I had this image in a dream many years ago. The stained glass represents the church and religion in all its forms. It is beautiful, glamorous and attractive. However, it is only a mask. All religions, in their public face, are empty forms. They are not the real, the substance, the true. The symbols, rituals, traditions and presentation are packaging, dim mirrors, metaphors, a shadow of things to come and not the substance. Same with the name “Christian”, “church”, and even the word “God”… they are not the thing. They are only fingers pointing, sometimes well, sometimes feebly, sometimes not at all, to the actual.
I get so tired of the time and energy we would invest in the construction, protection and perpetuation of the mask. I’ve come to the point where I am tempted to finally reject it. In spite of its beauty, attractiveness and safety, it ultimately is a means of separation. If we could see that our religion is a man-made package and that it fundamentally separates us, perhaps it could be re-appreciated at a deeper level.
The image you see here is an acrylic painting of the image I had in my dream, painted on canvas, 10″x14″ (25cm x 36cm). It is sold, although you can buy a print of it in my etsy shop (below). I plan on actually constructing this mask out of stained glass as a sculpture one day. I’m posting this as this week’s Illustration Friday submission, “Pretend”.
Check out my tees HERE and my art HERE.
Contributions to nakedpastor are greatly appreciated.
David Hayward is a pastor artistically stripping to the essential.
This, my friend, is the essence of what I’ve been trying to tell others for years. If, somewhere in the experience, one doesn’t connect with the reality of who He is, with what is bigger and beyond any explanation attempted, one is left with an image that is cut and pasted into a religion. Of course, even with the connection, we are likewise limited to a mere temporary glimpse of His actuality; but at least we are knowledgeable to such truth and ever thirity to return again and again to the well…..
I have had very similar thoughts, the desire to find “naked” faithfulness. Here is what I am wondering these days …
Maybe that thing you are calling a mask is really a mirror. This is why all attempts to remove the mask just reveal another mask underneath. This object of beauty and seperation simply reflects who as are.
I could not agree more. Thank you. It is refreshing to hear a pastor say that sort of thing. So true.
The mask is pretty, too.
Awesome post David….I so much agree….but,but,but…the obvious problem soon arises of how we use the construct to de-construct….somewhat paradoxical
maybe I shld clarify….is not the New Testament part of the “construct”?
There you go again! “We, we, we.”
fishon
Two thoughts:
1) The older and more established the denomination (oops! I almost said demonization!), the more “distance” is established between man and God. Check it out historically.
2) You’re right that all words are imperfect symbols. And yet it is in words that God has communicated with us.
Fred….” The older and more established the denomination (oops! I almost said demonization!), the more “distance†is established between man and God. Check it out historically”
Are you suggesting that Roman Catholics are further from the truth than all others ?….or maybe yr thinking specifically of denominations…
Nevertheless…how is it that out of these traditions come a Mother Teresa,Thomas Merton,Jean Vanier…just to name a few….even a Malcolm Muggeridge who became a Catholic in later yrs becuz it represented to him,not less,but more truth
David, that’s a beautiful painting — sparked my thinking along these lines…causing me to create my own linguistic construct
Mask = external representation, designed to cover our inner desolation
The law was given to clarify God’s standard of holiness, which is summed up in the commands to love God and others. While the law is good, we’re not, so the law effectively serves to point out the hypocrisy of our external constructs, and reveal the depths of our depravity and need for redemption.
The temptation and trap for all “religious” minded folks is to use the law and God’s word to construct better, and more elaborate masks, whiile the inner desolation remains — like a white-washed tomb.
The law cannot save, however. So what’s needed is God’s love, redemption, and inner transformation. And this comes not via externals or the written word, but through an inner relational connection to the living Word of God, aka the person of Jesus Christ.
As inner restoration and transformation occurs, the need for a mask diminishes…
Perhaps then the call to discipleship is the call to die to our mask making ways? Perhaps we’re called to new way of living — to be engaged as agents of God’s redemption, trading in our masks of self-proctection, and putting on the armor that equips us to engage in God’s mission and love and reach out to others?
faithlessinfatima:
Consider that the structures of older denominations create distance–both physically and organizationally. That says little to nothing about individuals within any denomination, church, or organization.
faithlessinfatima:
Cont. – …and I wasn’t talking about truth, but the relationship between man and God.
Fred…not sure if I quite understand yr point and I don’t know of any denominations that have a monopoly on the “physical” distance between God and man(excluding the Mormons,of course…lol)…simply becuz they are more recent….a mask is a mask is a mask…I mean,how wd one go about checking this out historically?
Style, organization, setup. There is a progression from Catholic and Orthodox through older mainline reformation churches all the way through Vineyard churches–terms of physical setup of the church, organization, doctrine, all specifically in terms of “distance.”
Want to interact with God? Talk to you priest.
Where is the pastor? Up on a high podium? Or on ground level?
My own denomination is fairly new (100 years). But since its inception there has been a move away from experience, toward teaching, away from experience, toward respect and holiness (as if respect and holiness are “there” when someone experiences God), etc., etc.
I even heard a young pastor criticize a very intimate Vineyard song saying that we are “losing reverence–that distance between us and God.” That’s not quite word for word but it’s pretty close.
When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple was torn. We always seem to move towards sewing it back up again.
Correction: I should have said “as if respect and holiness are not ‘there’ when someone experiences God.”
Gotcha fred…I apologize for goin’ off on a tangent…it’s an interesting idea you’ve brought up…”physical stucture”…it seems the Protestant ethos has been to strip away the bark to reveal the true sap only to find the bark grows back…very doubtful if there is “one size fits all”…apparently,God has been known to visit the great cathedrals as well as the bingo halls…
beautiful, profound, true. so well put. love to see this in stained glass… great idea.
I have felt for a long time now that Christianity, as I have know it, divides, or separates. It separates believers from believers and believers from non believers. Even within a local church, there are little groups that have very little to do with each other because of disagreements (whether voiced or not) over minor doctrinal or procedural beliefs.
I am not talking about the Christianity that may have been originally intended in the beginning, but the Christianity that has existed since the beginning, and is operating today.
faithlessinfatima said: “…it seems the Protestant ethos has been to strip away the bark to reveal the true sap only to find the bark grows back…”
I think that’s a very interesting description! It grows back. It grows back hard. And then its suspicious of any new manifestation of sap…
I wd agree Bob and I wd think it a rarity to find any believer who hasn’t experienced the collective Christian shadow….if we accept the “religion about Jesus” without discretion,then the constructed mask is inevitable and the threat of those who wear a different mask soon follows…it makes for a very small God
I think this may be related to the idea of simply “being.” Like Popeye says, “I am what I am.”
Masks prevent us from being and I think are ultimately motivated by fear.
One of the problems I have with Christianity is that it teaches that we are born flawed and this will not go away in our lifetime and we need to be saved from this “original” sin. Even those denominations that don’t teach the doctrine of original sin suggest that sin is something that has to be taken from our lives and is the at the root of evil in this world.
This may offer an explanation of why suffering occurs in this world, but it ultimately makes some Christians afraid of being themselves. It is a subconscious fear that dwells in others. And so this may be at the core of the fear of being oneself. And even though a Christian community may give lip service to the idea that sin dwells in all humans, it always seems to be surprised when it shows up, often more severely, in its own members.
So, instead of being afraid, maybe we can come up with a truly original sin such as “poking a badger with a spoon” or the greatest sin of all within many churches, telling the truth about ourselves.
It really is freedom when you don’t have to keep editing your speech, manners, and appearance to keep up the mask.
Richard Harty….
“One of the problems I have with Christianity is that it teaches that we are born flawed and this will not go away in our lifetime and we need to be saved from this “original†sin. Even those denominations that don’t teach the doctrine of original sin suggest that sin is something that has to be taken from our lives and is the at the root of evil in this world.
This may offer an explanation of why suffering occurs in this world, but it ultimately makes some Christians afraid of being themselves. It is a subconscious fear that dwells in others. And so this may be at the core of the fear of being oneself. And even though a Christian community may give lip service to the idea that sin dwells in all humans, it always seems to be surprised when it shows up, often more severely, in its own members.”
I wd agree Richard…for many,the old story of “original sin” is as hard to swallow as…well….raw spinach,but I’m compelled to think that no one wd offer a cure for nothing—there must be something very primal about the human condition behind the myth….Jung’s concept of “the shadow”might be worth some attention…as for fear,let us not forget Otto’s “mysterium tremendum”… http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/gothic/numinous.html...
there’s more than one way to cook spinach…by the way…I checked out yr blog…some good stuff
maybe it’s because we’re just stained glass people falling apart.
I was saved, I thought I was, but the doubts always come back. I don’t want to live forever. I don’t want to live. I thought He saved me. but I don’t value it and keep looking for nothing.
Hell is keeping me alive though. I’m too scared. I don’t want to disappoint Him.
Oh and this reminds me of the song Stained Glass Masquerade…
Fred and Fatima,
Something beautiful came out of your dialogue. I love the metaphor of the bark. It does like any metaphor have it’s limitations though. A bark is actually good for the growth and/or well-being of the tree whereas this bark is a life draining mask.
Thanks
“It really is freedom when you don’t have to keep editing your speech, manners, and appearance to keep up the mask. “ by Richard H.
I wanted to argue with this statement because of some of the warnings Paul gives in Romans about the abuse of freedom, I was going to go so far as to say that this statement scares me, but it really doesn’t. Some people will gobble that statement up and live it, some people run hard from it, and both camps will make many mistakes and take things too far. And by God’s amazing grace, He will still accept them both when they turn back to Him to seek Him and forgiveness.
I just want to emphasize that the key is not hiding behind the mask. You are who you are, and all too often we expect people who are new to the faith to “have it together”, but fruit is also a very Biblical concept and growth. Speech, manners, etc … I guess I see it sometimes that I DO need to be more careful and edit what I say and how I act because .. I probably should anyways. The “church” should never hide it’s imperfections and it’s true need for the grace we preach, but, naturally, as we grow in Christ we ARE going to become more whole and *want* to edit our speech and manners more because we want to represent Christ well. It’s when we impose this on others and aren’t real with some of our other flaws or when we beat ourselves up for our mistakes that this becomes a problem. A freedom out of a deep understanding of grace and repentance is SO important. And yes, we do need to leave the sap exposed, no one will ever be perfect as much as we want to be.
Maybe we treat the “church” too much like we treat a “mature” Christian. When really, the mature Christians (who are more aware of their sin then others and in turn need God’s grace even more) instead of investing in making church to appear like their own lives will naturally appear to most because of their relationship with God is more … advanced … should invest in mentoring and loving those newer in their faith and being real and honest with them. Maybe the “church” just needs to be constantly re-born so we actually treat it like that.
Maybe Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 should actually be about the church.
I really do believe in being real and honest, but I see too much of the flip side where it’s an excuse to not even grow. I work with young very emergent kids, and spiritual formation is not something our generation knows.
My favorite word in the whole wide world is “balance”. I constantly visualize a pendulum or a scale because we as humans LOVE to take things as extreme as we can. We don’t know how to be objective, we are cynical about what we don’t know or like, and we are creatures of habit. Balance in our faith and objectivity about who we are and how express that is rooted in humilty and self-lessness. Too few church goers these days get that (but there I go being cynical, as true as it may be).
Overall, i agree with the post and the comments, much of our modern day church could change, but let’s not forget that certain pockets of individuals within the greater scheme of things ARE getting it and ARE making a difference. I DO know some wonderful born-again Catholics who are working in that context to bring people into real relationships with Christ and the living God.
To the naked pastor I say, I love the honesty, it’s how I lead. I agree, get rid of the mask, but don’t mistake the things behind the mask as being part of the mask. “Symbols, rituals, traditions and presentation” and even “the time and energy we would invest in the construction, protection and perpetuation”, if done to show Christ to a broken lost world – instead of for the mask – is a good and godly thing.
I doubt very much if Christ has lost faith in his church in either sense of the word even if we have.
I really think we’re so cynical sometimes, myself included, but I *do* believe that we can move more and more into perfection and sin less and less, and I *do* believe the church as an institution can function in a healthy and productive way and be a light to the community. I *do* believe we can not hide behind masks as we do this and be real and present a real “Christianity” to the world. Christ is real, he is in fact God … He’s not limited and we have access to the SAME Spirit (Rom 8). Maybe we need to be a little more optimistic. No, Christ is not disillusioned with the church as an institution on the whole (though I would admit that yes, he definitely is disillusioned with some, maybe even ours at times).
Think of the institution of the church as a horse. It works for transportation, it can really be a great aid and help you get things done better and faster when taken care of properly. Can it become an idol or a god? yes. Can it get old and decrepit and need to be put down so you can get a new horse? yes. And sometimes, on rare occasions those old, old horses that are so faithful and true go one being faithful and true, they just need to be re-whipped into shape sometimes. At all times one must remember … Do you NEED the horse? no. Would work get done without the horse? yes. Is your family more important then your horse? yes. If you don’t feed the horse, will it die? yes.
It’s a careful balance.
But then, I have been accused of being idealistic and naive. I don’t care. If I get to Heaven and I’m wrong, I don’t think God will kick me out for having my hopes too high.
My 2 cents.
Always love my visits here. May our Savior bless you all.
“Oh and this reminds me of the song Stained Glass Masquerade… ”
Several years ago, I was sitting in church with my girlfriend. I had been an atheist for about 5 years at that time, and my girlfriend is a Christian.
Early in the service, a man walked to the front of the sanctuary with his guitar, sat down and sang that song. I sat there and wept. I had not heard it before this, and felt a rush of identity to the lyrics. Not that it was moving me to return to my former faith in Jesus (I had been a bible believer for 25 years), but that I felt like I was hiding (forced to hide) my true identity…my atheism. I felt like, to protect my girlfriend from the shame of being in a relationship with a non believer, I should go to church and pretend.
After the preacher finished his sermon, when everyone was going to take communion (I always just sat alone during this ritual) a woman approached me and asked if I knew Jesus as my savior. I told her (feeling kind of sick) that I would rather not talk about it, but thanked her for her concern. That was the only time while I attended there that anyone asked me about my “spiritual” condition.
I carried on the stained glass masquerade for over a year. It was a horrible time in my life.
Gabriel…thx for the comment…
Long Live The Barkerites…First Church of The Sap Protectors
faithlessinfatima commented “I wd agree Richard…for many,the old story of “original sin†is as hard to swallow as…well….raw spinach,but I’m compelled to think that no one wd offer a cure for nothing—there must be something very primal about the human condition behind the myth….Jung’s concept of “the shadowâ€might be worth some attention…”
Sometimes, through shame, Christianity creates the very thing it saves people from. Its like a pharmaceutical company creating a virus so that it can offer a cure. The shadow side, I think, is often simply the instinct for self preservation. And addiction is that system driven by fear and resentment.
I do believe in the the concept of the truth setting us free. When we use a mask to hide who we really are, we hide the truth. Some have suggested that we have a balanced form of mask making because being honest would somehow release chaos upon the earth. This may refer to a subtle form of mask making that takes the form of simply saying the most offensive things that happen to pop in your head in a sort of competition to be the most honest.
Honesty involves being honest about what shames us and what inspires us and what scares us, etc. etc. It doesn’t mean blabbing every little thought that comes into one’s head. I think we can be internally honest without sharing every damn thing with everyone.
For me, when I began acting out something I don’t really feel, I am honest with myself that I am simply doing it for practicality or expediency. Many times that realization opens up a new awareness of myself and my motivations. I have experienced a lot of freedom with that form of self truth telling.