Broken
Several years ago I felt a burning desire to create an image that reflected brokenness. Something that would express the tension between the sacred and profane; saint and sinner; violence and peace.
So I borrowed a gun and some hollow point ammunition from a friend - something that is easy to do in America - laid out my clerical shirt, added a few extra props and took this photo.
I have an 18x12 print hanging hanging in my office and I look at it every day and feel the tension between being broken and whole.
The original idea for this image came to me after reading Shusaku Endo's novel Silence and watching Martin Scorsese's movie adaptation of the book. I was particularly fascinated by the character of Kichijiro and his constant struggle between being faithful and surviving. In order to survive he was quick to renounce his faith and trample on the fumie (an image of Christ or the virgin Mary). Then there is the internal angst of Father Rodrigues and his desire to be faithful is pushed to the limit when he feels that God is silent in the face of the suffering and persecution of Japanese Christians and it becomes apparent that unless he recants his faith more Japanese Christians will be executed. So he too recants his faith to save the lives of others.
The theology behind this image is designed to reflect the reality that we live in a broken world. A world that is often more gray than black and white. A world that struggles with nuance and subtlety. I also hope this image stirs within us the sense that things are not the way they are supposed to be. It is supposed to create a sense of dissonance.
We are all broken people who need restoring. I like how the apostle Paul states it, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15). What allows him to make this claim is not a false sense of humility on his part but rather a deep acceptance of reality. The more Paul came to know and understand the holiness of God the more clearly he came to see the huge gulf that existed between the best he had to offer and who God was and is in Jesus Christ.
Tragically too many Christians today take a position in which they pretend to be "better" than other sinners and are often heard castigating people for their failures. It’s one of the main criticisms we hear from people outside the church and all too often we are dismissive of this accusation when we would be much better off if we would own it.
Christians, more than any other group, should be the first to declare that sin is the great leveler of all people, we are all guilty of falling short of God’s expectations, we are all broken in some way. All of humanity has the same starting point. We are created in the image of God, but due to sin our humanity is fractured and broken. So everyone has the same need to receive forgiveness and experience the grace of God in Christ.
