I turn to this icon again and again. It is called the Mandylion, the cloth upon which Jesus imprinted his face when King Abgar requested Jesus to come and heal him. I am drawn to this icon because Jesus looks at us squarely, as if he is looking in-to us. If his eyes are ever so slightly to the side, it's because that's where we try to hide in false persona, excuses or distraction. Did you ever try to hide behind a classmate so the teacher wouldn't call on you?
Jesus said, "What can I say that the men of this generation are like—what sort of men are they? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other, 'We played at weddings for you, but you wouldn't dance, and we played at funerals for you, and you wouldn't cry!' For John the Baptist came in the strictest austerity and you say he is crazy. Then the Son of Man came, enjoying food and drink, and you say, 'Look, a drunkard and a glutton, a bosom-friend of the tax-collector and the outsider!' So wisdom is proved right by all her children!" Luke 7: 31-35
Jesus knows how we are — how much time we spend assessing, evaluating and judging other people. We can know nothing of what's going on in someone else's life — their story and the troubles they have, the burdens they carry, the sorrows they bear — and it doesn't stop us from appraising them. Jesus calls out every generation that disregards both John and himself based on outer appearances. He won't have it. The Gospel and the icon say effectively, "As far as God is concerned (wisdom) it's what's inside that matters." Religion that leaves us on the level of outside appearances and performances has failed.
By your Gospel Word and
before your holy Mandylion icon
by which Abgar was made whole,
it's as if you are looking right through me.
O Christ, my Savior.
Heal me from the inside out.
