Jesus has been seen in many things – dog bums, tree trunks, chips, tiles, and bird poop on truck mirrors. In fact, there’s so much Jesus and Mary related pareidolia reports that continuously occur, the phenomenon has a certain pop culture appeal to it. I always think it’s interesting because, while I can often see the general images these people are seeing, I never see Jesus. I usually see a vague humanoid, a cartoonish person, or a Rorschach-esque humany splat.
Or I see Gary Oldman or something. Because I like Gary Oldman.
The latest report of Jesus pareidolia is no different.
Regent Park resident David L. Smith was helping out his neighbor, Raymond Espey, last week when he noticed something in the home that he’d never seen before.
“I was in the other room and I heard David say, ‘I see Jesus!’” Espey said.
Smith was doing the neighborly thing – helping Espey, 88, with things that needed to be done around the house and making sure he had everything he needed. Smith sat down for a minute on the couch to rest, looked at Espey’s fireplace, and saw the image of Jesus in the stonework surrounding it.
Espey has lived in the home for more than 20 years and never noticed it before. Smith, who describes Espey as a deeply religious man, sees the image as a message to Espey for his faithful service to God.
“I think it’s a sign, showing him he’s there, even when you don’t notice,” Smith said.
Espey, who spends most of his days reading the Bible and is a faithful church-goer, said that he wasn’t surprised by the appearance of Jesus around his fireplace.
“I’ve known Jesus was here all the time,” Espey said.
Here’s a video of what the guy saw.
I guess I just don’t see a Jesus there. That looks like more of an Elvis to me.