The reading from the Book of Wisdom is familiar to anyone who has been to Catholic funerals as it is one of several Hebrew Scriptures which may be used for the Liturgy of Christian Burial.
The reading begins by reminding us that we have been made in the image of God. The word “image” can cause us some difficulty if we think that it means that we look like God. Because God is Spirit, God’s image has no form. So being made in God’s image means something far more profound and far more important than the simple notion that we look like God. It is really rather foolhardy to spend time thinking about what God looks like.
We can, however, contemplate the nature of God. Properly understood, God’s nature is the image in which we have been made. When we think about God’s nature, several words come to mind immediately, words that were used God used to describe who God is. God is slow to anger, full of loving kindness, merciful and compassionate. In addition, God keeps the promise of the covenant relationship with God’s chosen ones. These are just some of the things that are part of God’s image.
It follows, therefore, that to be made in God’s image means that we too were created to be slow to anger, full of loving kindness, merciful and compassionate. We too were created to be faithful to our covenant with God.
Sin has marred that image. However, through Jesus the image of God has been restored in humanity and God once again dwells with the people.
When we enter into a contemplative relationship with God, we will discover God’s image; for, as St. Clare has told us in her letters to St. Agnes, contemplation is nothing more than gazing into God’s image as if we were gazing into a mirror. When we discover God’s image in that mirror, it becomes our responsibility to restore that image in our own lives. In other words, contemplating God’s image leads us to conversion of life as we try to restore the image in which we were created.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator