MANY FACES OF CHRIST: CONTEST LOOKING FOR NEW DEPICTION OF JESUS

What does Jesus look like?

Is he black or white, Asian or Hispanic? Does he have a beard? What color are his eyes? His hair?

The National Catholic Reporter wants to know how people see Jesus. The magazine is sponsoring a contest to find a new image of Jesus for the new millennium.

Entries, which can be done in visual media like computer art, stained glass, silk screens or photographs, are due Oct. 18. The winner and three runners-up will be chosen. The winning image will be used on the magazine's Christmas issue Dec. 24.

There is still some question as to what the new image of Christ should look like.

The images people collect of Christ are born of Scripture, said the Rev. Jeffrey Sippy, pastor of Hanover Lutheran Church. "God's word reveals Jesus in many different lights."

He is seen as the Good Shepherd, Lamb of God, Light of the World, Bread of Life and Living Water just to name a few.

"These are powerful and true images," Sippy said. As people move through their lives as Christians, they see Jesus in different ways.

"The danger is that we create him according to what we want or need rather than what he is," Sippy said.

The images of Christ people see change over time. Artist renderings of Jesus have changed from stone and wood carvings to mosaic or fresco paintings, even contemporary and abstract art.

Everyone carries a different picture of Jesus with them, said the Rev. Dr. Andy Pratt, who teaches a course on the life of Christ at Southeast Missouri State University.

During the first session of class, Pratt asked his students to draw a picture of Jesus. "Some drew a person, some drew symbols."

But everyone drew something.

Christ gives "human shape to our idea of God," said Jean Morman Unsworth in the video "Images of Christ."

Unsworth said art shapes faith, which then shapes art. Artists from the early days of Christianity have used symbols and images to represent Christ. Early Christians chose ICTHUS or the fish as their symbol. Over time, many began using the cross as a sign for Christianity.

When people began talking about the new millennium and the changes in the past 1,000 years, no one mentioned Jesus. The frustration of the new millennium buzz sparked the idea for a contest.

Editor Michael Farrell said: "Ask anybody about the new millennium, and they talk about survivalists going into the mountains or glitches on their computers. Nobody is talking about this extraordinary man who came from heaven 2,000 years ago."

Though the Bible describes Jesus it never really gives a physical description of him. Artists have been trying to capture his likeness for many years.

But how people choose to represent Christ doesn't matter,said the Rev. Calvin Bird, assistant pastor of Greater Dimension Church of God in Christ. It matters that you have a visual image of God, he said.

People use pictures of Christ as a point of reference. Whether you see a black Christ or a white depiction doesn't matter. "It's a visual of God that you can relate to," he said.

Bird said people won't likely be able to erase the images of Christ they've already seen in pictures or on television. But those images give people a better point from which to embrace what Christ should be for them, he said.

"Today he would be a common man, unassuming and with nothing elaborate," Bird said. "His face would show a lot of pain but yet in his eyes would be a glimmer of hope and comfort. His body would be worn as if he had been in a long struggle, but when he walked he would carry himself as if he knew how it was going to end."

Bird said that Jesus wouldn't be found in most churches because he would be out in town trying to "find the fellows who are lost."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contest information:

WHAT: A contest to find a new image of Jesus Christ for the new millennium. It is sponsored by the National Catholic Reporter.

WHO: Any artist can enter, but the deadline is Oct. 18.

Entries must be done on visual media like computer art, stained glass, silk screens or photographs. First prize is $2,000 and display on the magazine's Dec. 24 cover.

WHERE: More information about the contest sponsored by the National Catholic Reporter can be found at the magazine's Web site: www.natcath.com