The Real Big Picture: a Parable

         Once upon a time, a young man, being a great admirer of Michelangelo, went to Vatican City just to see the ceiling of the Chapel of St Peter’s Cathedral. But for some tragic reason the chapel is closed to visitors the day the boy arrives. He strolls the perimeter of the cathedral at night dismayed that he may never see the great work of his hero Michelangelo. An old man comes to the young man and tells  him to follow him if he’d like to see the chapel. Of course he jumps at the invitation. But the old man says he can only use his small flashlight to show him around so as to not alarm the guards. Somehow the two interlopers find their way inside the chapel and the old man flips on his little flashlight and illumines a portion of the ceiling. The view is incredible as they stare up in awe. The young man is so impressed and grateful for having been able to see this amazing sight. 

     The two can’t afford to dawdle and quickly leave as they entered. Fervently thanking the old man, the young man is now content to return home and tell everyone he knows about this memorable experience.

       Years go by and the young man is now grown. He has prospered enough to be able to return to St. Peter’s. But this time he is determined to see all of the cathedral in the daylight!

      And his determination is rewarded as he secures a place in the first tour of the day. Once inside, the young man lifts his head and is     completely overwhelmed by what he sees. What an old flashlight had revealed years ago was only a glimpse and even that glimpse was in shadow.

         “I never knew it was this beautiful! I never knew it was this amazing! I only saw a portion of its beauty before and yet walked away satisfied I had witnessed the artist’s genius, but I only had a glimpse!”.

      Immediately, the young man felt the urge to find everyone he had ever told about Michelangelo’s great work and ask their forgiveness, for he had been so wrong. He had only told them about a shadowy portion of a tremendous work of art; he had not told them the whole beautiful story.

       Such are the feelings of those who find the Light of Orthodoxy after living in a shadowy (albeit beautiful) corner of life in Christ.

        We are told and comforted by sermons telling us “Christ is your friend.”, an invaluable truth (John 15:15), that reveals just a fraction of the Treasure that is found in the Christian life. This diminution reduces Christ to an ‘aid for  living’ or the Jiminy Cricket of our conscious. A tragic, distorted shadow of the beautiful truth, and a robbing of the believer of his full inheritance.

          But rather, Christ and His Church, the Pearl of Great Price (Matt. 13:46) for which I will abandon all earthly wants to possess, directs and informs my life and indeed ALL life. Through Orthodoxy, we learn that Christ is more than a friend in times of trouble, we understand that He is the telos of the world! All of life will be consumed in Him and all of life will confess Him as Lord of All (Isa.45:23,Rev.4:11,Rev. 5:11-13).

       To see Christ as the reason and telos of your life is, to put it crudely, to see the Big Picture. Don’t settle for anything less.