the icon…

A few days ago, I was on a prayer retreat with some coworkers. We went to the Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California, one of the most wonderful places I have ever been to. In addition to the brisk yet sunny weather, sensational sunsets and the 5-minute commute to the beach, their monastery is a piece of architectural genius, designed with the utmost care, artistic detail, and worship for their Lord and Saviour.(Pause for a moment. Check out the icon of Jesus on the front page of their website. Give it a glance for a good 60 seconds. Be inductive with it; what do you notice? What strikes you? How does it draw you to Jesus?)

Every day of my 4-day prayer retreat in Oceanside, I would end up in the abbey church. As you enter from the rear, you can’t help but notice this icon in the front; it, quite literally, is the focus of the building. And each time I entered the church, I was drawn more and more to that intense icon. I started noticing the shapes around Jesus and the book in his right hand. I noticed some of the words and letters that weren’t in English. I was curious, and all my curiosity was satisfied when the Abbott of the monastery (the big boss man) gave our group a tour of the premises, including the church.

I was fascinated by everything, but I was impatiently waiting for the Abbott to explain the icon, and when it was time, I was so excited. And as he explained, I found myself getting lost in it. I actually zoned out a few times because the Abbott would say something, and then point to it on the icon, and then I would just stare and think about that one thing for so long, I would miss him describing 3 other things. It was one of the more interesting, yet profound worship experiences I have ever had. And no joke, by the end of the presentation, I wanted to kneel before the icon and just sit there in adoration and reverence.

Though I cannot even come close to explaining to you all that struck me, I’ve put together a list of 5 things about the icon (and, thus, about Jesus) that captured my attention:

1. On each of the four corners are the 4 winged creatures that sat at the throne of God in Revelation (4.7). It has been said that each is a symbol for the gospel writers: the man symbolizes Matthew and his emphasis on the humanity of Jesus; the bull symbolizes Luke and his focus on Jesus being the perfect sacrifice; the lion is for Mark and his introduction being about John, the lion roaring from the wilderness, and the eagle is for John and the way his gospel starts with Jesus in heaven as the eternal Word.
2. Jesus’ body is inside a circle, representing the universe and his presence in it. His cross, however, extends beyond that universe, demonstrating that his presence, power, and reign is beyond our universe in a place and time much beyond our understanding.
3. Jesus’ robe is made up entirely of triangles or triangulated shapes, signifying the perfect relationship between himself, his Father, and the Holy Spirit.
4. The capital letters alpha (his right) and omega (his left) signifying that he is the beginning and the end, and therefore eternal, unbounded by time, that with which we measure our finiteness.
5. On the bottom, the cross separates 2 pieces of broken chain. On the sides of each broken chain piece are 2 Greek letters that spell out the word nika, meaning victorious. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection freed us from the bondage of sin and death and signaled victory of he who has the power of death, the devil

Like I said, there’s so much more, but I can’t even remember it all.

But as much as so many of these intricate details had me amazed, what amazed me the most is that these monks had a clear idea of what it meant for a work of art to lead them into worship. I mean, this icon is simply amazing. Not only is it theologically accurate, but it is aesthetically pleasing. In his white robes, Jesus looks amazing, and all the details with the symbols on the corners and the lines are done in such a way that there is a lot going on, but you don’t feel like anything is in the way. Everything in the icon is there for a purpose, and serves that purpose with tactfulness and depth. And when these monks look at it (and their whole church, for that matter), they know that they are in the presence of God. Looking around their church, it’s pretty easy to meditate on Jesus and worship Him because everything there points to him being King.

From what the Abbott was telling us, the architects and designers took their job very seriously and went through great pains to make sure that everything about the layout of the church would point to Jesus, right down to the fact that the water line of the water that Jesus’ feet is in is supposed to match up with the water line of the Pacific Ocean, which can be seen out of the large panoramic windows on either side of the church. It’s that intentional. It’s that thoughtful. It’s that worshipful. I mean, isn’t that how Moses put together the elements for worship and how Solomon built the temple? Intricate fabrics and detailed wood-carving was very clearly mandated by Jehovah at times, and I’m pretty sure he was intending for it to be done. He wasn’t just giving out instructions as a suggested guideline. He had a vision, and he wanted for it to become real.

Today, our art is supposed to function the same way. It should demonstrate a level of intention, thought, and prayer. Sounds simple, I know. And I think we are great at the first two of those things. But have you ever taken God’s instructions on what colors to use, or what rhythm to sing, or what words to say? Does that sound too ludicrous? Consider this: God wanted for the people of Israel to be able to worship him, so he inspired artists with his Spirit to be able to make the things that would constitute these elements of worship. Well, here we are, several thousand years later, and God still wants to be praised and worshiped, so won’t his artists serve the same function now that they did then? Of course, it will look different. Of course, we won’t be making arks or tunics or temples. But it is most certainly the case that people should be able to enter into the presence of God because of our art and know that he is amazing, wonderful, and worth giving all their life to him. People should be led into worship, just like they were when they got to the temple. But how are we going to know what leads people to worship God without having God tell us?

Is your art prayerful? Is it from God, or from you? Lately, I’ve become okay with my decreased output of music because I want for everything I write to come out of my dialog with God. I can write a ton of stuff that’s irrelevant to our dialog, which makes it pretty irrelevant in general. But the things him and I talk about have a lot more significance to both of us, thus giving listeners more of a chance to get to know God through me talking about what him and I talk about. In other words, I’m hoping that the peek I’m giving people into my relationship with God leads them to a deeper relationship with God also.

But that means you and I need to have a good one…interesting. Happy New Year :p