Today’s question is one I don’t expect you’ll be able to answer directly. It’s one you may need to think about, meditate about; maybe, even pray about. My question is this: What is the difference between an “icon” and an “idol?”
If you’re under the age of twenty-five, the first thought you might have is that an “icon” is the little image on your computer screen you click on in order to launch a new program. And an “idol” is someone like Lance Armstrong. Or part of the name of a reality entertainment program. Our lives have been filled with many “idols.” Usually they’re drawn from the entertainment or sports world. On the other hand, “icons” are few and far between. Movie and music stars are more in evidence than Mother Theresa types.
Yes, the Mother Theresa image actually represents, more closely, what I believe is the true meaning of “icon.” Both icons and idols are images: models of behavior, signs of what – or who – we honor; what – or who – we choose to follow. An icon is an image which draws us upwards; towards what is good and noble. An idol is an image which propels us downwards: towards what is evil and base.
In today’s Second Reading, Saint Paul spoke of “the greed that is idolatry.” He also spoke of putting on the new self, which is to be the image, the icon, of its creator. The image for us to follow is either that of the idol of greed or the icon of Christ.
● The idol of greed which says: “I have everything I need, but I want to get even more from others.”
● The icon of Christ who says: “I have everything I need, and I want to share it with others.”
Few of us here, today, would admit to being greedy or of desiring to bow down to an idol of greed. When we think about the image of such an idol, we – who have been well-trained with the images of Walt Disney – we usually picture one of two types of greed. On the one side, there is the overweight king, dressed in royal robes sitting on piles of gold, with precious gems running between his fingers. On the other side, there is the skinny miser, dressed in ragged clothes, counting out his coins beside a flickering candle. Neither picture represents me; therefore, I cannot be called “greedy.” Can I?
But what is the reality of greed? After all, surely it’s acceptable for me to want a good life and be entitled to an even better one. What’s wrong with wanting to get a little more than I now have? Is it “greedy” for me, if I’m older, to desire security and a happy, old age. One in which I’m not dependent on MediCare or other government handouts. A life where I do not need to depend on the kindness of relatives and friends, a life where I am self-reliant?
Is it “greedy” for me, if I’m younger, to desire owning the latest electronic gadgets? Am I not entitled, if I can afford it or, if my credit card is not yet maxed out, to buy a cell phone that takes photos as well as voice mail and text messages? What about an I-pod? Is it an “icon” or an “idol” for the modern age?
However, the question of “icon” or “idol” is not really about any particular thing I might want to buy. Rather, the basic question is: are my desires, the images I follow in my life, “Icons” or “idols?”
Perhaps a hint of an answer comes from answers to another set of questions – questions about the result of the image. Does the image I follow make me a better person? One who is sensitive to the needs of others. One who is willing to help others? One who is “other-centered?” Or — does the image I follow make me a “self-centered” person? One who demands that the rest of the world revolves around me? A universe where I am the sun and everyone else a mere planet or maybe even “planetoids?” Does the universe of which I am a part bear any resemblance to reality or does it consist of mere vapors and mists?
For this, after all, is what the poet known as Qoheleth or Ecclesiastes spoke about in our first reading, when he used the term “vanity.” Vanity. Vapors, mists, emptiness. We labor throughout our lives but cannot take anything with us. Instead, we must leave it for others who did not work for it. Our efforts become as smoke blown by the wind. A mere vanity of vanities.
Jesus spoke, in a similar manner, to his friends to whom he told a parable about a rich man who planned for more. We are reminded that we may attempt to construct more storehouses for our belongings; all those purchases we believe are essential now and in the distant future when, in reality, we can take no stored-up treasures with us when we stand before God other than the non-physical riches which do matter to God: our actions.
Our actions
● when we helped others,
● when we cared for others,
● when we loved our neighbor.
The choice is ours to make. We can follow the image which is merely an idol tempting us downwards: an idol of smoke and vapor, a hollow, empty idol. Or each one of us can, in fact, become an image for others. An image of faith, hope and charity for others. Each one of us is called to be a Christian. Each one of us is called to become an icon of Christ.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time; August 1, 2004
Eccl 1:2; 2: 21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21