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I went to the funeral of the father of a dear friend. A very sad occasion obviously. My friend’s father was very closely associated with The Salvation Army and the service was led by a friend of his in the Salvation Army and also attended by many others of his friends and family in their uniforms. They have a lovely expression for a Salvationist who has passed away ……… they say he has been “Promoted to Glory”.
After the service at the crematorium and the lovely gathering of friends and family at The Salvation Army Hall in Canterbury I went for a walk around the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral on my own ……. I felt a little down ……… I made this picture above of an art work by David McFall in the Cathedral Precincts ……. The piece is called the ‘Son of Man’.
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
[ 19 ] comments
So sad condolences to you and your friend’s family.
Kathy K @ May 30, 2013, 8:11 pm
Such haunting empty eyes… creepy!
Matt @ May 31, 2013, 8:28 am
Yes……. I was just taking a wonder about in a slightly down state of mind…….. I was kinda looking for a crucifix Max told me was in
those grounds that I had missed previously……… But having now looked again ……. I don’t think there is a crucifix……… but I think
this statue which kinda reminds me of representations of the young Buddha……. Could be a representation of Jesus? And was what
Max was on about…. But it is called the ‘son of man’….. ? Which is an odd thing to call a representation of Jesus……. Especially if its
gonna be displayed in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral?? Anyway so I shot this anyway……. It is kinda creepy………. A little bit
grim……… the shadow and darkness kind of suited my mood………..
Cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 10:30 am
“Which is an odd thing to call a representation of Jesus”
Er, Jesus refers to himself as “the Son of Man” in Mark’s Gospel (New Testament).
Lynda @ June 1, 2013, 12:10 pm
Yes well I was hoping for an explanation to that one :)))))))))
thanks so much for that……. I knew there would be someone
out there to fill in my lack of scholarship in this area……. sometimes I just write stuff in conversational way ……. not
running everything through google……. then you are reliant on traditional scholar types to put you right…….. so thanks for
that……. Max was right it is a representation of Jesus……. but not actually a representation of Jesus on the cross :)))
XXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 5:33 pm
“He was a son of man, that is, a human being. And he is the Son of God, in that he has always existed as the Eternally
Begotten One who comes forth from the Father forever. He always has, and he always will. He is the Second Person of
the Trinity with all of the divine nature fully in him.
He is born of a virgin. He had a human father but he didn’t have sex with this virgin until Jesus was conceived. He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. Thus he is human—fully human. The Bible wants to emphasize that he is
fully human.
So that’s the common understanding: he is both divine and he is human—two natures, one person.”
ah yes……. that’ll be it then………. :))
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 7:26 pm
http://www.davidmcfall.co.uk/Son%20of%20Man.html
Look at all this about the statue ……… amazing tale of bravery to create it………. it kind of looks like a cross between
Hector…… Ghandi …… and the young Budha……… oh and Jesus ……. :))))))))
its perfect for you :)))))))))))
hehehe……
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 7:37 pm
Tragic but poignant story about the sculptor of that statue. Imagine getting such a important commission while you’re
dying with cancer. His circumstance no doubt influenced the piece. The statue’s face does show signs of age and
suffering yet the statue is one of peace and reconciliation. Very cool story. BUT did you notice how McFall bears a
truly uncanny resemblance to Burl Ives?? http://pdxretro.com/wpcontent/
uploads/2011/06/burlivesasfrosty.
jpg
Lynda @ June 2, 2013, 10:35 am
Apparently I may well have heard his version of ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’???………. but he did
not look in any way familiar to me………. I was totally unaware of Burt or what he looked like so that the statue
may have looked like him…… did not really occurred to me…….. :)))))))))
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 2, 2013, 1:16 pm
No, not the statue, the artist who created the statue. His photo is in the newspaper articles. The artist
himself looks like Burl Ives (from Frosty the Snow Man and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer).
Lynda @ June 2, 2013, 1:18 pm
hehehe……… the artist and Burt may look like each other but both were equally unknown to me until I
started writing this blog entry ……. so its not like either springs to mind as a familiar face ………
hehehe…… but I am sure you are right :)))))))))))
XXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 2, 2013, 1:42 pm
Our thoughts are with your friend and yourself Mate.. Hope your feeling yourself again soon Bro… We are only a phone call away Jez, if
you need us.. xx
PaulS @ May 31, 2013, 12:50 pm
Im good baby ……… its kind of good to pay respects and to meet with friends and family of peeps you love even under very sad
circumstance ……. I was pleased to be able to go to the funeral but obviosly its always sad to be at a family funeral…….. :(((((
Cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 10:33 am
Sorry to hear about this Jez, seems to be a lot of sadness around these days…hopefully it’ll balance out with a bit more hapiness soon ?
Harv.! @ May 31, 2013, 7:06 pm
Yes……… some more happiness is required……. I need to take Ringo for a walk on the Heath……… She is always so bright and
happy she is in herself a lesson to us all……. to keep on looking on the brightside and find hapiness in small things……… :)))))))))))))))
Cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 1, 2013, 10:41 am
Talking God and all that, read an interesting post on a tumblr site the other day…
“If there is a God, he will have to beg my forgiveness” A
phrase that was carved on the wall of a concentration camp cell,
during WWII by a Jewish prisioner.
Harv.! @ June 2, 2013, 11:51 am
Yes……. well that is about right……….. some rare logic applied to the big… if………. cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXX
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 2, 2013, 1:31 pm
Hey Jez,
Weird, I tried to post on your site, but my post wouldn’t go through???
Any ways,
I like the statue quite a lot, and you’ve captured a great angle and enhanced it’s emotion through your use of shadow…
“The Son of Man” is a notoriously ambiguous term. Like you posted, it is used in the early Church to refer to Jesus’ humanity, as in
Jesus was Son of God (divine) and Son of Man (human). But in Mark it refers more to an angelic type being who would bring judgment
and justice to the world at the end of the age: “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”
But what I especially find interesting about Mark’s gospel is that Mark connects this image of power (Son of Man and Son of God) with
that of the martyr, the suffering servant of God.
So I can see both Hector and Gandhi, or even just a longsuffering
but faithful Jewish rabbi, in the sculpture. And the artist’s own
background, working on it while struggling with a terminal illness,
just adds to the emotion of the piece….
Cheers,
Steve
Steve @ June 2, 2013, 1:52 pm
The blog is a right drag sometimes……. I always copy my comments before I hit post……. Just incase it goes wobbly……. And if it
will not take I normally just hit the back button on my browser then hit post again……….. Sorry about that :/:
))
Yes, the pose of the statue and his slightly older face with more haunted eyes……. Mean I didn’t even 100% recognize him as
Jesus…… In the context of the place…… who else was it likely to be……..? And obviously Son of God/Son of man have a similar ring
to them…….. but I am much more familiar with the former as a title for reverently referring to Jesus……
Interesting that you see the power and the martyrdom combined in Mark’s Gospel…… In the end martyrdom is a weirdly
uncomfortable concept at the center of a whole pile of religious activity and veneration……. In recent years I have got quite
interested in photographing the representations of Jesus on the cross…….. I find the concentration on the suffering man/god in the
throws of crucifixion …… terrible and yet fascinating to try and see and understand how that image appears and what it means …..
And the whole violence of the image even feels to me sometimes oddly inappropriate to the teachings of Christianity ??….. And yet
there it is in many churches as the focus of veneration…….
Martyrs and especially martyred Saints certainly very big in Catholicism ……. And of course in Shiite Islam and spreading of course
into Sunni thought and action in the last decade ……. The cult of The Shahid in Gaza and Lebanon have caused many to sacrifice
themselves in what appears the pointless slaughter their enemies and of themselves in suicide attacks…… Christopher Hitchens
described this kind of martyerdom veneration in Islam as a cult of death.
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PS…… I put your comment up on the blog…… then replied on the blog :))))))))
PPS…… THanks for commenting :))))))
Jezblog London :))
XXX @ June 2, 2013, 2:31 pm
