In a small university town north of Charlotte, North Carolina, "homeless Jesus" has recently sparked more heated discussion than a month's Sunday sermon.
This life size sculpture lies on a park bench outside the Anglican Church of St. Alban. This is the creation of Timothy SCHMALZ, a Canadian sculptor. The only religious symbol of Jesus is that it depicts a human figure covered with a blanket with nailed feet below.
This hollow copper sculpture, which is fixed on the bench with screws, is worth $22000. It is a gift donated by a member of the church to support public art.
Pastor David buck, the director of St Alban church, said that at a very small cost, it can make people think about what being a Christian means and what "homeless Jesus" means for living in 270 villas and independent houses here.
Buck is happy to receive or read thousands of replies from the Internet in person. He said, "if you like it or hate it, it will make you think. It is so infectious!"
John Chesser, who lives near the church, felt "a little chilling" when he passed by "homeless Jesus" on a sunny Sunday morning
It is understandable that this replica of the "homeless Jesus" can find a foothold outside St. Alban's church. Barker said that the "free and noble church" with 800 members encourages friendliness to homosexuals and enthusiasm for art and science. The Episcopal Church attracted staff and students from Davidson College, about a mile away.
At the age of 64, Buck used to serve in the southern American Baptist Church outside Charlotte until the local Baptist began to accept Buck's preferences and turned him to another sect. He said he had never dreamed of serving a congregation like st Alban.
The legend of "homeless Jesus" has triggered far more results than buck hoped.
As the church is located in a noble community, members of the church agree that it is the best place to display public works of art.
The sculpture was fixed on the bench in February this year. There is a familiar Scripture on the bronze medal next to it: "I tell you the truth, whatever you do to one of my youngest brothers is to me" (MA 25:40).
News reports from the Charlotte Observer, the Christian Post and the Huffington Post in North Carolina almost followed. The response of the public was rapid and showed two attitudes.
Buck said a note was posted next to the sculpture to show that this is not a way to commemorate Jesus. A reader of the Christchurch post responded sarcastically, "the Anglican Church, huh? Shocking."
Neighbor Chesser called it "dark" and "terrible" so that he never thought about whether the sculpture belonged to the community. Jerry Dawson, another neighbor, wrote to a news website saying the sculpture did not belong to the community. "My complaint is not about the value of art or the hidden meaning behind sculpture, but about someone driving to our beautiful and quite upscale community and seeing ugly homeless people sleeping on park benches."
Bob Cameron, President of the St Albans square Residents Association, said he invited Dawson to raise his concerns at the board meeting. But Cameron and the association have yet to take a stand on the homeless Jesus.
Supporters inside and outside the church also said. "It makes us more aware that homeless people are not as lucky as we are," said Alice mietz, a parishioner who lives near the church
As Buck sat on a bench outside the church to introduce the sculpture, Mike Schaefer from Virginia stopped in front of the sculpture, jumped out of the car and snapped the sculpture.
"As Christians, we need to know more about the homeless around us," he said
The sculpture also sparked a heated debate at the beginning of last year. It was successively rejected by the famous St. meare Cathedral in Toronto, Canada and St. bode Cathedral in New York, USA, although their chief priests were very interested at first.
The sculpture finally found a place to live, which is the entrance to Regis College of the University of Toronto. The Jesuit Theological Seminary affirms that "the inherent link between faith and the performance of justice is the center of Ignatius's lifestyle". The College held a symposium on street sleepers last April and held a ceremony to place the statue.
On November 20 last year, another copy of the sculpture was sent to the Vatican and blessed by Pope Francis. Schmarz donated the sculpture to the Vatican Archives, hoping to install it this Easter and place it on the road between the angel castle and St. Peter's Square.
Schmarz said that his wish is to have this sculpture in all major cities in Europe and the United States and even all over the world. He called them "visual ambassadors" of Pope Francis to pay attention to the marginalized, hoping to arouse the public's attention to the marginalized in society.
After the Pope blessed the sculpture, smarz became widely known. Another "visual ambassador" lent from St. Stephen's Church in Toronto until the parish was able to buy it was stolen on the 30th of the same month. He pointed out that it would take at least two people and a truck to steal the 45 kilogram sculpture

This statue gives people a sense of shock and uneasiness. It depicts a figure covered with large cloth, curling his body and lying on his side on the park bench. From a distance, the figure can be anyone, but as long as you look closely, you will find that there are clearly visible "holy wounds", i.e. nail holes, on the feet exposed to the cloth.
Sculptor Timothy SCHMALZ's "Jesus the homeless" is not the typical Christ in your and my mind, but its frightening image may touch the pain of some Catholic leaders. In fact, this life size bronze statue was rejected by the famous St. meare Cathedral in Toronto, Canada and St. bird Cathedral in New York, USA, although their chief priests were very interested at first.
"It's very sad that Jesus the homeless has no shelter because the chief priest likes it, but when it was reported to the church administration, people thought it might be too controversial or meaningless," schmarz told the Toronto Star He was told that the image of the statue was not appropriate.
The sculptor told the weekly Catholic register that part of the idea of the statue was inspired by a street sleeper who he saw lying on the roadside on Christmas Eve two years ago.
There is a problem of homelessness in Toronto. Local advocates held a small memorial service for Stewart Poirier, the city's 700th Street sleeper, in February. According to the latest estimates, about 5000 homeless people live in the metropolitan area.
In a telephone interview with the Huffington Post, schmarz explained that it would be a shocking experience if we returned to the city and saw so many homeless people in many corners and benches. He said that the night before last December, when he saw the man who inspired him to sleep in the open air, that moment was particularly painful. "My intuition is that he is Jesus Christ. I just saw Jesus."
The artist, who lives in Ontario, is a Christian himself. He said that the intention of the statue is to always remind people to pay attention to Matthew 25:31-46 of the Bible. At that time, Jesus told his disciples that everything they did to the sick, the tired and the homeless was done to him.
"This is one of the strongest messages of Christian religion," he said The statue is a "visual interpretation" of this gospel.
He was "chagrined" at the initial rejection of the statue. He said that his "radical" way of depicting the God believed by Christians caused the disgust of some "high-level people" in the church.
However, the statue finally found a place to live, which is the entrance to Regis College of the University of Toronto. The Jesuit Theological Seminary affirms that "the inherent link between faith and the performance of justice is the center of Ignatius's lifestyle". The College held a symposium on street sleepers on April 17 and held a ceremony to place the statue.
"The mission of our college is to promote critical theology and promote justice and appreciation of beauty," father Gordon Rixon, Dean of Regis college, said in a telephone interview
Father Rickson said that the statue was placed in a prominent corner opposite the city Z / - government building, which was easy to see and a beautiful way to "help explain the college to the city".
The image of Jesus has caused a very positive reaction. Some people put flowers at its feet and some people expressed support to the college by email.
Schmarz said that in the future, he wanted to copy the statue and put it all over the world. "I think it's a sign that everyone should read."