Hi,
The True Image!
Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a graven
image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth".
One of the things that puzzles many people about the
Catholic Faith is how we can have statues or icons in
our Church while retaining this commandment in our
Bible. The answer is found in the mystery of the
Incarnation. The constant temptation of paganism was
to confuse things which remind us of God with God
himself. And so a whole host of creatures was
worshiped by pagan antiquity (and by modern
post-Christian paganism). But, as C.S. Lewis remarks
of Israel, it was the destiny of that nation to be
turned from the likeness to the Reality. And so, all
short
cuts (like physical images) were denied them by this
commandment, because they were being prepared, not for
the revelation of a God without an image, but for the
revelation of Jesus, who is the true "image of the
invisible God" (Col 1:15). When that image came and
God stamped his likeness on the human face of Jesus,
the prohibition was transfigured. It is still true
that no image can be worshiped. But it is even truer
that images are now a participation in the light of
God, shining through the Incarnate God who is Jesus
Christ. Saints, who are members of his body, are now
windows into God, not barriers to his light or cheap
Brand X substitutes for his glory. Therefore, in
honoring their images (not worshipping them), we honor
(not worship) the saints they represent and in
honoring the saints, we honor their Lord, who is the
True Image of God.
love n prayers,
Josachayan / Saudi Arabia
**************************************************
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
**********************************************************************
This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list.
To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To know more about Jesus Youth, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org
**********************************************************************
