Christ beneath me,
Christ above me…
The Lorica of Saint Patrick (St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer)
Have you ever noticed where people look?
Some people seem to be staring off into space, always looking up as though lost in a daydream. Others we might characterize as downcast, often keeping their gaze toward the ground and only glancing up occasionally to speak or interact as needed.
One could make a strong argument that our instinct to look away, either up or down, rather than maintaining eye contact with one another, says a lot about our own insecurity and inability to be fully present and engaged in the moment. In general, I would agree. As a society we do need to be far more intentional about being fully present with one another.
From another angle, we could use scripture to argue which is better, to look up or down. Colossians 3:2 says to set our minds on things above and not on the things of earth, while on the other hand, Psalm 119:105 tells us that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet. So which is it. Do we look up to heaven, or do we focus on the path God lights up right in front of our feet? Some people spend so much time gazing up toward heaven, metaphorically speaking, that they end up making very little difference in the world around them. After all, they might argue, “The things of earth are passing away,” so why bother with them at all (1 John 2:17, 1 Corinthians 7:31). Others recognize God’s call to be good stewards of creation and to work for justice and mercy so that the Kingdom may be fulfilled “on earth as it is in heaven.” Yet we can just as easily become so embroiled in the despair and apparent hopelessness of the world that all of our efforts to make a difference feel like an exercise in futility. Without a heavenly perspective, the world may very well consume us.
What if it’s not so absolute? I’ll leave it to the psychologists to analyze all of the subconscious implications of looking up or down, but for now I would argue that no matter our natural inclinations, God invites us too look up AND down. Keeping an eye on heaven, we find the hope we need to proclaim the Good News on earth while keeping an eye on earth reminds us why such hope matters in the first place. Heaven is not an escape from the earth, it is the radical transformation and restoration of the earth and indeed of all creation.
If the Kingdom of God were a skyscraper, it would be built upside down. We look up to the eternity to lay solid foundations that will never crumble, but we build “upside down” as it were, so that the pinnacle of heaven’s towers reach all the way down to the earth so that God’s “penthouse suite” becomes readily accessible to all people. Like the New Jerusalem, God never shuts the gates (Revelation 21:25). The Kingdom is never out of reach, no matter how low we find ourselves in life.
Perhaps the most important thing we can take from all of this is that no matter which direction our gaze tends to fall, we will always be missing something if we only ever look in one direction. Christ above us… Christ beneath us… Christ before us… Christ behind us…
Always looking in one direction, whether up or down, will give you a kink in the neck. Maybe it’s time to stretch. Maybe Christ is saying to those who are downcast, “Hey, look, I’m UP here.” At the same time, Christ may be saying to those who are lost in the dream of heaven, “Hey, look, I’m DOWN here.”
Which way is God calling you to look right now? Whether above or beneath, Christ’s invitation is the same… “Come, follow me.”
Reflections:
1. Which direction do you find yourself looking more often, up or down? Why might that be?
2. Do you tend to see Christ more clearly when looking up toward heaven or when looking down at the path right in front of you? How?
3. Where do you most need to see Christ in your life right now? Beneath you, guiding your steps? Or above you, giving you hope for the journey?
Our journey through St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer continues next week:
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left…