{"id":2882,"date":"2012-10-09T10:25:31","date_gmt":"2012-10-09T10:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/?p=2882"},"modified":"2012-10-09T10:25:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-09T10:25:31","slug":"square-halos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2012\/10\/square-halos.html","title":{"rendered":"Square Halos"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his book, The Road to Missional<\/em>, Michael Frost describes the experience of wandering through the Vatican Museum in Rome to stumble upon an eighth-century mosaic fragment that depicted Pope John VII wearing not a shiny, gold halo but a simple black square. \u00a0Taken aback, Frost inquired of his tour guide: weren’t all halos those gold, “beaming discs of godliness” that hover rather magically in mid-air suspension over the heads of the holy?<\/p>\n

Apparently not. \u00a0If gilded, circular halos were an indication of one’s other-worldly, spiritual perfection, square halos were a way of keeping one’s feet very much grounded on earth; they reminded us that their bearer is “still very much of the earth” (in this case, Pope John VII, while a respected churchman, had not, at the time of the mosaic’s making, died and qualified for canonization).<\/p>\n

Frost muses: “I like the idea of my portrait being painted with me wearing a square halo, admittedly somewhat askew. \u00a0It speaks of an earthy kind of spirituality, a down-to-earth holiness…The more I look to Jesus, the more I see him as the bearer of a square halo as well, albeit not askew like mine. \u00a0His holiness is revealed through his everyday mercy and his goodness toward the poor and marginalized, not by his being above or beyond contact with sinners. \u00a0If we want to emulate the righteousness of Jesus, we need to rediscover that his is a holiness revealed by contact with the broken things of this world, not by withdrawal from them.”<\/p>\n

I’ve never looked good in hats…but a square halo? That would be something.<\/p>\n

The closest I’ve gotten to wearing a “halo” of any kind is in my latest work as a corporate chaplain. \u00a0Usually, in visiting numerous different companies, I wear a magnetic name tag that reads, “Kristina Robb-Dover, Chaplain;” \u00a0it’s a handy way to identify myself as I make my rounds to various office cubbyholes, and to fend off awkward moments like the inquiry, “Who are you?,” paired with a suspicious glance.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I’ll find myself wandering off-duty into a store or restaurant having forgotten to take my name tag off. \u00a0When this happens, I’m a bit embarrassed by the reactions. \u00a0Suddenly I acquire either a more revered or more suspicious status.<\/p>\n

Did I mention that I don’t like name tags to begin with?<\/p>\n

But I wonder what would happen if we chose to wear (invisible) square halos? \u00a0Would our feet feel more firmly planted on the ground? \u00a0Would we be more inclined to see ourselves as works in progress without all the answers but with a whole lot of heart to be more like Jesus? \u00a0Would we be more conscious of our place in<\/em> the world rather than apart from it, and more mindful of our call to be engaged with brokenness? \u00a0Would others be more inclined to see us this way?<\/p>\n

From now on, I’ll be wearing a square halo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his book, The Road to Missional, Michael Frost describes the experience of wandering through the Vatican Museum in Rome to stumble upon an eighth-century mosaic fragment that depicted Pope John VII wearing not a shiny, gold halo but a simple black square. \u00a0Taken aback, Frost inquired of his tour guide: weren’t all halos those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,180,119,43,15],"tags":[2461,1128,211,382,1008,178,1092],"class_list":["post-2882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-and-culture","category-christianity-in-politics","category-church","category-humor","category-mission","tag-incarnation","tag-jesus-ministry","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-michael-frost","tag-missio-dei","tag-missional-church","tag-the-road-to-missional"],"yoast_head":"\nSquare Halos - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2012\/10\/square-halos.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Square Halos - 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