Jesus's Face

Father Rodrigues fantasizes about Jesus's face the way that teenage Beliebers fantasize about Justin's. As he spends more time in Japan, however, Rodrigues's mental image of Jesus shifts and changes, reflecting his own changing relationship with his faith.

At first, though, it's all puppy love, all the time. Rodrigues admits that he is "fascinated by the face of Christ just like a man fascinated by the face of his beloved" (1.50). This is a unique perspective, since it emphasizes the feminine aspect of Christ: his beauty, his grace, and his presumably godly beach bod. No matter which way you slice it, Rodrigues is head over heels for J. C. when he arrives in Japan.

The more his faith is tested, however, the more Rodrigues loses sight of that face. This is reflected in God's silence: despite all of the "terrible and merciless sacrifice offered up to Him, God has remained silent" to the plight of the Japanese (4.47). The love of Rodrigues's life seems to be giving him the cold shoulder, his face no longer representing the glory it once did.

Now, Rodrigues does see Jesus's face again—just not in a way he expected. The next time he sees it is when he's forced to stomp on an image of Jesus to renounce his faith. This isn't the Jesus he once drooled over, however: now the beloved face is "worn down and hollow with the constant trampling" (8.116). Looks like the bloom is off the rose?

When you think about it, though, this is a more honest portrayal of Jesus. Jesus is defined by his suffering—suffering that Christians believe redeems all of mankind. Though Rodrigues was once distracted by the glitz and glamor, he now sees his faith and his savior for exactly what they are.