#saint thomas

i saw it on pinterest one day scrolling, and something about it just struck me as wrong. i had to stop and stare at it, and i realized that it almost looks like jesus is being raped. 

jesus in the position of a woman being objectified by men. the hole in his side looks like a vagina. jesus isn’t in control, he’s vulnerable. pliant. he holds his shirt open so they can take what they want. his brow is knit his mouth is open slightly hes looking down at the finger inside him. intimate act, pulling his clothes back and grabbing thomas’ wrists so he can’t look away. jesus standing in his discomfort while the others are in awe, clinically scrutinizing. they don’t get it, don’t get how he feels about this, how vulnerable he is, that theyre penetrating him. they’re taking something from him, and it’s sacred to him but not to them. the act of taking being just another shallow need to prove a point to the other men. i wonder if this is what Adam felt like when God reached in to take one of his ribs. it’s such a full circle moment, God reaching into Adam to take what is needed and a human perverting that by reaching into the inside of the divine and just taking, and did they learn that from God?

Close up Caravaggio | The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

1602

Pin-up model Bettie Page (American, April 22, 1923 - Dec. 11, 2008).

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, circa 1656. Mattia Preti (Italian, Feb. 24, 1613 - Jan. 3, 1699).