Faces of God

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Book of Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.

I was thinking the other day about the last time I looked at someone straight in the eyes and noticed his/her face in detail: the color of the eyes, the straight or crooked smile, etc.  Sadly, I  find myself so deep in my own thoughts that I don't pay very close attention.  I'm afraid if police requested I provide a description for a composite sketch I couldn't  remember the details of the criminal.  Amazing how something as unique as a human face can go unnoticed, especially when we associate with the same people day in and day out.

The human face is a beautiful creation by God.  I find it interesting how facial features carry on from one generation to the next.  My one year old niece has my mom's nose, round face, and big eyes.  In fact, all of the women on my mother's side of the family look so much alike!  

I often wonder if Jesus' facial features looked similar to Mary's?  

Faces of God.  We all put on a "face" depending on our emotional state.  We smile when we are happy to see someone.  We scowl at the person who cuts us off in traffic.  Tears stream down our faces after we receive terrible news.  Our faces light up in laughter after hearing a funny joke.  Occasionally, the poker face shows up when we don't want to let on some insider knowledge.

I came across a couple of beautiful quotes relating to the faces of God.  They are quite profound and pertinent to our a Lenten observance:

The first quote is from Francois Fenelon from the book  "The Complete Fenelon" (Chapter 5 False and Real Humility).

You wait to be familiar till God shows a smiling face.  But I tell you that if you will open your heart thoroughly to him, you will cease to trouble yourself about the particular experience of his face.  Let him turn a severe and displeased countenance upon you as much as he will, he never loves you more than when he threatens.  For he threatens only to test, to humble, to detach souls from themselves.

The second quote is from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI relating to Jesus' Passion, featured meditation for Sunday, March 15th in "Magnificat."

Let us pause...to contemplate his disfigured face:  it is the face of the Man of Sorrows, who took upon himself the burden of all our mortal anguish.  His face is reflected in that of every person who is humiliated and offended, sick and suffering, alone, abandoned, and despised.  Pouring out his blood, he has rescued us from the slavery of death, he has broken the solitude of our tears, he has entered into our every grief and our every anxiety.

The next time you talk with someone, admire  their face as a fellow child of God. Smile and look kindly on the person's uniqueness.  Moreover, the next time you pray, thank the Lord for his "smiling face" in in the gifts he grants us every day.  But also remember the "disfigured face" of Christ crucified who died for our salvation.

-J.