Asymmetry

At home I have an icon of Christ Pantocrator, a copy of a 6th Century icon in St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai, in Egypt. I also have a small card-sized copy of it taped to my keyboard tray at work.

This is one of, if not the, oldest images of Christ in the world. Some speculate that it is the most likely of any icon to portray Jesus' actual appearance, and they also say it has the same facial features as the Shroud of Turin. We can take that as we will.

Pantocrator is a Greek equivalent for Almighty. Christ blesses us with one hand and holds the Gospel in his other hand. The blessing hand, I've read, has two fingers raised symbolizing the two natures of Christ -- human and divine -- and the other three fingers touch each other to represent the Trinity.

What is striking, of course, is the asymmetry. The eyes are different from each other, as are the brows, the two sides of the mouth, and the cheekbones.

Here is one side:

And here is the other:

I've read that this, too, is a reflection of his dual nature. Hm. All of us have asymmetrical faces, just not always as noticeably. Here is a series of myself:

One side:

And the other:

I don't know that this says anything profound about anything, but it's an experiment I wanted to try. I thought how wonderful it would be if someday I could recognize Jesus from his picture. And if he looked at me from behind a door or pillar, I would see one side or the other of him.

I like to have a picture of him at work, just like I have pictures of some family members (and, okay, my dog) to remind me of the love I receive from him, my parents (and, okay, my dog). I have to turn away from my work to look at my family pictures, but while I am working I can see the picture of Christ by my keyboard and remember that he is present with me.