Monica Volpin (photo credit)
From Augustine to Gregory of Nyssa and Phillip, the apostle, and all the seekers in between, it seems that everyone wants to see God. Phillip turns to the Lord and asks Jesus what you and I might ask; “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” (John 14:8, RSV). We are yearning for something, someone who is more than ourselves. And as St. Augustine concludes, “Our hearts are restless until they rest with thee.” (The Confessions)
St. Gregory, whose brother St. Basil is more well-known, says that the search for the face of God is like a man who has struggled up a mountain, gets to the top and in the clarity of the moment realizes that he has made it. At the peak he is giddy with the accomplishment and dizzy in the thin air. So he stands there light-headed from looking up and then down to the valley from which s/he has come.
The seeker who has wrested with ego and withstood the attacks of the evil one, carries the cross in Jesus’ name, but has s/he reached he pinnacle of purity of heart?. Does s/he “see” God?
Each human heart is a towering mountain. It’s foothills are tangled with the brush of mixed motives and the shattered remnants of good deeds. Our searching hearts are stymied by the clouds of life and we drop our hands in sadness that we can’t know Him as we desire. Yet, we will not keep seeking Him.
“Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). Who is pure enough to see God? Nevertheless, Jesus tells you that you and I will see God and experience blessedness. Blessedness is the quest of every human heart. We want it and crave it as we search the foothills and valleys of our our lives and struggle up, always up the mountain.
St. Gregory says that in scripture “seeing” God means having Him. Somehow we possess Him like the climber who attains her/his goal but stands there unable to deal with the dizzying sublimity of what s/he sees.
Still, you and I, in prayer search the skies and the depths but, we can’t see Him. Augustine finally says we should look inside where again we stand on the mountain top aching for the sight of Him. That aching, that yearning means that we are not far from the kingdom of God.