Hear, O heavens, & give ear, O earth (Reprise)

Icons are wonderful. They are used for prayer & for teaching; hence they employ a certain standard “grammar” as to how stories are told & how things are portrayed, which makes entry into their mysteries more accessible. Most Catholics will recoil at this, but wild experimentation is forbidden, except for master iconographers who are able to progress this form of sacred art within the stream of Tradition. We must enter into their world, not twist & distort them to fit ours.

This particular icon is pretty easy to enter into. It is a “store-bought” Russian triptych of the Annunciation & the Nativity. There is a lot to ponder here.

With the doors closed, we see the angel Gabriel – the power of God – approaching Mary. Wings whooshing & feet striding, the angel carries the staff of God’s authority, his hand outstretched to impart an urgent message. The angel interrupts a surprised but receptive Mary while knitting, perhaps recalling Job 10:11+…

Thou didst clothe me with skin & flesh, & knit me together with bones & sinews. Thou hast granted me life & steadfast love; & thy care has preserved my spirit. Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart; I know that this was thy purpose.

Kings David & Solomon look on from above. The promise God made to them to establish their house forever will be fulfilled in Mary’s child, born of the house of David. The closed doors are a reminder of how the Old Israel waited for the fulfillment of the Divine promises & the endless possibilities of the Divine Love.

As the triptych unfolds, so does the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for us. There is much more to ponder here than is possible in this brief space.

Hear, O heavens, & give ear, O earth: the ox & ass of Isaiah 1 have finally found their master – the Lord of a new Creation. God has finally raised up a son among men that will not disown or rebel against him. The Blessed Mother rests on a curious red cushion, her head tilted in deference to her son. The child, wrapped in bands of cloth, lies in a sarcophagus-like – or is it an altar-like? – manger within the darkness of the cave – surely a prefigurement of the sacrificial death for which he was born to endure. Abp. Sheen says that Jesus was the only man who lived his life backwards: he died first to enter into a life of glory. So even here at his birth, the iconographer calls our attention to the death of Jesus. The lesson? As glorious as the Nativity is, it is not his birth through which we have our salvation.

The angels singing Gloria!, the astrologers bearing their gifts, & the shepherds herding their sheep all make their appearance. Did you notice that no one’s hands are visible? They are all hidden in the folds of their garments. Humility? Respect? Awe in the presence of the Divine?

Above, the spiritual realm breaks into the earthly one; a beam of grace descends on the child & provides the guiding light for all.

Rejoice, the Lord is near.