Behold! (Stephanie Clary)

And behold, two men were conversing 

with him, Moses and Elijah… 

Luke 9:30 

    We humans are gifted with an incredible ability to behold the world around us with contemplation, meaningfulness and intention, to discover Christ — God — in this world of ours and respond appropriately. With the living Christ, Jesus, as example, we are called to recognize goodness, love, life, beauty and sacredness in the created world because it is of God and reflects God’s glory. 

    Behold!  the indwelling of God in a mountain range ablaze with autumn colors. 

    Behold!  the Creator Spirit igniting life in the womb. 

    Behold!  intelligent design in the ecosystem of the forest. 

    Behold!  the loving face of God in the stranger reaching out for a friend. 

    Behold!  the faithful commitment of a family traveling for Mass. 

    Behold!  the example of Christ in the volunteer selflessly serving the people. 

    We disregard the significance and power of this ability to behold when we do not respond appropriately to the presence of God in our lives. Beyond just gazing upon the world and moving through it, beholding requires us to fully be present, appreciative and receptive to God in our midst. 

    Augustine once exhorted his people, You can read what Moses wrote [in scripture]; in order to write it, what did Moses read, a man living in time? Observe heaven and earth in a religious spirit. I think that’s a pretty good definition of what it means to behold. If we observe heaven and earth — which is the biblical way to say everything — in a religious spirit, it is difficult to miss God dwelling in this world of ours, not only in moments of wonder and awe, but also in moments that are seemingly insignificant and trivial: a chaotic family dinner between math team, soccer practice and piano lessons; a restless night of studying for a desired degree; a mundane drive to work along the waterfront. 

    [An] enthusiastic Behold! [echoes] in my mind whenever I experience a vivid scene of God’s presence. In the moments when it feels like God is absent, I look a little harder. Sometimes we forget what we’re doing and get a little lost. It is in precisely those moments that it’s most important to grasp on to Christ’s presence and truly behold. 

--Stephanie Clary           

Image source: Sadao Watanabe, The Transfiguration of Christ (1971). Photo courtesy of Fr. Patrick Michaels. https://scriptum.com/artwork/14897-transfiguration?artistsid=1505

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