"The Mother of God" - Tobias Haller
Tobias Haller and others will come to think of me as one of his groupies, if I continue to highlight his words and his work on my wee blog. I wonder how he feels about an elderly lady groupie. If you have not done so, you must visit his blog to view the most recent example of his iconography. It is exquisite. I did not post it here, because I want you to go to his website to see it and read his account of writing the icon.
Obviously, that's not St. James pictured above. That's another of his icons, "The Mother of God". If you click on "icons", you will find his other works, all of which are very fine. Tobias says that we are not to look upon an icon as a work of art, but as a reflection of the very presence of God. And I do. I do! But I can't help but admire the face of La Madonna and the beautiful colors and drape of the fabric and the gold leaf in the halo and the manner in which all of it comes together.
The web page links to an article by Tobias titled "How Icons Are Written", and to his sermon on icons titled "Image and Likeness". From the sermon:
So the simple four-letter word icon carries a lot of weight! In the orthodox tradition, an icon is not simply a religious picture intended to remind you of some saint or other. Any more than the Eucharist is simply a memorial celebration for our dear departed friend and teacher Jesus. For just as the Eucharist makes Christ present to us in a very real way, in bread and wine and in our hearts as sisters and brothers gathered in his name, where he has promised he would be in our midst; so too the icon does not simply provoke a memory, but invokes a presence, for the icon is a window into heaven.
Please. Read the whole sermon.
I finish with words from JCF, which I copied from the comments at Tobias' blog:
Once again, Tobias, I stand in awe: actor, composer, iconographer, first-rate Biblical scholar. That you couldn't play Center in the NBA is only fair! ;-) JCF
If we can't be a groupie at our age, when do we get to be one? :-) I'm a firm believer that you are never to old to......
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Elizabeth, you make an excellent point. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm an, um, seasoned Tobias groupie too.
ReplyDeleteSeasoned?
ReplyDeleteMimi, I love icons too, and have a number on the sidebar of my own blog, but when I see them being elevated to the status of "windows into heaven," I do grow a little leery and begin to worry about praying to objects... seems a little too close to idol territory for my own comforts...
ReplyDeleteWE, one looks through the icon as through a window into heaven. One doesn't pray to the icon as though it is an object with power in and of itself. I'm reminded of the response in the Gospel to the question, "When did we see you?" We are to see Jesus in the faces of all those we encounter, but that does not mean that we worship the persons.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone. I once mentioned that I thought an icon would be lovely hanging in a particular spot in our church, and the rector (not my present rector) was horrified.
To me, icons are incarnational helps to the presence of God, who is always with us, but we tend to forget that truth.
I simply love Tobias's work in all its forms. I delight in every trip to his blog and love his reflections. What a scholar he is. Thanks for the beautiful icon for our loving gaze. :)
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't take thing as far as your rector; I think icons can be lovely in church. It's just a fine line to tread...
ReplyDeleteAFeather, I haven't found anything in all of Tobias' work that I don't like. I may not agree with every jot and tittle of what he writes, but it always worth reading.
ReplyDeleteWE, I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, in which some of the folks actually did make idols of statues and pictures, but I never found it difficult to make the distinction myself, and we were taught pretty consistently that the practice was wrong. Some people didn't listen.