On Sunday, millions of Christians all over the world will celebrate an event far more symbolic than anything Hallmark could create: coloring Easter eggs. Oh, how silly of me & I almost forgot the other major event that will lead even more faithful believers to church: the tax-filing deadline.

OK, third time’s a charm & this Sunday is Easter, and for many Christians, it marks a time of rejoicing and reflecting on Jesus Christ’s resurrection, as well as hiding Easter eggs.

Just in time for this blessed day, a documentary co-produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Discovery Channel will reveal what Jesus may have looked like. The program, titled “Jesus: The Complete Story” in the United States and “Son of God” in Britain, will air Easter Sunday on the Discovery Channel. The computer-generated Christ shown in the film was created by using a 2,000-year-old skull of a Jewish man as a mold, with Syrian frescoes providing insight into the outer characteristics of men in Jesus’ time.

Their Jesus has dark skin, a round face, brown eyes, a close-shaven beard and cropped hair & varying from the picture of Jesus I have on my wall. My heavenly man looks like he’s ready to catch a wave on his surfboard. He has a suntan, blue eyes, wind-blown blondish-brown hair and a hemp-like tunic that screams “Hang 10!”

And now the British have taken away my Malibu Jesus. They said I could have him back, but I’d first have to give them a formal apology. So, until hell freezes over, this new Jesus will be just fine.

In fact, it’s about time images of Jesus got more realistic. It’s been two centuries & the man is due for a new look.

A fascination with Jesus’ profile is nothing new. Anne McGuire, chairwoman of the Department of Religion at Haverford College, taught a course a few years back titled “Images of Jesus.” She said interest in how Jesus may have looked began some time after his death, with artists drawing from the culture around them to create an image.

“We really don’t know what he actually looked like,” she said. “One can’t generalize what a first-century Jewish man from Galilee might have looked like, but you can be sure he probably didn’t have blond hair and blue eyes, as he is depicted in many of the Euro-centric images.”

There’s nothing terribly shocking about finding out that Jesus didn’t have blue eyes. It makes sense that he wouldn’t, but is knowing what he looked like important to faith and Christian beliefs?

The Rev. Rita Root, a minister at United Campus Ministry Wesley Foundation, said even though it’s not necessary, it’s natural for people to want a concrete image of Jesus.

“Part of the process of developing faith,” she said, “is being able to touch it. Concepts and ideas might intrigue us, but we want to feel, touch and visualize. In a scientific world, we want historical accuracy for verification.”

Although there is no definite description of Jesus in the Bible, the BBC stands by its film.

“It’s not the face of Jesus, but how he is likely to have looked given the scientific information we’ve got,” Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC1, said in London’s Guardian newspaper. “That’s what people from that area of the world looked like at that time.”

If one day we are able to pinpoint exactly what Jesus may have looked like, what then? Knowing physical attributes shouldn’t solidify a person’s faith if he or she already believes that Jesus existed. I’m curious about what he looked like, and when I pray, I like to have a visual representation, but whether or not Jesus had long hair has little bearing on my belief system or morals.

The Rev. Rick Gibbons, a minister at Baptist Campus Ministry, said no matter how sophisticated a picture is, it can’t reveal the inner dimensions of someone.

“It’s not really the image that is important to me,” he said, “but understanding the person. A picture can only say and show so much.”

As the years go by and research and technology make advances, the “real” face of Jesus will continue to be studied. And with each new face, a frame of reference will be upgraded to reach the level of accuracy our scientists of today demand. But the same question will arise in the future that can be asked today: Do the rest of us demand it?

And who knows & maybe next year the BBC and Discovery Channel will find out something even more historic about Jesus, like that his real name was P. Diddy, and he loved Easter egg hunts.