Toasted Jesus

While doing some research for an upcoming message series I ran across this picture. Jesus on toast! No, this is not the latest dish du jure at a fancy-shmancy restaurant. Someone actually found the image of the Son of God on their perfectly browned, cheap white bread, breakfast, or so they believe.
It seems that lately there have been a large number of Jesus sightings on food items ranging from grilled cheese to a Kit Kat bar, and frankly I find that to be pretty creepy. I mean, I would not want anyone showing his or her face in my food (I make a point of not eating things that are staring at me.)
All kidding aside, while I find good food a spiritual experience, I have never found God himself lurking there - and I am a person who is on the constant look out for God. Is it possible that in our desire to find God (conscious or sub-conscious) that we are fabricating him just a bit?
We were created to be in relationship with God – so it’s only natural that our eyes would be peeled for any sign of Him. But, I think, that our current cultural situation has created so much visual bling, so much eye candy, that people are largely unable to really recognize God when they see Him. The goings on in our world have created an environment of distraction where the average Joe can’t hear himself think, much less see the Divine.
Which leads to the question that has been on our minds for so long: “where is God?” We see all the devastation in Haiti, the utter hopelessness of Darfur and the loneliness of everyday Americans and have to ask the question over and over again: Where is God?” It feels like the world is crumbling, and again: Where is God?
Apparently some would say he’s on your toast, but I would disagree. When Jesus was still walking the earth he described to his followers just what the end of the world would look like. He said, (my paraphrase) “when the Son of God returns to earth all the nations will be gathered before Him – and he will separate the sheep from the goats.” Who are the goats and who are the sheep? The sheep (word picture for the children of God) are people who feed the poor, who visited the prisoner, who clothed the naked. The goats (those who take no part in the life of God) are those who very simply did not.
Jesus says, “what ever you have done to the least of these brothers of mine (the sick, naked, hungry or in prison) you have done unto me.
Where is God in the suffering, chaos, and injustice? He is in the thick of it, suffering along with everyone else. And, what’s more, if we want to see God all we really have to do is to look into the face of a stranger.
So, I leave it up to you to decide which is the true image of Christ; the one on a chocolate bar or the one in the eyes of the homeless person.

Questions for comment and discussion: Where do you clearly see Jesus in our world? Where do you really want to see Jesus right now?