Posted on 03/06/2023 6:01:13 AM PST by Carpe Cerevisi
On this first Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the restoration of icons centuries ago in the Byzantine Empire. They were banned due to a misguided fear of idolatry, but restored as a proclamation of how Christ calls us to participate in His salvation in every dimension of our existence. The icons convey the incarnation of the God-Man, Who had to have a human body in order to be born, live in this world, die, rise from the grave, and ascend into heaven. Were any aspect of his humanity an illusion, we could not become “partakers of the divine nature” through Him. Icons of the Theotokos and the Saints display our calling to become radiant with holiness by uniting ourselves to Christ as whole persons, including how we use food, drink, money, sex, natural resources, and every other dimension of the physical creation.
Today’s commemoration reminds us that our Lenten journey is not an escapist distraction from our world of corruption. Quite the opposite, for the icons provide a lens for seeing our struggle to find healing for our brokenness in the brilliant light of the Lord Who enables us all to shine in holiness. The God-Man shares His salvation of the human person with us not so that we can retreat from the grave challenges of living faithfully, but so that even the deepest struggles of our lives may become points of entrance into the blessedness of His Kingdom.
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