The Difference Between a Comedy Act and a Felony

Valentin de Boulogne, "St. Paul Writing His Epistles"

Galatians 3:26-29

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Imagine, if you will, the different reactions that you would give to the following scenarios:

1) Finding out that your best friend was entertaining others by doing impersonations of you behind your back.

2) Finding out that your best friend had stolen your Social Security Number and credit cards and was committing identity theft behind your back.

Obviously one of these acts is a more serious offense and deserving of jail time… and maybe a little "furniture moving." One is a comedy act, which may induce a smile, while the other is a felony, which will produce a prison sentence. Though they may seem like opposites they actually share a big similarity: they are both examples of the act of imitation. Everyone will agree that the idea that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" has its limits, but there are examples where imitation is done out of admiration.

This painting of St. Paul writing an epistle is one such case. When I read today's scripture in Galatians I couldn't think of an appropriate painting to match. There are scores of paintings of St. Paul; they range from Coptic Orthodox Icons to a painting of by Rembrandt. However none of the ones that I could think of matched the feel of the epistle. So I took to Google Image search and discovered this painting. Upon first glance it looks like a painting by the early Baroque master Caravaggio. After all, his depiction of St. Paul's conversion is probably the most famous illustration of that story. It is why we all imagine Paul (then named Saul) falling off of his horse. This painting of the Apostle writing the epistle had all the marks of a great Caravaggio portrait...but it isn't a Caravaggio. It is a painting by the later French painter Valentin de Boulogne. What's the big deal? Caravaggio was so influential on painters, even beyond his native Italy, that there is a technical name for artists in his circle that were affected by him: "Caravaggisti"... basically "little Caravaggios.” But Valentin de Boulogne wasn't directly affected by Caravaggio, he was just influenced by Caravaggio's closest Caravaggisti, the artist Bartolomeo Manfredi. Being a Caravaggisti's own little caravaggisti just makes you mildly "caravagesque." But on the other hand if someone told me that I was almost as good as Lebron James who is sort of comparable to Kobe Bryant who possible be compared to Michael Jordan, I would still accept it as a compliment. Likewise even being a good Caravaggio imitator makes you good artist.

In St. Paul's epistle (a big word for "letter") to the Galatians he also explores this idea of imitation. The idea of taking upon someone else's identity to conceal our own. Paul says that when we are baptized into Christ we "put on Christ." It includes imitating or repeating the actions of Jesus but it also encompasses immersing yourself with his identity. No, it doesn't mean that you are God. It does mean, however, that you are a new Man. You are more than an extreme method actor because with adopting Jesus' identity you lose the limitations of your old identity and gain the liberation of his identity (that last line would make Jesse Jackson proud). Our old identities that we are born into (race, ethnic, cultural, societal status, gender) all separate us into sub categories. And if, like myself, you happen to be Gentile (non-Jewish) you were separated from the group with which God initiated his redemption campaign (that last statement was carefully crafted by my lawyer). In Christ we all benefit the same because we all take upon Christ's perfect, sinless identity. We take upon Jesus' peaceful and meek identity. The identity that identifies with the lowliest of humanity and self-sacrifices for them. When God looks upon us he sees the sacrifice of His Son.

Since Jesus was an ancestor of Abraham we also gain the greater promise that was given to Abraham God... not that we now own property in Israel or a son when we get elderly but that "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness." Abraham's true riches were not just in his earthly possessions or in the honor of being the precursor of the Jewish people and founder of Monotheism. Abraham's true riches were that he was considered a friend by God. Friendship is considered the strongest of institutions because it is built upon trust. We too can have friendship with God just because we trust Him and because the imitation that we do of His Son makes Him smile.