Liu Bolin is a Chinese artist famous for his “hiding” series in which he/his subjects sink into the background through remarkably complex camouflage. (You can view many of his works here.)
On Day 4 of my 30 days of silence in the Ignatian Exercises (you can find more about these here), I’ve been drawn to the Bolin photo above. It pictures a family of three hidden in plain sight among Chinese lanterns.
I’ve been drawn to this photo as a result of a second day of meditating on 1) The Spiritual Canticle of Saint John of the Cross (an online version is available here), 2) John 15, and 3) Ps. 139. My spiritual director, Jackie Halstead, urged me to stay with these meditations for a second day, sensing that God had more for me than I had discerned from them after my first day of meditations/prayers.
For me, the three figures above represent the Trinity-Father, Son and Spirit. And I’m meditating on three truths about each:
- Father/ Son/ Spirit are hidden-but in plain sight. The hiddeness of God is the emphasis of the first stanza in the Canticle, when St. John laments, “Where have you hidden, Beloved, and left me moaning?” St. John recognizes that God (Christ is the focus of his Canticle) is often out of view and concealed. Scripture also affirms this. Yet, as David reveals in Ps. 139, God is hiding in plain sight. David professes that if he ascends to heaven, God is there; if he makes his bed in Sheol, God is there! (Ps. 139:8-9). God is hidden–but in plain sight. I find great comfort in this. Father/ Son/ Spirit are close by-concealed, but close by.
- Father/ Son/ Spirit can be found-but only by those truly willing to search. The Canticle chronicles the prolonged and patient search of St. John for Christ. There are many steps along the journey. Similarly, Ps. 139 represents the final stage of one who has spent a lifetime searching for God. This is not a psalm written by a spiritual novice. This is the profession of one who has hunted God for a living and now has reached a level of maturity in which he finds God everywhere. I am challenged deeply by this. Early in my spiritual life I intently engaged in the search. But now, at times, I live as if the search is a one-time endeavor. I found God, was baptized, and now the search is over. This, however, is not the whole picture. I believe the search must continue each day. And, I believe that while I often still search for the Father, I search for the Son less often, and I search for the Spirit only rarely. All three must become the object of my ongoing and daily search.
- The search is not truly ended until it results in intimacy. As Jesus states in John 15, the goal of all of this is “abiding.” That’s a state of intimacy. The Canticle pictures abiding with Jesus as the intimate relationship between bride and bridegroom. Here is where I’m most challenged. I’ve become content with a search that ends in a kind of intellectualism–knowing certain things about Father/ Son/ Spirit. I’ve not pressed further to intimacy–experiencing a living relationship with Father/ Son/ Spirit.
How about you? Where are you seeing Father/ Son/ Spirit? How’s your search? How’s your intimacy?
