IS THERE AN AUSTRALIAN PORTRAIT OF JESUS? or 'Who do you say I am?'    cf also THINK, Work, Response, Aboriginals 2, Aboriginals 1  
 Jesus, Jesus a, Jesus c

• Michael Leunig as already mentioned.  But could we perhaps ask Michael to look at our task so far and portray Christ for us, perhaps from his urban and ironic point of view?
• Sidney Nolan (as in Ned Kelly - see above).  The painting (which we are sure exists but haven't found yet) of Christ in the pub.
• Bruce Dawe's 'Bring out Your Christs':

'We tried to hold him back
but he was strong (they get
like that) broke clear
and headed at a run
into the blaze,
                    the flames
enfolded him in their orange arms....
            the building fell, well, anyway,
those who were saved
were saved, the rest
blended like him
into the mother ash that clung
to our wet gum-boots as we stepped across
non-existent thresholds, like dream walkers strolled
through walls and smelled
the black smell of extinction.
The bloody fool, I said.
What was he up to?
                    Here, use the hose, said Jack.
You wouldn't want to be carting him everywhere.

(Quintessentially Australian in its wry, sad humour, acceptance of tragedy - and desire to make a bloke a hero, but not too much of a one!)

And then there's Les Murray:
The Burranong Angel Cae

You see that bench in front of Meagher's store?
That's where the angel landed.
What?  An Angel?
Yes.  It was just near smoko time on a sale day.
Town was quite full.  He called us all together.
And was he obeyed?
Oh yes.  He got a hearing.
Made his announcement.  Blessed us and took off
Again, straight up.
He had most glorious wings....
What happened then?
There were some tasks he'd set us
Or rather that sort of followed from his message.
And were they carried out?
At first we meant to,
But after a while, when there'd been some talk
Most came to think he'd been a bit, well, haughty,
A bit overdone, with those flourishes of wings
And that plummy accent.
Lot of women liked that.
But the men who'd knelt, off their own bat, mind you,
They were specially crook on him, as I remember.

Did he come again?
Oh yes.  The message was important.
The second time, he hired the Church hall,
Spoke most politely, called us all by name.
Any result?
Not much.  At first we liked him.
But, after all, he'd singled out the Catholics.
It was their hall.  And another thing resented
By different ones, he hadn't charged admission.
We weren't all paupers, and any man or angel
With so little regard for local pride, or money,
Ends up distrusted....
(the poem goes on.  it ends with the ironic line:
Besides, what he had told us had to do with love
And people here,
They don't think that's quite - manly).

INTERPRETATION

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