Jesus as Icon

St Gregory Nanzianzen, was Bishop of Constantinople around about the fourth century, and a prominent theologian.  He wrote extensively on Christology and the Trinity.  In the Office of Readings today we have part of one of his homilies whereas he slowly takes apart Holy Week, and more importantly the Paschal Mystery.  Reflecting upon his writings I begin to think it is never enough simply to state that Jesus true God, and true Man.  What we celebrate is a powerful affirmation of God's love for us, to be sure, but a challenge as to how we might respond.

A few weeks ago we moved our tabernacle in our church to the center of the sanctuary.  (Not pictured here)  One of the many reasons was that people would come into the church and walk right past the tabernacle.  But, some of these same folks would piously genuflect in front of the altar.  The reflection would be that many today do not understand what is sacred and what is not.  Jesus, the sacraments, and the Gospels seems to meld into a theology that God is nice, and Jesus did good things for people.  We miss a relationship.

Perhaps the reason why we have such an infatuation with actors and actresses is that they are beyond us.  We gush over them in movies, and admire their lavish lifestyles.  Seemingly unlike ourselves, they move from one relationship to another without so much a tear being shed.

When I was growing up we had the 'Good News' bible which tries to put the language in relate-able terms.  The book only lasted through the 70s., but the idea is not that far fetched.  The texts of the sacred scripture, ancient as they are, reveal the faith experiences of men and women like us who were broken because of Sin and Evil.  They encountered loneliness, abuse, and oppression, sometimes because they tried to do what was right.  In the Creighton University reflection today, the author muses about the life and death of Bishop Oscar Romero.  A prophetic man who called out those who inflicted evil, and was killed because of it.

St. Gregory points out today that Jesus is the image of the Father's love for us.  Such love is a great cause of joy and celebration.  Like the psalmists we can proclaim that God's love endures forever.  But God also calls us into a relationship.  The works of Jesus are not just 'nice' things because he likes us, but an example of how we ought to live.  In John's Gospel Jesus time and again says he is doing the will of the Father.  Our faith is something that we take responsibility for. 

There is more to Jesus for us than the images we see, or the stories we hear.  This is an awesome week to really reflect on what we believe, and to get real about our faith.  Last night at the soup and speaker a woman had mentioned that the crucifixion scene in the one man play we had last week, was very powerful and meaning for her.  We need more of those experiences whereas we can stop and think about what we pray and believe.