Embracing Oneself as an Icon

Just as an icon is a sacred image filled with the Holy Spirit; a window into heaven that can portray a person (Theotokos), an event (The Washing of the Feet), or a doctrine (Rublev’s Trinity), we too are sacred images filled with the Holy Spirit.  We were created in God’s beautiful image.  And as Christians following Christ’s Way of Love, we are the face of not only The Church, but also of God.

When we pray with icons, we look beyond the veil in an effort to dwell in the divine presence of the triune God.  When we live Christ’s Way of Love, we encourage others to look beyond that veil as well.

Embracing oneself as a religious icon should not intimate perfection.  Only Jesus was perfect.  We are sinners, beloved with our flaws and our brokenness.  Our wholeness is in God, through Christ.  Just as material icons are written with many layers of paint and prayers, our selves as icons also contain many layers; layers of pain, joy, prayer, blessing, suffering, love, reconciliation, and humility…. humanity in all of its myriad possibilities.

The beauty is in the possibility.  We are all beloved, unconditionally.  We have been gifted with the free will to share God’s love, to know belovedness and to make it known. We are icons of God’s love.  And a Godly community of love is possible.

In his poem Dark Night, St. John of the Cross refers to a light that is only of God:

I went without my sight
Without a light to guide
Except the heart that lit me from inside.

This light, the light of Christ, can not only guide us as we contemplate Christ and navigate the ideological cacophony of present-day, but it can also guide others through us. We can share the light of Christ through prayer, through action, and through love, The Way of Love.  This light is our illumination and we are icons, sacred symbols of God’s word and God’s love.

In six weeks, we will enter the season of Lent—the lengthening of light. We will contemplate our rootedness in Christ, our capacity to weather life’s challenges, and our growth as bearers of Christ’s light.  Christ’s light helps us to grow.  Look in the mirror.  What do you see?  I see Christ’s Light, ready to shine—through you.

I Am
By Angela Furlong

I am
God’s beloved creation
Broken… flawed… beautiful
A window
To God’s Word
God’s Sacraments
God’s