We have reached mid-Autumn in the Northern hemisphere, the Season the North Americans call The Fall.  Leaves that were green in the heady days of Summer now turn to brown, yellow and gold and in the brittle October morning sunshine are indeed a glorious sight.

 Then come the winds and storms, when leaves stripped from the trees, crowd round an empty bench in the park. One such storm, the remains of Hurricane Gonzalo, came through UK last week. The encouragement to sit and watch a young child play is diminished as a chill wind blows.

 Recently the sculpture Imagine Jesus as a homeless man asleep on a park bench has provoked considerable discussion. It could be anyone but the wounds from his crucifixion evident on his exposed feet identify the Christ.  That’s the image which Canadian sculptor Tim Schmalz wanted to depict in his life-size bronze of the Lord, sleeping on a park bench, huddled against the cold under a blanket, deserted and alone.

 There have been many suggestions as to where it might be  placed, some of them asking awkward questions about the activities of those working in nearby buildings in our affluent cities.

 But then that is one of the functions of artistic expression, to ask questions, sometimes very pertinent ones. It is also one of the tasks daily confronting a Christian who seeks faith. Too often the task of the teacher is misunderstood.  A good teacher asks a question and helps the student find a possible solution, rather  than telling them all the answers. That is the model presented time and again in the Gospels, of questions asked, answers sought, after parables told, culminating in the ultimate question that Jesus put to his  companions “Whom do men say that I am?” and receiving Peter’s affirmation of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

  Jesus does not tell his disciples the truth directly but seeks to help them accept that what they have heard him say and their observation of the way he has lived will lead them to the conclusion that Peter voiced so clearly. We too learn our faith, not only by hearing erudite phrases or through learned reading but by constantly rubbing shoulders with those whose faith invigorates their lives.

So many cities have homeless rough sleepers whom we pass by and do not notice. What questions must be asked of a society that accepts homelessness and destitution alongside the glamour and extravagance of an affluent society? No small wonder that this piece of street art has become an embarrassment to so many.

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http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/files/2013/11/Jesus-the-Homeless-Statue-2.jpg

 A fuller description of the Schmalz work can be found at:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2013/11/homeless-jesus-statue-finds-a-fan-in-pope-francis/

It includes a photograph of Francis blessing a smaller version of the work when it was taken to Rome .

 Meanwhile, leaves gather round our park benches as the days of Autumn move towards Winter. When you pass an empty bench in the coming months, remember the figure huddled under a blanket, he is all around you.

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