I recall a story about an aristocratic family in old Russia, who used to regularly invite a beggar to dine with them, and would serve the beggar themselves, rather than having their household staff do it. If their children had been naughty, the children were forbidden to help, with the phrase “No, you can’t serve Christ because you” with a reminder of the child’s transgression.
The point of the sculpture is as a reminder of Our Lord’s description of the Last Judgement, “...in as much as ye did it to the least of these, ye did it to me....in as much as ye did it not to the least of these, ye did it not to me...”
The point is to see the homeless man as Christ, not Christ as a homeless man. I don’t know whether it succeeds in making the point, but that is clearly what the artist was trying to do, and the point is worth making.
A smaller model of this statue is displayed at my daughter’s Catholic high school. There are plans to get the full statue placed outdoors in the near future. It really is pretty cool.
“The point is to see the homeless man as Christ, not Christ as a homeless man. I don’t know whether it succeeds in making the point, but that is clearly what the artist was trying to do, and the point is worth making.”
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I see this the same way, and am very suprised by the reactions on this thread. Jesus sought out the company of the lowest in the community, and demostrated to the world that God dwells in everyone of us. Each is equally worthy of his love and salvation.