These Sunflowers (Helianthus Annuus) are blooming at the retreat house now. They are facing the sun as it rises over the nearby hills. A kind of interface. I found this prayer in an English cathedral when I was a young seminarian:
O Christ our Savior, shed your light upon the path I have to tread, that I may keep it without stumbling and without faltering and come in the end to see you face to face in the heavenly kingdom. Amen.
The words face to face seem to be particularly important: that in my dying and rising with Christ I would experience an interface which will heal me and make me whole. That's why in eastern icons the figures depicted, even though their bodies might be turned, look at the viewer, face to face.
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| Christ Pantocrator ~ Hagia Sophia ~ Istanbul |
When we're dishonest someone might say, look at me or look me in the eye. When we're ashamed, we put our heads down. But in Christ, God has interfaced in light with each of us and all of us. It begins here - this side of heaven.
