 |
| Jerusalem Coptic Christian Tattoos: Magnificat Light |
"Tell Me the Story About Your Tattoos ... "
Due to the history and unique line work of Jerusalem Tattoos, along with the strong artistry of my friend, Kevin Shattuck, with Iconic Ink, I get the privilege to talk with curious people who lean in and wonder about the meaning behind each of my tattoos. One Eastern Orthodox friend said, "It's like you have your own icons to turn you back to Christ every time you look at your arm."
Some have even wondered if I could try doing an Instagram or TikTok video sharing about the history and symbology of the various pieces. Maybe someday. But for now, here is a written description.
Quick History of Jerusalem Tattoos
For a pithy overview of where this particular style of tattoos comes from, it originates in North Africa nearly 800 years ago. In this area of the world, Christians have often suffered intense persecution, particularly among Coptic Orthodox Christians. One family, the Razzouks, were Christians living in Egypt in the 1300s. Seeking to escape the violence, they became refugees who settled in Jerusalem where they set up Razzouk Tattoo, which still exists today and welcomes pilgrims from all over the world.
Magnificat:
The Light Shines in the Darkness
Tattoo
 |
| Jerusalem Coptic Christian Tattoos: Magnificat Light |
+ The Light of a Single Candle
This tattoo that is now stamped across the triceps of my upper right arm is meant to be a testament to how life is often dark, but there is the Light that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
The top and the bottom of the tattoo feature a ribbon in which the phrase, "The Light shines in the darkness" (i.e. John 1:5) frames everything in between.
A candle and a sun are at the end of each ribbon. They are a testament to how light pierces through the darkness of the veil over this world, testifying to the powerful words St. Francis of Assisi:
All the darkness in the world
cannot extinguish the light
of a single candle.
Jesus as the Word made flesh personifies this reality in the Incarnation. As Immanuel, God with us, He came as a single candle, a vulnerable child born into a tumultuous and dangerous time among an oppressed people, and lived in the backwoods of Nazareth of which one of His own disciples said, "What good can come out of that place?"
Or, in other words,
what light could possibly
shine in that darkness?
Jesus said,
"I Am the Light of the World."
And as one author elaborates:
We do the Light a disservice
when we underestimate the darkness.
Jesus’ people, the Hebrews,
were a subjugated people
living as exiles in their own land;
among other things, they were silenced,
targets of brutality, and exploitatively taxed ...
For many, the darkness of
long-standing oppression had extinguished
any hope for liberation.
It was into this 'worst world' that the
Light-in-which-We-See-Light was born,
liberating the people
from the terror of darkness.
And it is in the midst of our worst world
that we, too, can most clearly see the Light,
for light shines more brightly
against a backdrop of true darkness.
With this hope in mind, we get to shine with Him as little candles enflamed with a resilient hope, piercing the darkness as Jesus said,
"You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and
it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way,
let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven."
In order for us to do this faithfully, we cannot be the center of our lives nor the fuel of our own flame. Just as the sun is the center of our universe, Jesus is the center of all reality, and when He is the center of our lives, He shines in us and through us, igniting us with faith, hope, and love to share, until He returns to make all things new and the destructive power of darkness is removed:
He who was seated on the throne said,
“I am making everything new!”
Then He said, “Write this down,
for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done.
the Beginning and the End ...
The city does not need the sun
or the moon to shine on it,
The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth
will bring their splendor into it.
+ Revelation 21:5-6, 23-24
In this time of darkness ...
I'm trying to remember light lasts forever.
Darkness lasts not even for one second
when you turn on the light.
+ Eternal Love Overflowing
As shared above, the Light is God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ("God is Light in Him is no darkness." + 1 John 1:5), illuminated by the heart shaped illustration in the top half of the center of the tattoo with the Father represented by the halo, the Son represented by the crown, and the Spirit represented by the dove. This illustration is a line that never breaks, providing a window into the heart of God, revealing the Trinity's unity in community, an infinite flow of eternal love.
It flowed
– perfect, complete, and constant –
between the three persons of the Trinity.
This love was an unending appreciation,
a perpetual beholding and rejoicing
in the goodness and perfection
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We are invited into this Love in every season. The heart of God is for us. Some recent quotes I have been reflecting on capture this reality:
You love us like there is only one of us.
My God, help me accept how
You see me
no matter how beautiful it is.
The starting point is when our
Wild God looks at us
and says, "Your are precious
in My eyes and I love you ... "
(You) brought me into a spacious place;
He rescued me
because He delighted in me.
+ Psalm 18:19
+ Psalm 18:19
+ Fierce Faith That Magnifies
A person who received this Light and Love in a very dark moment in history, and in her life, is Mary herself. While being a poor, unwed teenager, Mary magnified the Lord with a fierce faith and focus when God chose her to give birth to Messiah. The Theotokos is the first disciple who willingly said, "Let it be done to me according to Your Word" (inscribed on the right side of the oval shaped tattoo) as Christ was born in her. As multiple authors share,
Mary is
to her God through her tears,
fists clenched against an unknown future.
Mary's courageous song of praise
is a radical resource
for those seeking to honor the holy
amid the suffering and conflicts of real life."
God raises up Mary
as the prophetic voice:
Mary does not assert; she assents.
She does not exalt herself;
she fully accepts, and in that humility,
God exalts her.
Mary is a woman of true power
through the fullness of her humility.
What a precious faith it shows that
she can sing in the face of the gathering storm
of suspicion and shame.
She will be charged with sin,
even while she is preparing the world
for its Savior.
St. Irenaeus says,
"Being obedient
she became the cause of salvation
for herself and for the whole human race."
Hence, a few of the early Church leaders
gladly assert ... :
what the virgin Eve bound
through her disbelief,
Mary loosened by her faith."
This is depicted through the illustration of Eve and Mary together in the bottom half of the center of the tattoo (originally created by artist and nun, Sr. Grace Remington), with Eve touching Mary's belly and Mary comforting Eve with a hand on her shoulder as the fruit was bitten, but the snake's head will be crushed.
Mary's Magnificat, the bold and courageous first Advent hymn, beginning with "My soul magnifies the Lord ... " (inscribed on the left side of the oval shaped tattoo) is sung and prayed in Benedictine abbeys, monasteries, and priories around the world during the Vespers evening hour of prayer. Ever since I was introduced to this practice at the Abbey of the Genesee in 2019, The Magnificat has become one of the passages I have prayed most in the past 7+ years.
See Genesis 3:15; Luke 1:38, 46-55
+ Grace Through Every Season of Life
In the four quadrants around the center of the tattoo are representations of the main seasons during the Christian year.
Advent
God with us
revealed in the star above Bethlehem
Lent
God for us
revealed in the Cross at Golgotha
Eastertide
God victorious
revealed in the empty tomb in the garden
Pentecost
Advent
God with us
revealed in the star above Bethlehem
Lent
God for us
revealed in the Cross at Golgotha
Eastertide
God victorious
revealed in the empty tomb in the garden
Pentecost
God in us and through us
revealed in the Spirit coming down
God with us, God for us, God victorious, and God in us are regular reminders I need every day in every season of life. My life does not need to be dominated by Chronos, but delivered by Kairos, as life with God is pregnant with meaning, as pregnant as Mary was with the light of life inside her. And when I believe and live in this reality, I can say about God what has been said about Him in one of the most ancient texts we have recorded in human history:
God has delivered me
from going down to the pit,
from going down to the pit,
and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’
God does all these things to a person—
twice, even three times—
to turn them back from the pit,
that the light of life may shine on them.
By The Porter's Gate, 2020 A.D.
lluminate the shadows;
Comfort those who are cast down.
Illuminate the shadows;
Be our refuge in the time of storm.
O God, our help in the time of trouble
(O God, our help in the time of trouble).
Illuminate the shadows,
cast the evil ruler from His throne;
Illuminate the shadows,
break oppression with Your mighty arm.
(Refrain)
(Refrain)
Illuminate the shadows
'Til every idol has been trampled on;
Illuminate the shadows
'Til every statue comes tumbling down.
(Refrain)
By Steffany Gretzinger, 2020 A.D.
If my heart could tell a story,
If my life would sing a song,
If I have a testimony,
If I have anything at all ...
No one ever cared for me like Jesus.
His faithful hand has held me all this way.
And when I'm old and grey
And all my days are numbered on the earth,
Let it be known in You alone
My joy was found.
Let my children tell their children,
Let this be their memory
That all my treasure was in heaven
And You were everything to me ...
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
I've found my joy.
I'm still in love,
You're still enough for me;
Still all I want,
You're still my everything.
The songs above and the scenes from Season 6 of The Chosen featuring Jesus focused on the Cross both brought me to tears and stifled sobs during this season. He is the Light who illuminates the shadows. I know He loves me. I pray to respond to such light and love that He has given me all my days.
The songs above and the scenes from Season 6 of The Chosen featuring Jesus focused on the Cross both brought me to tears and stifled sobs during this season. He is the Light who illuminates the shadows. I know He loves me. I pray to respond to such light and love that He has given me all my days.
Special Note About Tattoos:
God used the skin of His Son
to communicate with us.
God also chose
to write a message on Jesus' skin.
to write a message on Jesus' skin.
The marks that Thomas touched
are the marks that put to death
the ultimate power of death
for every human soul.
The nail prints in His hands and feet,
the gash from the spear that
was thrust in His side,
the marks on His scalp
from the thorny crown,
and the field of furrowed flesh
on His back —
all are the tattoos* that illustrate
the depth of passion God has for us.
*Leviticus 19:28 reads: "Do not cut
your bodies for the dead or put tattoo
marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."
God was instructing His chosen people,
God was instructing His chosen people,
the new nation of Israel, to set
themselves apart. They were not to
imitate pagan religious practices
that used cuttings or tattoos to
honor the dead or as an offering
to false gods.
God forbade these markings because
they reflected a belief that the dead
could intercede (plead with gods
or advocate) for the living. To conclude,
as some do, that this passage prohibits
modern tattoos is to misread it.
+ Tattoos: Telling the Secrets of the Soul
pgs. 145, 162, 170
Other Jerusalem Tattoo Posts:
+ Redemption: Seeds of Hope
+ Resurrection: Emmaus Road
+ Redemption: Seeds of Hope
+ Resurrection: Emmaus Road
Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
