Citizen Columns
Question
What is your faith’s perspective on Michael Jackson’s life and death?
Answer
There is an element of hiddenness and mystery in every person’s life, and Michael Jackson was no exception to this despite his decades in the public eye. God alone knows the hidden trials, thoughts and motives of his heart. And God alone will judge. It’s clear that those closest to him saw him as a victim, perhaps of his supposed purity and naiveté at the hands of greedy exploiters, the media, the public taste for the lurid.
But by most accounts Michael Jackson was and wanted to be “the King of Pop.” He wanted to be the biggest, brightest, wealthiest star in show-business. As they say, be careful what you pray for. So if he was a victim, he was also one of the shapers of modern culture. Indeed, his Thriller was one of the few record albums placed in the US Library of Congress as a prime monument of this culture. And as such, whatever his private life, publicly Michael Jackson was bizarre. He may have been a pop icon, at least through the early 90’s, but he was also an icon of disfigured humanity. And I don’t just mean his skin-whitening and plastic surgery. People talk about his innocence, but let’s not forget that he also invented those crotch-grabbing dance moves. He raised millions for famine-relief in Africa, but his Neverland ranch was a sick picture of hedonism and excess. He talked about God and consulted with spiritual advisors, but had a “Last Supper” over his bed with his own face replacing Jesus in the center. What the public sees of Jackson’s creativity and goodness is evidence of the indelible mark of his creation in the image and likeness of God. We all retain this to one degree or another. But these disfigured features are evidence of a humanity that has lost its way. The Christian hope is that even this can be redeemed, and the fallen image restored to its former divine glory.
With love in Christ,
Fr John
|
