There are skeptics who believe Jesus never existed. I don’t agree, but am willing to admit there’s a lot I could be wrong about. Yes, even that. Anyone can be wrong. At any time. There’s a long history of things we think we knew that we didn’t, or were different than we thought they were. I would agree that could be Jesus and who he was.
    However, I do believe the Shroud is symbolic of some of what humanity has WRONG about Jesus.
    Some of the experts who examined The Shroud of Turin believe it is a medieval fake, or another person. Some believe it is the image of Jesus. Did Jesus take the first selfie?
     Anyone remember Jesus claiming relics have super powers, or should be considered so important? Christians claim the Bible predicts so much. So, what, no “Save my shroud?” What we should be focused on so intently? Look for my cup? Find the cloth that covered my face? Does anyone seriously believe he would think those things should be more important than lessons he taught, remembering what he said?
    The shroud neither proves or disproves it was him. Many were executed that way for many years. Certainly it is possible given the conditions over the years and what was used on the body that image could have been reproduced.
    Or it very well could be his shroud, but even that doesn’t prove dogma. Just that Jesus he existed, was one of the many messiah wannabes. Not that he was some God in human form, one part of three.
    Whether he was/is or not is not my point here, however. My point is we keep losing the point of his ministry.
    When it comes to relics, cloth that covered crucified bodies, a cup, we are like that “shoe of Brian” moment in Life of Brian moment, where those who follow him pick up things he drops and declare them holy.
    Perhaps we’re looking at this wrong. To see the image the image must be altered; view it in black and white. Essentially reverse the image.
    e need to not focus on such relics, some cup, a shroud or piece of cloth draped over a face. If Jesus was who so many say he was/is, I doubt he would want that. He’d want us to remember what he taught, parables he told. Instead of doing something EXACTLY as he did it like at Communion, but to remember what he said.
     So much dogma keeps a metaphorical shroud over what Jesus should mean to us. We focus on the far less consequential.
    Dip em, sprinkle em, baptize babies. teens, whomever… could we instead be baptized in his words?
    Humans are really good at taking a good thing and messing it up. Good at arguing minutiae. Arguing about specifics that in comparison, are so meaningless that meaning is lost.
    Of all the blather about “our Lord” how often do you hear about the beatitudes? About the plank in our own eyes compared to the speck? Also with sin so don’t cast the stone?
    Don’t feel bad. Even his disciples had an inability to understand. Because this is the hard stuff. This is what he wanted us to learn. So much easier to turn on each other and focus ono minutiae.
    And we get it wrong so often. How many times have I read and heard about the tipping of the tables as an excuse for violence, but disregarding Gethsemane where a high priest’s servant had his ear cut and Jesus demanded it stop. Or, “Render unto Caesar…” Did he resist on his way to Calvary, ask his followers to join as if in some army and free him.
    Another case of not pulling back the shroud. Jesus was no hippie, but neither was he some Star Wars leader of the rebellion, or Darth Vader for that matter.
    Understanding who he was/is also should include books NOT included, with the clear understanding they weren’t included but have historical value. Maybe even as much or more value than some of the books that were accepted. Once again: we have a habit of screwing things up. When someone dies, or even resurrected but doesn’t stick around, it’s, oh, so easy to spin who they were, what they said. Think MLK, JFK, Lincoln and, yes, Jesus. I have typed it so often: I think if the 4 of them were to walk our streets, read our media, go to our churches, our synagogues, they would agree one one thing. Many of us know not who we are talking about.
    There are how many versions of Christianity, so many claiming to be the true one?
    Rather than focusing in on some cup, or some Shroud, shouldn’t we focus more one was said? And what he may have said, plus what may have been almost completely deleted from history for the sake of those in power? Have honest, respectful, conversations.
    This is how we can metaphorically pull back the Shroud.

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    “Inspection” is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 50 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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