On the Icon-hood of all believers & the triumph of orthoPRAXY.
Todaty, in the Orthodox Church Calendar (not shared by us westerners) the Eastern church celebrated a feast Day known as “the triumph of Orthodoxy.” This day is set apart to remember iconography, and the victory of the Orthodox church over the heterodox in the iconoclast controversy, and in every other matter. To celebrate such a victory, every year the Orthodox remembers (and preaches about) the importance of icons and images in the church and her spirituality, and even her public and private worship, and of course, all other matters of orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
And I, in my own small and western way celebrated this today already by preaching today via John 3:16 on the importance putting corpuses on our crosses and making them crucifixes so as to visibly preach the forgiveness of sins, the love of God, and the salvation of mankind to the eyes of all sinners. But now I would like to go again for round 2, and take some time to draw us all back towards the fact of our personal connection to Icons. Or in other words, I would like to point out to all, that to reject Icons is to reject the concept of imaging. And to reject the concept of imaging, is to reject the ecclesiastical practice (or, the doing) of the gospel.
Let’s start here; what are Icons?
In the East, Icons have very specific and strict laws. Strict rules I don’t pretend to know or to understand. They look a certain way, are a certain way, are used in certain ways, so on so forth, you get the idea. But, they also come with a very uniquely orthodox (eastern/oriental) theology, which is that of being windows to heaven and things that actually tie the imaged thing and the image together. almost sacramentally if you will (though not exactly). In the West “Icons” as such aren’t really a thing, yet Icons as the concept of images, statues, stained glass, crucifixes, paintings, etc, ABOUND. The west has far less rules. It also a less “Orthodox” (Eastern/Oriental) understanding of what’s going on in and through these “icons” (which are not technically “Icons”).
but basically, whether we look at this in the strict (overly strict maybe) Eastern way, or the loose but still powerful western way, the key concept here is imaging. That is, these images tell a story, and represent that which they image. When I look at a painting of the crucifixion, I see there (of course importing my theology thereof) my forgiveness. I also see the love of God. I see the passion of Christ for me. I feel my sorrow over my own sin, over His pain over my sin, and His pain in suffering for my sin. But I also feel a sense of overwhelming appreciation for His work for me on that cross. These images preach to us and their preaching to us stirs up within us and creates in us a faith in what they preach. In that way, icons (loosely or strictly defined), are just as connected to faith as sermons are, and all of that has to do with representation, with communication, and it all comes through the power of imaging.
And is that not what we are? Or at least, is that not what we’re supposed to be? I think it is. I think, actually, indeed,, that we are called to be conformed to the IMAGE of God in Christ. At least, that’s what Paul says we were predestined unto in Romans 8:29. And that Christ (that Son, as Paul refers to Him in Romans 8,) IS HIMSELF an image, the IMAGE of the invisible God, (Col 1:15) that is. In that He makes SEEABLE, knowable, represented and present and communicated to us what is “invisible.” He gives WEIGHT, flesh, visibility, and communication to what is silent, abstract, hidden, unknowable, and makes imminent and present what was transcendent and detached. And the future hope of the Christian is to more fully every day be conformed into, or transformed into (2 Cor 3:18) the IMAGE of God’s glory as revealed to us in Christ. For just as we have borne in creation the likeness (resemblance, representation, image) of the earthly man (Adam) so our promised hope is that in Christ we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man (Christ). And not only shall we be conformed into images of these things, that others see them more clearly in us, but so also shall WE see these things more clearly in the great unveiling that is to come. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am know (1 Cor 13:12).
Images, imaging, seeing, and being seen as – are crucial biblical and theological Christian concepts. The concept of imaging is inseparable from our faith. Having art in church is merely a living out of that faith. For as we pray so believe, inasmuch as its true that as we believe so we pray. And furthermore, as we believe, so we pray, and as we pray, so we live. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. Our faith is one of seeing images, being transformed into images, and being images. And so, we pray with images. We adorn our churches with images. We adorn our necks, and or our clothes, and or the screensavers on our electronic devices with images. And in doing so, we concurrently are transformed into images.
Now, assuming you’ve done that, are doing that, or at least, hopefully, will do that, I say again; behold, you are icons. Or at least, you should be. At least, you are called to be.
For as Christ says, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That is, you are things He is to the world. That is, you are little Christs to your neighbor in the world. Not in that you ARE Christ, but in that you are an image of Him, or at least, being conformed to or transformed into an image of Him, just as He is an image of the invisible God. In doing these things (things of goodness & things of grace) you are imaging Christ to those who see you. In Fathering, you are an Icon of the Father. In serving your Father as a son, you are an image of the Son. In being the church, you are imaging the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
Is that not the very thing that St. Patrick so famously prayed in His Breastplate?
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Do you hear this call? The call to be light, the call to be life, to be love, to be salt, to be grace and mercy and forgiveness in the world? This is the call to be an image. This is the call to be an Icon. But not merely are you called to be, Icons. But you are called Icons. For you are salt, and you are Light.
For behold, you are icons.
If the Reformed are right in calling a painting a “second commandment violation,” then by God, so are we.
For behold, you ARE icons. So let us make icons, use icons, defend icons, and be icons. That God, His grace, and His Gospel, might be known in all the world.
