Monday, November 6, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 358 – Part I.
(Youcat
answer) In order to protect the mystery of God and to set the people of Israel
apart from the idolatrous practices of the pagans, the First Commandment said,
“You shall not make for yourself a graven image” (Ex 20:4). However, since God
himself acquired a human face in Jesus Christ, the prohibition against images
was repealed in Christianity; in the Eastern Church, Icons are even regarded as
sacred.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2141) The veneration of sacred images is based on the
mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. It is not contrary to the first
commandment. (CCC 2129) The divine injunction included the prohibition
of every representation of God by the hand of man. Deuteronomy explains: "Since you saw no form on the day that
the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you
act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any
figure...." (Deut 4:15-16). It is the absolutely transcendent God who
revealed himself to Israel. "He is the all," but at the same time
"he is greater than all his works" (Sir 43:27-28). He is "the
author of beauty" (Wis 13:3).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) The knowledge of the patriarchs of Israel
that God surpasses everything (transcendence) and is much greater than anything
in the world lives on today in Judaism as in Islam, where no image of God is or
ever was allowed. In Christianity, in light of Christ’s life on earth, the
prohibition against images was mitigated from the fourth century on and was
abolished at the Second Council of Nicaea (787). By his Incarnation, God is no
longer absolutely unimaginable; after Jesus we can picture whathe is like: “He
who has seen me has seen the Fath” (Jn 14:9).
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2130)
Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the
making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate
Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the
cherubim (Cf. Num 21:4-9; Wis 16:5-14; Jn 3:14-15; Ex 25:10-22; 1 Kings
6:23-28; 7:23-26).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment