably etched, though vaguely, on the pages of the Old Covenant Scripture long before his earthly life (cf. John 1:1, 8: 58; Luke 24:27). In a wide-ranging scriptural scan of relevant Gospel passages, both chapters 4 and 5 explore the pre-baptismal and post-baptismal encounters of Christ with John the Baptist and the subsequent meetings with his first apostles and disciples. Accordingly, observations are made over what we could learn from those encounters between Christ, John the Baptist, and Christ’s would-be disciples, their interactions, spoken words, and responses. These are reviewed and analyzed using multidimensional approaches. Those relevant scriptural verses are not only treasurable, they also provide us with potentially significant clues and insights. Various episodes leave us with streams of reflection and much food for thought. The same applies to the suggestions of the Johannine Prologue and the Epistles of James, Peter, and John among others.

The relevant Gospel passages and verses to be reviewed (as well as analyzed) look like an invitation to search for potentially visible human features of Christ that might have influenced the apostles and disciples to make a radical decision to embark upon an adventure, discipleship, that could even incur disapproval and possible rejection from some of their friends and families. What type of person did His would-be apostles or disciples encounter and end up following? What was His physical appearance like? Was what would attract them to Him strictly something that was not visible — plus his words and deeds? Going by how some of the Gospel verses (analyzed in this work) are presented, the evangelists seem to be encouraging their audience and readers to focus attention on the person (which of course comprises physical appearance and visible total presence) of Jesus, the Word made flesh, even when it is not directly expressed. This is appropriate because God has spoken and revealed all things in Him, the Word. A powerful and resounding echo in this connection could easily be felt in the course of this exploration.

In chapter 6, broader arguments will be made from underlying complex questions and suppositions that people have variously posited on the probable appearance of Christ in relation to beauty according to human standards. Responses to those questions and remarks involve intellectual, biblical, and theological discussions and approaches. They begin with theological suppositions that are rooted in both the Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Some responses and answers are likewise interdisciplinary in form, cognizant of the nature of this investigation. While we grapple with those problems and questions in this section, solutions would naturally emerge in some cases with commentaries and suggestions used to strengthen the preceding arguments and exploration. This chapter even extends its tentacles over to the review of relevant interactions of Jesus with little children as recorded in some of the Synoptic Gospels — interactions that are characterized by (and with) kindness, love, healing, and blessings from the Lord Jesus. Insights and clues from these interactions indicate that Christ’s entire appearance, presence, and visage must have been — not only remarkable and pleasant but also people-friendly — adults and children alike. This section of chapter 6 provides us with an opportunity to review the relationship between the physical appearance of Christ and its link to the Suffering Servant of God’s appearance as recorded in the prophecy of Isaiah (cf. Isaiah.53:2-3).

Traditionally, the mission of the visible Church on earth is to give witness to the mission of Christ, primarily manifested in his person at the Incarnation and later with and through his words and deeds, recorded in the Holy Scripture. The Church seeks to make not only the words and deeds of Christ known but also his person totally revealed (and possibly made visible) to the world. In this vein, chapter 7 serves as an endeavor to explore the human appearance of Christ, conscious of his identity, which is both divine and human in one person — also, given His status besides the unique position He occupies both in history and in time. It also examines concisely how much people of the world know about Jesus and what their conjectures are, or might be, regarding his possible skin color (complexion) and with strong reference to what He might have generally (but, facially) looked like before His suffering and death. It further explains the potential reasons we have different portraits of Christ throughout the course of history.

Questions and comments from social media commenters are not ignored. Overlapping reflections on the Old-Testament verses prefiguring Christ; His potential appearance and events before, during, and after His arrest, trial (which involved in no small part the historical Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea), and eventual crucifixion lead to the search over why there are evidently no surviving and original portraits of Him — that is, if at all there were any in existence. The situation in Palestine of the first century, more chaotic than peaceful, is also briefly examined to establish some of the difficulties in preserving the original portraits of Christ — again, if any ever previously existed. This chapter ends with an attempt to determine that forensic anthropology does not possess any sufficient capacity to develop or effectively design what the human Jesus might have looked like especially when His human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples cannot be found, let alone obtained anywhere. Based on this proposition, possible glitches are bound to occur — as envisioned in this section — given the two natures (divine and human) that make Him essentially different from us since we possess only one single nature (human). Moreover, Christ had only one human parent in the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whereas we have two (male and female) human parents to make our own existence possible — and exclusively in the natural way — contrary to that of Christ, the God-Man (Latin: Deus Homo).

Understandably, the essential connection and relationship between Christ and His words (plus deeds), alive in the Scripture, cannot be torn apart or separated from one another. They are inextricably one, just as He is one with His mystical body and bride, the Church. Therefore, any true knowledge and understanding of the words and deeds of Christ would not only have positive influences on the recipients but also a far-reaching and constructive implication for His teaching, life, and mission on each member of His mystical body, the Church, in particular and humanity in general. In this context, the mission of the Church seems threefold: (1) Proclaiming the Word of God (Christ), (2) witnessing to His deeds, and (3) showing (revealing) Him to our foggy, gloomy, longing, and waiting world. It is similar to representing the One who has primarily and definitively revealed Himself to us. The big question is: how could this mission continue to be objectively, effectively and sustainably undertaken and accomplished in our present world that is notoriously visual?

Observations and opinions of both the Eastern and Western Church Fathers (such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Sts. Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Thomas Aquinas and Cyril of Jerusalem among others) on whether Christ in His human form was remarkable (comely) or unremarkable are reviewed with all their opinions — obviously and eventually pointing in a positive direction: that He was most likely remarkable in appearance.

Additionally, and by extension, some non-biblical (let alone extant) accounts and descriptions of Christ, which are attributed to vague origins or considered spurious, are also examined and bluntly reviewed in both chapters 8 and 9 for this reflection. The names and personalities of those to whose authorship those accounts are linked — Publius Lentulus, Pontius Pilate, and Gamaliel — are concisely and precisely examined for possible authenticities and fallacies. Even though they are not being upheld as genuine other than suspect, nevertheless their descriptions coincidentally — surprisingly, but relatively — match most of the traditional depictions of Christ. The scope of the analyses of these extant descriptions covers a whole range of both Christ’s capital and facial features, including but not limited to eye and hair colors, and His presumed height. Intermittent commentaries and suggestions are used to sharpen the focus and attention of the reading public. The same is applicable to the observation and findings about those unverifiable descriptive accounts.

Obviously, parents show true pictures of grandparents to their children who were not privileged to see them in the flesh and such pictures give them some comfort, encouragement, mental strength, reassurance, and in some cases, point them toward hope. Upcoming questions from people could immediately sound ridiculously naïve only if we downgrade the potential strength and impact that contemporary social media and the Internet could have on our future-generation children and youth. Does the same not apply to the pictures and images of persons, particularly those of Christ? Do they matter? The questions are paraphrased as follows: Aside from living lives of justice, performing deeds of good service, engaging in charitable works, corporal and spiritual works of mercy, how could we discover (or rediscover), discuss, and if possible show the true and unveiled beautiful face of Christ to the suffering, the poor, the anxious, the vulnerable, the lonely, the obviously helpless, and the hopeless in our world? What of His true and original portrait? Is it possible we could find it anywhere? I would answer: Probably not — but possibly yes — since nothing is impossible with God, if we are properly guided by faith and reason in this type of search. With hope, this type of revelation if at all obtainable could be somewhat helpful in the new evangelization of our contemporary world that longs to primarily see before it believes, a world that seeks to see not an obscure image but a true Face of their good and loving Lord and Savior. Can the true face of Christ be found in any image (or images) whether clear or obscure? At least, a man known as Donald Nohs (the director general of the Confraternity of the Passion International and president of the Holy Face of Jesus), has been devotedly moving around the world and promoting the Shroud of Turin with the image on it as probably the true burial cloth of Jesus. He also makes poignant and deeply instructive presentations that seem complimentary about the passion of Christ as recorded in the Gospels. Such an effort, which creates the impression that Jesus could be found in this unique relic (with back- ups from the Scripture and Tradition), could not have been a vain venture especially in this new age. At least, it recreates and renews an imagery awareness of the reality and nature of Christ’s passion and death. This imagery optimism seems to have found encouragement in the words and work of Walter Cardinal Kasper, as follows:

...Holy Scripture and the Church do not speak abstractly and theoretically… the theology of Scripture, like that of the Church Fathers, is a theology in images (Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life, p.207).

But can we theologically visualize and, subsequently, portray the true image of Jesus based on the Holy Scripture with certainty? Invariably, without the human person of Christ through the mystery of the Incarnation, there would not have been any of His accessible physical interactions with the rest of humanity on earth, much less his spoken words and deeds as distinct in the New Testament Scriptures. The bond of unity that exists between Him and the details of His salvific mission cannot, therefore, either be sundered or voided. They belong essentially to one another. They belong together. This reflective project elaborates the search on the basis and rationale that the Word of God (Christ) is one with God. In the same vein, the word of Christ is one with Christ. What would the same Word (and word) look like when given human flesh by an artist or a painter just as artists have endeavored to do over the ages? As the Word of God, who is one with God, emanated from God in the same way the words and deeds of Christ, which are one with Christ emanated from Christ the human person without any shadow of alterations. Moreover, the words (and deeds) of Christ, which are the same with the Word of God, were originally made more concrete and personified in Christ. It is unambiguously the same Word of God in the flesh (Jesus) that we are curiously searching for what He looked like during his sojourn on earth before his passion and death. The following questions are thus posed: Is that knowledge difficult? Is it impossible, even with divine guidance and inspiration? Were none of the artists that depicted, especially, the facial aspects of Christ across the centuries not divinely inspired? Were Carlo Dolci, Caravaggio, El Greco,