I wanted to draw your attention to the full reflection that this post only mimics; by way of pilfering this image and quote of Bonhoeffer. Jason Goroncy is a dear brother in Christ of mine, and he writes things, like the article of his I am pointing you too, that ought to make us all (as Christians in America and the West, respectively) stop and feel guilty (feel burdened to point of action!). Admittedly, I don’t make looking at images, like this, my standard mode of operation throughout the day; in fact I probably avoid contemplating this issue by way of constant habituation (I don’t have to, I live in an upwardly mobile demographic—and I mean by neighborhood—in comfortable America).

This image is shocking, but is more representative of the reality in the world than are the representations we are surrounded with; daily. The important thing to draw from this is to remember that this is where Jesus resides the most; with the destitute and famished amongst us (in the world). Surely the West and America has its own impoverishment[s]; they aren’t always as open and clear as those that are found in places like this little child inhabited. But there is more to be said about Christ’s identification, more, infiltration of humanity by understanding the depth of the human predicament; that is, by seeing this in full force (like this image evokes). If you want to see Jesus in all of his humanity you should look no further than this little intrepid lifeless body for whom Jesus was crushed. Here is a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that Jason shared in his post, and then here is the link to Jason’s full post (read it!).

The same God who is with us is the God who forsakes us (Mark 15:34!). The same God who makes us to live in the world without the working hypothesis of God is the God before whom we stand continually. Before God, and with God, we live without God. God consents to be pushed out of the world and onto the cross; God is weak and powerless in the world and in precisely this way, and only so, is at our side and helps us. Matt. 8:17 makes it quite clear that Christ helps us not by virtue of his omnipotence but rather by virtue of his weakness and suffering! This is the crucial distinction between Christianity and all religions. Human religiosity directs people in need to the power of God in the world, God as deus ex machina. The Bible directs people toward the powerlessness and the suffering of God; only the suffering God can help. (pp. 478–79)