The Gaze of God
- BISHOP ROBERT BARRON
What is it about a face? When we meet someone, we study that person's face.
The face gives away the soul. We can read so much in a person's facial expression. So much of the texture of what she's thinking, feeling, and experiencing can be sensed in the face. When we want to be honest and direct, we look someone in the face. When we resolve to meet a difficult situation, we face up to it.
On other hand, standing before the face of another can be threatening and shaming, but also sometimes enlivening.
In the book of Numbers, the Lord instructs Moses how he wants the priests to bless the people: "Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: this is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace" (Numbers 6:23-26).
This is all about the face of Yahweh. We often speak about man's search for God. But the thrust here is in a different direction. It is much more interested in God's quest for us. God looks upon us with love and searches us out when we run from him.
Think of Psalm 139 in this context: "Lord, you search me and you know me; you know my resting and my rising; you discern my purpose from afar. Before ever a word is on my lips, you know it, O Lord, through and through…"
Many of us are, despite ourselves, deists. That is, we think of God — if we think of him at all — as a distant force, a creative power indifferent to the world.
But that just isn't biblical religion. God knows us, loves us, searches us out, and makes his face to shine upon us, looking upon us kindly.
Think of the experience of being gazed upon by someone who loves you and whom you love. In that gaze — penetrating, knowing, benign — you find, not oppression, but joy and peace. That's how God looks upon you.
This is Meaghen Gonzalez, Editor of CERC. I hope you appreciated this piece. We curate these articles especially for believers like you.
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Acknowledgement
Bishop Robert Barron. "The Gaze of God." Bishop Robert Barron's Lent Reflections (February 2, 2016).
Reprinted with permission of Bishop Robert Barron.
The Author
Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. He is also the host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic Faith, which aired on PBS. Bishop Barron is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and has published numerous books, essays, and articles on theology and the spiritual life. He is a religion correspondent for NBC and has also appeared on FOX News, CNN, and EWTN. Bishop Barron's website, WordOnFire.org, reaches millions of people each year, and he is one of the most-followed Catholics on social media. His regular YouTube videos have been viewed over 150 million times. Bishop Barron's pioneering work in evangelizing through the new media led Francis Cardinal George to describe him as "one of the Church's best messengers." He has keynoted many conferences and events all over the world, including the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland, as well as the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which marked Pope Francis' historic visit to the United States. He is author of Exploring Catholic Theology, And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation, Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master, Heaven in Stone and Glass: Experiencing the Spirituality of the Great Cathedrals, Eucharist (Catholic Spirituality for Adults), The Priority of Christ: Toward a Postliberal Catholicism, and Word on Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ.
