In His Image and Likenessby
John Champoux |
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'Icon'
is the Greek word for 'image'. With the first occurrence of 'image'
in the Bible we learn that God has created us "in our (the
triune God's) image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). But when
sin entered the world, although we retained the 'image', we lost
our 'likeness' to God. Christ has however, in the patience and humility
and loving-kindness of God, come in the flesh to restore this likeness
by revealing to us His image, as we read in Paul's second letter
to the Corinthians:"For God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus"
(4:6). And, in the same letter, St. Paul also declares that, in
our coming face to face with the 'image' of Christ (whether it be
verbally in Scripture or visually in the icon), His likeness in
us becomes our likeness in Him: "But we all, beholding the
glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same
image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord" (3:18).
All ignorance is cast off in the hearing and singing of the Liturgy,
just as all obscurity is cast off in the seeing of the icons; and
so, with sin confessed and conscience unburdened, with ears blessed
by the hearing of Scripture and eyes blessed by the seeing of icons,
we are truly free to come forward to partake of the revelation of
this mysterious Eucharist who is Christ Himself. Then, from deep
within ourselves as we return from the altar, we hear in the words
of St. John, as if for the first time, this ultimate promise of
likeness to Christ: "Dearly beloved, we are now the children
of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that
when he shall appear we shall be like him; because we shall see
him as he is" (1 Jn. 3:2). 