Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Iconoclastic Mystery

Here's the weirdness that I mentioned last week. For years I have had a picture of Jesus that I purchased at St. Catherines Monastary in Sinai, Egypt (it's known as the Pantocrator). The original is in Egypt; the $10 poster is in my office.

When I returned from Egypt with the poster rolled up in a tube, Cindy very thoughtfully had the poster mounted on foam board and then framed, complete with glass protection. I sometimes use it when I pray as a reminder that God came to earth in the flesh.

The picture has been perched on a stand in the corner of my office for years. It was perched on that stand for the entire year I was away in Wilmore. To my knowledge it has never shifted, fallen, or been nudged.One week ago I came into my locked office and found the picture in this position:
I was surprised to see that it fallen on its face. I was even more surprised to see that the glass had shattered. Oh well, I thought, such things happen. Somehow a door got slammed and the thing fell and--unfortunately--it broke.
When I picked it up, though, I noticed a gash in the picture. The gash is at the base of the neck. Upon closer inspection I saw that a shard of glass had pierced not just the poster, but the foam board on which its mounted. Worse yet, the shard was shoved all the way through--flush on the front and sticking up out of the back.
I have no theories about what happened. It obviously was not an accident. The thing couldn't fall on it's face and be pierced through all at once. But who and why? Keys to my office aren't impossible to come by, but it's fairly secure. Would the person be mad at me or at Jesus--or both?

Again. I have no theories. It's an iconoclastic mystery.

5 comments:

bryan said...

Maybe Jesus was pierced for your transgressions...

Aaron said...

Bryan,
...but I didn't see any of the Roman soldiers.

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing it was related to the falling picture. Someone trying to slash the throat of Jesus (or anyone, symbolically) whould typically make the slash horizontally at the base of the neck, while this gash appears to be vertical over the clavicle. Certainly strange.

Aaron said...

CSI:Aaron's Office

Good point, Eric. Very curious.

Makin It said...

Aaron, it's Hannah Reed. Sorry to hear bout your icon. It was a nice one. I got the link for your blog off Dad's. I didn't think you'd mind me stealing a look at it. If you get a chance, not saying you have to, I'm writing a story on a blog here. Very few people read it. I don't update often, but if you get a chance, I'd appreciate a review.
It's overcomingtheblock.blogspot.com