In the tradition of Orthodox icons, the interaction with the image of Jesus can be both a matter of looking into his eyes and opening your heart for him to look into yours. Icons are considered "windows to heaven," and their purpose is to facilitate a deeper spiritual connection. You look through the icons and receive the light beyond you, and you can let the icons look into your heart, such that the light enters you.
When you look into Jesus' eyes in an icon, it is an invitation to engage in a personal and intimate encounter with Jesus. This gaze is meant to draw you into contemplation, helping you focus on his presence and divinity. Conversely, opening your heart so that Jesus can look into yours emphasizes vulnerability and receptivity. It signifies a readiness to be seen, known, and transformed by His love and grace. This perspective aligns with the Orthodox understanding of prayer as a reciprocal relationship, where one not only speaks to God but also listens and opens oneself to His divine will.
Therefore, both practices are integral to the experience of prayer with Orthodox icons: looking into Jesus' eyes fosters a connection and reflection on His presence, while allowing Him to look into your heart encourages a deeper surrender and openness to His transformative power.
When you look into the eye on your left (Jesus' right), the eyebrow gives you a sense of being loved unconditionally, and opening your heart so that he looks into your eyes can also be consoling and comforting. However, when you look into the eye on your right (Jesus' left), the arched eyebrow can evoke a sense of being challenged or called to deeper reflection and transformation.
Additionally, if you imagine a kind of light coming from his eyes into your heart, you can see it as a laser-like light that burns away your inordinate attachments. Inordinate attachments are another name for sin: they are the clinging onto something finite as if it were infinite—like a relationship, a career, a need for recognition, or a compulsion. The laser-like love of Jesus is a burning love, purging these attachments.
Thus, the icon as a whole invites a recognition of two kinds of open and relational love: accepting love and purgative love, gentle love and burning love. The burning or purgative love is as important as the gentle love. It is not "controlling" in the sense of forcing itself upon you. Even with its burning, you can choose not to be purged and can still hold onto your addictions and compulsions. Still, it is forceful and fiery.
The key is to open your heart, in prayer, to both kinds: the gentle and the fiery.
When you look into Jesus' eyes in an icon, it is an invitation to engage in a personal and intimate encounter with Jesus. This gaze is meant to draw you into contemplation, helping you focus on his presence and divinity. Conversely, opening your heart so that Jesus can look into yours emphasizes vulnerability and receptivity. It signifies a readiness to be seen, known, and transformed by His love and grace. This perspective aligns with the Orthodox understanding of prayer as a reciprocal relationship, where one not only speaks to God but also listens and opens oneself to His divine will.
Therefore, both practices are integral to the experience of prayer with Orthodox icons: looking into Jesus' eyes fosters a connection and reflection on His presence, while allowing Him to look into your heart encourages a deeper surrender and openness to His transformative power.
When you look into the eye on your left (Jesus' right), the eyebrow gives you a sense of being loved unconditionally, and opening your heart so that he looks into your eyes can also be consoling and comforting. However, when you look into the eye on your right (Jesus' left), the arched eyebrow can evoke a sense of being challenged or called to deeper reflection and transformation.
Additionally, if you imagine a kind of light coming from his eyes into your heart, you can see it as a laser-like light that burns away your inordinate attachments. Inordinate attachments are another name for sin: they are the clinging onto something finite as if it were infinite—like a relationship, a career, a need for recognition, or a compulsion. The laser-like love of Jesus is a burning love, purging these attachments.
Thus, the icon as a whole invites a recognition of two kinds of open and relational love: accepting love and purgative love, gentle love and burning love. The burning or purgative love is as important as the gentle love. It is not "controlling" in the sense of forcing itself upon you. Even with its burning, you can choose not to be purged and can still hold onto your addictions and compulsions. Still, it is forceful and fiery.
The key is to open your heart, in prayer, to both kinds: the gentle and the fiery.