by Lyle Penner "MR. GOA, I presume?" He smiled and warmly shook my hand. Right away I felt assured that meeting David Goa was going to be an enhancing experience. As curator of the "Anno Domini" exhibition, Goa was in charge of this massive undertaking that strived to interpret the cultural heritage of the most revered and multi-faceted individual in Western culture, Jesus of Nazareth! Can you imagine the responsibility and challenges inherent in such a task? Yet he seemed to be taking it all in stride. Of medium height and build, Goa looked early 60-ish, and wore a mountain man-type vest partially obscured by a flowing, white beard that came to a point half-way down his chest. His eyes were large and blue; they radiated a sense of acute perception. After talking with him on the exhibition floor, over two lunches at the cafeteria, and back at his home over wine, cheese and cold pizza, it seemed clear that Goa was comfortable living in his own skin. It was hard not to like his non-conformist style. He also appeared to be an urban, intellectual monk, if there is such a thing. I say "monkish" in that he seemed more at home in the monastic ideas of the early Church Fathers than, for example, in the world of modern psychology or today's high-tech digital lifestyle. I don't imagine viewing HBO's "The Sopranos" would rate a flicker on his radar screen! Deeply reflective and articulate, a curious philosophical concept of some kind seemed not too far from his mind. Although fascinated by the rich themes that Anno Domini sought to explore (inspired by reading Jaroslav Pelikan's Jesus Through the Centuries), it seemed also clear that his element was among people. Goa was constantly talking to visitors and friends, guiding students around, interested in their take on the exhibition. He was adept at networking people, making sure those of similar interests would meet each other. What was his core purpose? After Cal, Linda and I shared with him the story of our "alternative" Watershed Community over the past nine years, and our renewed interest in Christology after a period of skepticism, Goa seemed encouraged to find others that were struggling to find an authentic Christian spirituality outside the usual conventions. He responded: "Over the past century, liberal modernism and fundamentalism have been locked together in a codependent relationship. They need each other to exist, but neither side have been asking very interesting questions." Goa himself must have gone through a rationalist phase and is now well into a deep spiritual awakening. Perhaps that's why he's mostly resourced by an Eastern Orthodox monastery in British Columbia who have a love and respect for Christian iconography. And that's why Jesus-of-Nazareth inspired art has become so important. Art flows over us and meets us at a non-rational (or trans-rational) place, feeding our individual and collective spirits. To Goa, rationalist answers from fundamentalism on the right, or even from the Jesus Seminar scholars on the left, don't satisfy his craving for a deep, holistic spirituality. After all, he said, people are often better than their ideological beliefs. For instance, he said that in meeting people of conservative persuasions, he shuns arguments about the historicity of biblical events, and tries to elicit the evocations of faith that come when reading, for example, the mysterious Raising of Lazarus story. He added that he'd much rather talk to a person who prays than a rationalist academic. Although Watershed's study in the Jesus Seminar scholars is still ongoing and may prove more fruitful than David Goa himself would want to admit, Cal, Linda and I found a distinctive connection with him. We whole-heartedly concurred that the intentional life of the Spirit is one that we can't control, that it contains mysterious elements - particularly as we face our human limitations - and that the symbol of the Risen Christ is a liberating beacon of hope in our uncertain lives. You can respond to the author here or on our messageboard. BACK Exhibition Curator David Goa "Christ the King" "Resurrection: Rejoicing"