The Church invites us today to consider St. John of Damascus a Priest of the early Church. In Eastern Orthodoxy, St. John of Damascus is especially celebrated for being a defender of the Iconodules. In the early Church there was a debate between the Iconoclasts who held that any sacred image or painting of Jesus, Mary a Saint or anyone else for that matter was a violation of the 2nd Commandment. The 2nd Commandment being "Thou shalt not make a graven image... thou shalt not bow down to them" (See Exodus 20:4,5). St. John of Damascus was a defender of the opposing group called the Iconodules.
In this morning's Daily Office Author James Kiefer wrote the following: "The Iconodules replied that the coming of Christ had radically changed the situation, and that the commandment must now be understood in a new way, just as the commandment to "Remember the Sabbath Day" must be understood in a new way since the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week.
Before the Incarnation, it had indeed been improper to portray the invisible God in visible form; but God, by taking fleshly form in the person of Jesus Christ, had blessed the whole realm of matter and made it a fit instrument for manifesting the Divine Splendor. He had reclaimed everything in heaven and earth for His service, and had made water and oil, bread and wine, means of conveying His grace to men. He had made painting and sculpture and music and the spoken word, and indeed all our daily tasks and pleasures, the common round of everyday life, a means whereby man might glorify God and be made aware of Him. (Note: I always use "man" in the gender-inclusive sense unless the context plainly indicates otherwise.)
Obviously, the use of images and pictures in a religious context is open to abuse, and in the sixteenth century abuses had become so prevalent that some (not all) of the early Protestants reacted by denouncing the use of images altogether. Many years ago, I heard a sermon in my home parish (All Saints' Church, East Lansing, Michigan) on the Commandment, "Thou shalt not make a graven image, nor the likeness of anything in the heavens above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth -- thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them." (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9) The preacher (Gordon Jones) pointed out that, even if we refrain completely from the use of statues and paintings in representing God, we will certainly use mental or verbal images, will think of God in terms of concepts that the human mind can grasp, since the alternative is not to think of Him at all. (Here I digress to note that, if we reject the images offered in Holy Scripture of God as Father, Shepherd, King, Judge, on the grounds that they are not literally accurate, we will end up substituting other images -- an endless, silent sea, a dome of white radiance, an infinitely attenuated ether permeating all space, an electromagnetic force field, or whatever, which is no more literally true than the image it replaces, and which leaves out the truths that the Scriptural images convey. (One of the best books I know on this subject is Edwyn Bevan's Symbolism and Belief, Beacon Press, originally a Gifford Lectures series.) C S Lewis repeats what a woman of his acquaintance told him: that as a child she was taught to think of God as an infinite "perfect substance," with the result that for years she envisioned Him as a kind of enormous tapioca pudding. To make matters worse, she disliked tapioca. Back to the sermon.) The sin of idolatry consists of giving to the image the devotion that properly belongs to God. No educated man today is in danger of confusing God with a painting or statue, but we may give to a particular concept of God the unconditional allegiance that properly belongs to God Himself. This does not, of course, mean that one concept of God is as good as another, or that it may not be our duty to reject something said about God as simply false. Images, concepts, of God matter, because it matters how we think about God. The danger is one of intellectual pride, of forgetting that the Good News is, not that we know God, but that He knows us (1 Corinthians 8:3), not that we love Him, but that He loves us (1 John 4:10)."
James Kiefer continues: "In the East Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional representations are seldom used. The standard icon is a painting, highly stylized, and thought of as a window through which the worshipper is looking into Heaven. (Hence, the background of the picture is almost always gold leaf.) In an Eastern church, an iconostasis (icon screen) flanks the altar on each side, with images of angels and saints (including Old Testament persons) as a sign that the whole church in Heaven and earth is one body in Christ, and unites in one voice of praise and thanksgiving in the Holy Liturgy. At one point in the service, the minister takes a censer and goes to each icon in turn, bows and swings the censer at the icon. He then does the same thing to the congregation -- ideally, if time permits, to each worshipper separately, as a sign that every Christian is an icon, made in the image and likeness of God, an organ in the body of Christ, a window through whom the splendor of Heaven shines forth."
I found this explanation of Icons and the remembrance of St. John of Damascus to mirror what today's Readings are about. In the Old Testament Reading taken from Amos 5:1-17 we hear that God is very upset with Israel for their failure to stand for justice. The terror that God is predicting through the words of the prophet are happening because there is all kinds of injustices taking place and even the religious leaders of the day are not speaking up for those who are oppressed. Unbelievable evils have been taking place all over the country and very few are paying attention or even concerned.
I think God is very concerned about the evils and injustices that take place toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church and society. Over the past eight weeks there has been incredible Spiritual violence shown to LGBT people by religious minded individuals. The Manhattan Declaration, the Anti-homosexuality Bill in Uganda that has been influenced by members of "the Family" and ex-gay ministries from here in the United States. This week The New York Senate Defeated Marriage Equality with the National Organization for Marriage cheering a victory at the expense of lesbian and gay couples. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington threatened to discontinue services to the poor and homeless if the District of Columbia approves of same-sex marriage. And not to be out done The Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland covered up years of children abused by clergy.
I have a serious question in my mind if God is happy about how many in the Church are abusing LGBT people and children. I also do not think God approves of using the poor and neglected as a "playing card" against same-sex marriage. God also does not endorse things like the Manhattan Declaration, nor the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda. When religious leaders and others keep silent about such serious issues, it is a serious sin and it leads to attitudes of apathy and self-righteousness for the religious right. If our lives are to be "icons" of God, then they must reflect our concern for all of God's children.
Interestingly enough today's Gospel is about preparing to be a part of the Wedding Feast of Heaven. In the Gospel of Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells a parable of a King preparing a grand banquet. The Collegeville Bible Commentary in the New Testament Volume on page 893 we read that the concern of the parable is Jesus' opponents. The first group of those offering invitations (the prophets) their invitations were rejected. The offer by the second group those being St. John the Baptist and even Jesus resulted in their execution. The vivid destruction that Jesus refers to is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Because the professed and public religious people refused the invitation of God to God's banquet, the invitation was given to those marginalized by society. However, it is not enough for those on the fringes of society to be called to come to the banquet. To come to the banquet without being willing to take on the work of God to promote a world wide community of God's peace and justice through out society and the Church is to come to the banquet unprepared. The "clean clothing" that the King refers to here is not about the outside, visible garment. It is about how seriously those who have now been invited to participate in the banquet take the call of the King to help transform their own lives and those of the wider community.
We do not get invited to participate in God's kingdom by being good boys and girls. We are also not excluded from the invitation to participate in receiving Holy Communion because of our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression and certainly not because of our relationships with our significant other. We are invited as we are to participate in helping to bring about healing in our own lives as well as participate in the transformation of our own lives as well as those of others to God's kingdom of justice, peace and inclusion for all peoples. God calls us to participate in the mission of Jesus by speaking up on behalf of those who are marginalized, even if those people happen to be us. All of us are invited to help change status quo..
I am very happy today to include two good stories about Uganda. Canon Gideon Byamugishaa Priest of the Anglican Church in Uganda has spoken up and has said: ""I believe that this bill [if passed into law] will be state-legislated genocide against a specific community of Ugandans, however few they may be." There was also a story today about the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams"is said to be in "private" discussions with the Ugandan Anglican Church over the country's proposed anti-homosexuality laws." Let us continue to pray that good things will come from these discussions.
As long as we have breath in this life, we have an opportunity to speak on behalf of those who are experiencing injustice, including ourselves. God has given us the call through our Baptism. When we go to receive Christ in the Eucharist we are invited to become what we are, the Body of Christ. Our lives are "icons" into the love, mercy and justice of God. Let us be beautiful, powerful, a voice of justice for those who feel that they cannot speak up for themselves. Let the window through which people see God in us and our actions be one in which they can marvel at how wonderful God is.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, First Sunday of Advent, Page 211.)
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