Jesus from the Side, on the Side of a Fence

I have an affinity for California; I lived there for years and return for visits often. In fact, I was out in the Bay Area a few days ago. I ate lots of Asian pears and burritos in the Mission. At times, however, the state and its residents strike me as parodies of themselves, fitting that New Age, Burning Man, let’s forget about everything and just bliss out with some yoga attitude. Of course, these are generalizations, and most Californians do not fit this mold (though the ones who do seem to inform how the rest of the world views the Golden State).

So I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read about this latest Jesus image sighting in Lodi, California. According to this News10 report, while meditating in her sister’s backyard in the far reaches of the Bay Area, Emily West spotted Jesus in profile on the fence. No one has ever noticed the face on this two-year-old fence before now. As a breast cancer survivor, West considers this knot of wood an auspicious sign that the days ahead will be good ones. I sure hope that is true for West. It doesn’t matter if it is yoga, training for a marathon or praying in a church or mosque, anything that bolsters the spirit of a cancer survivor is worthwhile, and valid.

And from a Madonna of the Toast perspective, this image is unique as most visual manifestations of Jesus resemble Him from the front, but here in profile the wood’s coloring reveals His hair and angular beard. This Jesus strikes me as a youthful one, like Ted Neeley, the actor from the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Or maybe I'm just a sucker for one of the film's catchier tunes, "What's the Buzz?" Let's sing it together:

What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening
What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening

I'll keep telling you what's a-happening when religious and secular icons appear in unexpected places, but it's up to you to make sense of it . . .