A statue of Jesus Christ as a homeless beggar outside a Catholic church in Syracuse, New York has been drawing public attention.
It portrays Jesus as a man in robe with his arm stretched out as if he's begging for alms.
The statue was placed outside the St. Lucy's Catholic Church in the New West Side, according to CBN News.
"This sculpture is a visual representation of charity. We should see Christ in the poor and the hungry. We should see our acts of kindness to them as kindness to Him. Inspired by the Gospel of Matthew 25:40," according to the website of Timothy Schmalz of Ontario, Canada, who made the statue.
The Bible verse reads, "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
St. Lucy's church has several outreach ministries including food pantry, bread of life, shop and Share Center.
The church's Rev. Jim Matthews said the statue "really spoke to who we want to be and who we are and who we're called to be here at St. Lucy's."
"That's what our mission and our goal is here, that we reach out and try to make the Gospel message alive," he said.
Schmalz's "Homeless Jesus" statues can be found around the world.
The same statue was unveiled at a church in Indianapolis last November while another was erected at Buffalo's Cathedral Park last year.
Matthews hopes the statue will encourage visitors to think about the message of the statue.
"This is a very powerful Gospel just by looking at it," Mathews said. "You can stand there and look at it and think about the implications. It's a powerful symbol and I think it represents what we're all about here."
