Jacapo Cadillo, known as Jago, is a self-taught sculptor. He works in white marble like other famous Italian artists before him. However, for Jago the process is as important as the finished piece.
What can you tell about the person above? Perhaps that he is male and of a certain age but not much else. Do you recognise him? I suspect you would if you saw the first stage of the sculpture. Jago sculpted him wearing clerical robes, a zucchetto and a ring.
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013 Jago ‘undressed’ him. You can watch the process on YouTube.
The bust is called ‘Habemus Hominem’ which means ‘We have a man’ - a play on the words to announce a new Pope ‘We have a Pope’. The Vatican has applauded the piece and Jago has received a pontifical medal.
God does not look at outward appearance, clothes definitely do not maketh the man or woman, yet we invest so much in what we look like and how we present ourselves to the world. We think our titles, our jobs, our houses, our material possessions or our appearance does all the speaking for us. Who would we be if some of those things disappeared? If the things we’ve added over the years were stripped back? Would we still be beautiful or worthy?
Every so often life means that we need to shed something. Finances might mean that we need to downsize. We might retire or lose our job titles. Illness might mean that our appearance changes. It is not easy to be stripped of outward things. Less slipping off a shirt than the feeling of something being chiseled away.
I am reminded of Jesus, stripped of his own clothes and presented to the crowd with the words ‘Behold the man’ (John 19:5). Jesus would be stripped of everything, even his own life. He stands with us in our vulnerability and humanity - when we are exposed as flesh and frail.
His love, his sacrifice for us, tells us that we are still beautiful and worthy in our flesh and in our frailty. What lies beneath is loved and worth saving.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us see what lies beneath our outward appearance as beautiful and worthy. If life or love asks us to shed something help us not to feel as if we are losing part of ourselves. Our true identity lies safe with You. Amen.
Suzanne Nockels
Comments