There is this beautiful saying in the Koran which becomes a very special insight for the Sufis: Wherever you turn there is the Face of God. Lets reflect on this saying a bit and see where it takes us.
- First some general background: In formal ritual prayer Muslims face the Ka’bah in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a direction known as the Qibla. It’s the direction which all Muslims must face when performing their prayers, wherever they are in the world. Of course it is a common misconception that Muslims always face east when praying; that would be true only if you’re west of Mecca. In the US, the direction is east-southeast. If you are in Japan you would face west-southwest, and if in South Africa, you would face north-northeast.
This dynamic of orientation in prayer makes sense, is interesting, and is truly significant. Consider it this way: as a human being, in your daily affairs and doings you will be facing many different things that capture your attention. It is good that at some point that you as a human being turn your inner gaze and inner attention toward that Ultimate Reality that grounds all this. And because you are embodied, existing in space and time, it behooves that this “turning” has a very real physical expression. Symbolic, yes, but also engaging your whole body.
Christian monks in their monastic settings have an analogous situation. During the course of a day the daily activity is interrupted by a kind of “turning.” There is a kind of reorientation of one’s whole being “toward” what is really Real….what is usually termed the Divine Office This dynamic unfolds several times during the day (the number varies in different monasteries) until it eventually kind of saturates the whole day for the young monk. Then comes the time when he/she simply begin to live the whole day in that Presence and ever more deepen that awareness…..or this very “turning” simply and sadly becomes just another activity, one more thing “to do” during the day.
Now for the Sufis that saying above has a much deeper meaning….a reference far richer and more thought provoking than just “directionality.” For the Sufis “wherever you turn” means literally every aspect of your reality…..everything! Think about it….”wherever” does not exclude anything—yes, all the good and beautiful and happy moments of life….in all these you encounter the Mystery of God which is the true Face of God. But now what if you “turn toward” a massive earthquake killing thousands, toward the victims of war or a killer tornado, starvation, drug addiction, the venality of human beings, the pomposity and arrogance of someone you face, loss of a loved one, your own cancer, your own failures and inadequacies….etc., etc. Wherever you turn there is the Face of God. Pondering this can take you far and deep. Christians have their own call to this moment and place. and it is extremely challenging…it is called Good Friday. This “Good Friday” is not just one day in the year, admittedly a very significant day, but we inhabit it as what the theologians call our “fallen existence.” It is important to remember that the key words of this day are: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me,” AND also, “This day you will be with me in Paradise.” Too often, however, we just honor and “remember” this one day, Good Friday, and hurriedly move on to Easter Sunday. Alexander Schmemann, a great Orthodox theologian, once commented that modern Christianity seems to interpret Easter as if it were an “undoing” of Good Friday, as if it didn’t really happen, as if Good Friday is simply canceled by Easter. Not so. It is not without reason that the Cross is the primary symbolic sign of Christianity. So, wherever we turn…..
- What can it possibly mean to refer to the “Face of God”?
The face of a human being is a good hint of who that person is, their uniqueness, what we call their personality, etc. Now recall such Old Testament claims as “No one can see God and live.” Basically this is a Semitic way of expressing the absolute and transcendent Mystery that God is. In the Book of Exodus, Moses asks God to in a sense identify Himself, Who are You?! Very good question, almost a koan, every human being should ask himself/herself this question….. God’s answer is simply, “I am Who I am.”
If you want to see the Face of God, a good Christian might say , Look toward Jesus in the New Testament, and he/she will be right… and wrong. In a very real sense, for a Christian, Jesus reveals the Face of God. Note this from John 14:
“Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?’”
But in his first epistle John tells us, “No one has ever seen God….” In Jesus and through Jesus we recognize, we encounter, and we live in the Absolute Mystery that God is; this is not dispelled by Jesus. We do not and cannot know “the Who” of this Transcendent Reality; but now we can see what this Reality is like in the Person of Jesus. When we “turn” to the Person of Jesus, we encounter the “Face of God,” the Mystery of God. Moreover, when we turn inwards toward the mystery of our own personhood and identity—because we are in the image and likeness of Absolute Mystery—when we turn toward the unfathomable depths of our heart, we find the Face of God. It is no wonder that Paul said in Galatians, “I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.” And so we encounter there also the Face of God. Wherever we turn we encounter the Mystery of God.
While I am writing by a window, outside on a delicate branch there is a tiny bird chirping away. As the saying goes, Wherever you turn…….
Amen
Ps. A brief digression: Zen. You would think that zen has nothing to contribute to this emphatically theistic environment, but yes…maybe….!
To paraphrase a famous zen story: Zhao Zhou, a Chan (zen) master from ancient China was asked, “What is Zhao Zhou?” In other words, Who are you really? A name is merely a marker; credentials are merely some external “wisp of smoke.” Zhao Zhou simply answered, “East gate, west gate, north gate, south gate.”
Make of it what you will!