1.12.24 - Psalm 71:19
How does your image of God reflect the image you experience in a mirror? This weekend, as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., how might you look for ways to deliberately expand your images of God?
Who is like you, God?
Harmonia Rosales is an American painter (with roots in Cuba and Jamaica) who reimagines ancient myths and classical art with Black people, often women.
The first painting of hers that I saw was Creation of God, a reimagining of Creation of Man, that reimagines God and Adam (or Eve) as Black women.
As a Black woman, the painting moved me deeply. It was my Twitter header and phone wallpaper for years. But not everyone felt the same way. The circulation of the image caused quite a stir on social media. Some went as far as to call the image blasphemous.
The reality is though that humans have always created God in our own image.
Certainly, Michelangelo and other artists filtered their artwork through a Eurocentric lens. And even beyond these artistic renderings, our general conceptualizations of the Divine have been shaped by geography, cultural norms, emotions, and desires.
As we continue the ongoing project of imaging the depth and breadth of what God is like, I believe there are benefits to expanding whose renderings contribute to the conversation.
How does your image of God reflect the image you experience in a mirror? This weekend, as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., how might you look for ways to deliberately expand your images of God?
--Javon Bracy