December 28, 2016

 John 1:16-18

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. 

Seeing

We are physical beings who express our loves and lives through outward signs and symbols that speak the truth within us.

Through even the smallest signs and symbols, we are touched by the heart of another and receive the love and blessing that fill us with joy … or which simply quiet our hearts in simple knowing.

What we see fills us with the reality of what cannot be seen. Theologians call it kataphatic, physical signs from the created order bear God’s own being into our own so that we may know without seeing.

We see Jesus, an infant in Mary’s arms. He heals and blesses. He feeds a multitude. He receives the wounded hearts of those who crave a welcoming embrace from a Love beyond them.

He breaks bread and gives it to friends, saying, ‘This is my body, my life, my heart … the very heart of God.’

A sign, a symbol that cuts straight to our hearts bearing the Love from whom all creation flows.

We see … and know we are enveloped in a Love we will never understand. All we can do is say … ‘thank you,’ and find signs and symbols to say what can never truly be said. 

Pr. David L. Miller