Hidden in Plain View

We walked right by the image of the Christ in La Mecred Cathedral and never noticed it. We were too busy looking for the way to get up to the top of the cathedral to walk around the roof like we had seen so many people do from the balcony of our hotel room. It was only after we had toured through most of the building, walked on the roof, explored the ruins of the old cathedral, and climbed down into the crypt that we saw this lithograph of Jesus at the end of the hall.

What was fascinating is the mixture of religious practices (the professor in me wants to use technical term syncretism) found in this photo. The kites adorning the hallway are a part of the Mayan tradition, and the image of Christ obviously a reflection of the deep Catholic roots brought to this area through the Spanish in their colonial exploits.

These traditions have now been enmeshed into one practice. The same people going to confession and praying in the cathedral were at the big kite festival. All of it meant to connect people to those who have passed away, giving hope for a future.

I think it is fair to say that syncretism is found in all places where practices are morphed as different influences intersect with the predominant religion. I know that some within the Christian tradition would like to claim that they are the one true faith, yet even those expressions of faith have integrated with values at some point.

Perhaps the point of all this is to not rush past the images that are before us. It is too easy to sit and judge “those” people for distorting the faith by mixing it with their traditional practices, when no doubt we have all done something similar.