The Various Forms and Bodies of the Logos

Related to the historical and glorified forms, are the way the Logos can be seen in and through the words which represent him in myth and legend. In reality, there are two similar forms represented here, which must not be confused with each other, though they use the same means of interacting with us. One is a form which sees the Logos not as a person who entered into history, and so sees the myths and legends as a kind of religious fiction which helps motivate people, but has no historical reality to them. Even though his historical existence is denied, because his words and deeds, his ideas, are being spread through such discussion, the seeds of the Logos are sowing fertile minds as the Logos is truly encountered in this diminished encounter with him. Indeed, his teachings remain a challenge and affect positive change in those who see him as unreal but find various teachings of his, such as love for neighbor or his declarations of just treatment for the poor, as benefiting humanity. This is, perhaps, one of the weakest forms of encounter possible with the Logos, the Word is still not silenced, his voice is still being heard, the seed of the Gospel is being implanted in listeners, and through it all, hearts often find themselves changed for the better.

The other form of the mythic Logos comes out the Christ of history, but adds to it elements from the glorified Christ. It is a form which looks at Christ’s work in the past through the eyes not of history but of his divine activity, and so sees the glorified form of Christ “bleeding” through his historical self, allowing all kinds of extraordinary actions and possibilities being portrayed by him. It does not represent history as it happened according to the ways empirical history is delineated, but rather, it represents the supernatural effects of the Logos while trying to connect them to the life and times of the Christ of history. One of the greatest manifestations of this are the legends surrounding the holy grail which developed in medieval Europe, but we also see it in other legends, such as those surrounding St. Christopher. With Christopher, we see a higher reality being portrayed in and through legendary deeds – Christopher carried Christ with himself through the river of life.

There is another way the presence of the Logos is found, and it is connected to his humanity; it is where he is found in the weak, the helpless, the poor, the suffering, the mistreated, that is, in the underclass of the world. As he said about himself in the judgment of the nations, he, the king, will look at what was done for the needy, and what was done for them was done to him because he was one with the needy and found in them. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40 RSV). Jesus is found in all of us, because we all share in the image and likeness of God, but he identify himself with “the least of these” because he came not to Lord it over others, but to empty himself and join in solidarity with the oppressed people of the world. Those who feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, heal the sick, give refuge to the refugee encounter the presence of Christ in them, and so are being receptive of Christ by being receptive to Christ in the needy. Some, to be sure are more aware of the presence of Christ in the needy they encounter than others; for the veil often keeps us unable to see Christ when he is before us in the lowly and dispossessed, but for those who, without needing the veil to be ripped down, give their love to the unloved, they will find they have loved Christ and Christ loves them back. Likewise, those who deny their love in this fashion close themselves off to the presence of Christ, and so put up a greater veil between them and eternal glory as they turn from persons who act in love to persons who act against love. This is why Jesus indicated that many will be surprised that they did anything to or against him because they did not recognize his presence in those they helped or hindered.

Then there is the presence of the Logos as Christ who is encountered in and through his image, in icons and statues. They provide windows into heaven, showing the mythic and glorified forms of Christ through artistic vision. It is a theurgic form of Christ, where his presence is made real, reflecting upon and established in the Christ of history (his bodily form) while adding to it the grace and power of the glorified Christ. As a presence of the Logos, it is able to bring grace and peace to the souls properly disposed to encounter him through his image, and so effect great miracles.

Another encounter with the Logos is the presence of Christ in the eucharist. It appears to be bread and wine, but it is Christ who is before us, in his sacramental presence, able to be worshiped similar to the presence of Christ in icons, but transcends his presence in the icons because the eucharist brings the fullness of his person and not a derivative form of his presence to those who partake of it. We are called to eat, that is to take Christ into ourselves, so that we can become what we eat and find ourselves transformed into the final form of Logos we will present here, the church.