Image & Freedom Rev. T. Spidlik, SJ Translated by Fr. Vit Fiala, OFM

Living faith always knows the meaning of a personal relationship with God with whom believers try to have a free relationship. This is one of the reasons why non-believers consider religion to be non-scientific and thus deny the existence of God. Science concerns itself only with the laws of physics and logic. Ancient thinkers considered the Gospels “non-philosophical”. They would not deny the existence of God but rather defined him as eternal idea or unmistakable law of the universe. In contrast, Christians proclaim, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” St. Paul says that Christ brought to us a revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages, but now manifested…” (Rom 16:25).

The mystery was first portended in the Old Testament. The first comparison of the Scripture with philosophy took place before Christianity in Alexandria, where one of the greatest Jewish philosophers, Philo, lived and worked. He introduced the Greek translation of the Old Testament to his fellow scholars in order to familiarize them with the existence of the Jewish philosophical tradition. Philo’s colleagues derided him because the Scriptures portrayed an image of a God who listens to people, is appeased with their sacrifices and answers their prayers. All these qualities of God opposed their understanding of the nature of God. In their minds God was an absolute idea, an eternal immutable, principle elevated above the changeable world. How could Philo respond? He only wanted to illustrate to them that material philosophy and science, which they considered noble, actually kill the human spirit. If God is not free, human beings, who are created in the image of God, cannot be free. And what kind of human being is a man without freedom?

Christians have the complete answer. Jesus taught his disciples the “Our Father” and at the same time commanded; “Be perfect as my Father is perfect”, (Mt 5:48). It is not pride nor presumption, but a privilege to cooperate in the revelation that the basic principle of the universe is not only a physical and logical necessity but is, above all, freely-given love. Therefore, in the Byzantine liturgy, just before the recitation of the Creed, the deacon invites people with these words: “Let us love one another so we can profess…” Then follows the profession of faith: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty...”

II

"Who has at least a little common sense would not dare to call God his Father unless he assumes His likeness."

- St. Gregory of Nyssa

The Eastern Fathers of the Church often pondered the nature of the connection between a form and an image. This link is the foundation of an allegory: things, perceived by the senses, are copies of eternal forms. In general, people of the West are interested in the causality of things, i.e. the identity of an agent and a result. In contrast, the people of the East primarily seek the meaning of reality – the image of things. In this scenario one thing appears to be of primary importance; the human being has dominion over the material world, therefore he is the image of God. Pondering this mystery, the Fathers presented various commentaries on the text of Genesis (1:26-27) about man being created in the image and likeness of God. It is not the same to say that “man is an image of God”, or that “man is created according to the image of God.” The Fathers always preferred the latter explanation. The primary and perfect image of God is Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4); man is created according to this image and thus he is “an image of the Image.” The moral teaching resulting from this statement is simplified. Plato stated that man should imitate God, Who is the archetype of perfection. Plato further recognized that this is arduous because God is invisible. St. Ireneus does not doubt that the form according to which Adam was created is Christ Himself, the God-man. It is only through Christ that man can resemble “the invisible God – through the visible Word, which was made flesh and dwelt among us” (see John, 1). Since Christ incarnated Himself into a human body, all matter and material reality are empowered to become divine and thus spiritual in a new and perfect sense, a sense of which the idealists could not conceive. The text of the modern theologian Evdokimov expresses it; “That which distinguishes man from angel is the reality that man is created in the image of the Incarnation; that which is purely “spiritual” is now incarnated and penetrates all created nature with its vivifying energies.” Makarios the Great explains the beginning of “the union with God, as if one is begotten of God, and as one who already dwells in God and in the divine world, like those who are already transplanted into the future age.” The Fathers speak of the “divinization” of man using the vocabulary of Plato, but they clarify that this divinization is the same divine “son-ship” revealed in Scripture.

III

"Man received the dignity of God’s image at his first creation; but that the perfection of his likeness has been reserved for the consummation – namely, that he might acquire it for himself by the exercise of his own diligence in the imitation of God.”

- Origen

Material images are immovable. The human being, on the contrary, is a living image of the living God. To express the dynamics of such an artistic work of the Creator, Origenes, as well as a great part of the Eastern Tradition after him, used two Biblical words (Gen 1:26-27): image and likeness. This was their way in responding to Gnosticism, a heresy of their time. Gnostics used to classify people into different categories. People could not move beyond these categories until their death. For instance, a person born with an attraction to material things, always remained materialist, and a spiritually oriented person always acted in a spiritual way. On the one hand, it seems psychologically sound on the other hand there is a problem. This belief denies the effectiveness of divine mercy and the power of the free human will. Moreover, St. Paul exhorts all people to a spiritual growth, “until Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19). Jacob’s vision of the ladder, on which angels ascend to and from heaven (Gn. 28:12) became a traditional symbol of spiritual progress, especially among the Syrian Fathers.

Continuous ascent presents two dangers: 1. To advance into a higher step without passing through previous steps, for instance, trying to experience mystical prayer without practicing brotherly love. 2. To think that lower steps do not apply to us any more, since we have achieved a higher step, for instance, to neglect obligations of one’s vocation and just dedicate oneself to the practice of “transcendental prayer”.

How then, do we make progress? In the lives of saints we often read about immediate conversion, a radical change of life under the influence of powerful experience. Perhaps, we may remember similar cases such as someone returning completely changed from a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Preachers and spiritual directors suggest to those making a retreat to fully engage in spiritual exercises, enter them completely, and to return changed. This advice concerning our effort is well meant. However, common daily experience teaches us that divine grace resembles a seed planted in the garden of the human heart – it grows slowly from smaller to greater things. In this way we live to a “greater glory of God”.