"I like your Christ, but..."

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This 13th or 14th century Byzantine icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa type, which means Mother of God ~ Tenderness. Of course, the angels (top left and right) carry the tools which foreshadow his passion, and so we might say the Infant has fled to his Mother in fear.

That fear is often quite evident in icons of this type, but not here - the Mother of God is smiling softly and lacks the pensive, faraway look exhibited in other Eleousa icons. The Holy Child isn't looking skyward in fear of the cross and nail-bearing angels but is clearly fixed on his Mother's face in a very deep and affectionate intimacy.

Mary hugs Jesus dearly to herself. The Holy Child is comfortable in his mother's arms, perhaps pulling himself close before kissing her cheek. To be sure, the icon expresses the intensity of relationship between the Mother and Christ child. 

~ ~ ~

But there is more, as Mary is not divine but she is one of us. And in this marvelous and en-spirited icon, we see God-in-Christ looking into humanity's eyes while dancing in our arms, cheek to cheek, covering us with kisses and embraces, though the worst we can do appears in the sky. 

This is the heart of our believing - the enduring and unchanging dogma. How then could Gandhi have said this of us: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Gandhi said this because the Christians he encountered were the Christians of a ruling empire. And empire, as with any institution, has as its first purpose the preservation of itself at all costs. Often the themes of empire are: disrespect, disregard, plunder, murder and massacre, oppression, condescension, exploitation, superiority and subservience. The shame of Christ's Church is very great indeed.

O Christ our Light,

let us begin again,

with you,

only you ~

who, dancing in our arms,

covers us with

kisses and caresses.