How do you draw, in a few pixels, a face no one ever photographed, and that every culture has painted in its own way? That is the challenge of a Jesus emoji. Byzantine icons, the stained glass of Chartres, Ethiopian paintings and the plaster statues in our parish churches do not show quite the same man, and that is as it should be.
His name, Yeshua in Hebrew, means “God saves.” The angel explains it to Joseph in Matthew’s Gospel: “you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Yet it was a common name at the time, the same name as Joshua. The Gospels show a very concrete man: a carpenter, says Mark, who walks a lot, eats with people of doubtful reputation, sleeps in a boat during a storm and weeps at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. “Jesus wept”: two words, the shortest verse in the King James Bible, and one of the most moving.
A good Jesus emoji should be recognizable without falling into cliché or caricature. A peaceful face with a simple halo, open hands that welcome, the Good Shepherd with a lamb 🐑 on his shoulders: you choose the angle. The form is just below, and this one deserves more than one draft.
Amen !by AI Generator
Amen !by AI Generator
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