Icons

Every person is the very icon of God incarnate in the world 

--- Mother Maria Skobtsova, Orthodox Nun and Martyr (1891-1945).

 The woman quoted above survived the revolution of 1923 in Russia and escaped to Paris where she began to serve destitute Russian refugees.  She opened a soup kitchen and lived in the basement, where she slept on a cot beside the boiler.  After the German occupation of Paris, she worked with her chaplain to hide and rescue Jews, leading eventually to her arrest, along with her son.  She died on Holy Saturday, March 31, 1945, after two years in the Ravensbruck concentration camp.

I have a friend who does not like icons, because she thinks they are "creepy."  I never quite understood the art of icons myself, until I read that the wide, staring eyes of the figures mean that we are supposed to gaze through them to heaven, and through them, heaven is supposed to gaze back at us.  When I visited a Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, I began to appreciate icons more.  There, one is surrounded by icons, as many as can be placed on the wall, not just one layer, but several layers of icons -- one at eye level, one above, and one below.  As I stood there amongst the Russian worshippers following the service, I did have the feeling of being surrounded by saints through whom I could see the face of God and through whom God could see me.

And the "saints" were not just those who depictions hung on the walls, but also those who devoutly worshipped God, who stood around me making the sign of the cross frequently and bowing low in reverence.  (No one sits in a Russian Orthodox Church, as there are no pews or kneelers -- everyone stands. From my observation, it might make for a more devout and attentive American congregation if we followed their practice.)

Anyway, I recalled that experience several days ago when I read the quote from Maria Skobtsova-- every person is an icon of God incarnate in the world.  I had always heard that we were supposed to see Jesus in every person we meet, but most of the time I failed miserably on that account.  Occasionally, I would see a suffering soul -- an alcoholic, a homeless person, someone suffering from hunger or poverty -- and I would see the suffering Jesus.  But on a day to day basis, especially when I worked with some difficult people, I simply did not know how to "see Jesus" in them. 

However, recently, I spent some time with someone whose values and views on life had often clashed with my own, someone I had resented at times for her obsession with Hollywood and tv stars and their lives.  While she was talking to me about the recent death of a Hollywood star, I suddenly recalled Maria Skobtsova's quotation -- and I saw in my friend an "icon" of God.  Jesus is the "exact Image" of the invisible God -- and we are partial, totally inexact, and poorly representational images of the invisible God --- but images nevertheless.  A person can give to others only what she herself possesses, and whatever God has given to any of His creatures is a part of who He is and what He possesses. 

So through our eyes, others can see God, and God can see us.  Sort of changes the way we see things, I think.  Tomorrow, God willing, and computer cooperating, I will write about one of my favorite "icons" of God  -- Flannery O'Connor.