22/03/2021
Spiritual reflection to start the day with the Rev Dr Alison Jack of New College, Edinburgh
Last on
Script
Good morning.
To âlookâ,
to âseeâ and to âgazeâ at something all have subtly different connotations. To âgazeâ
is to rest oneâs eyes on an object with an intensity that âlookingâ doesnât
quite capture. The notion of the gaze has been theorised in various ways. The
gaze may imply an unhealthy power dynamic between the gazer and the gazed upon.
Or it may simply refer to the steady and deliberate action of the eyes and the
mind which reaches out towards whatâs before them.
Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry is
most famous now, perhaps, for his childrenâs tale The Little Prince. But in his book about the early days of aviation,
Airmanâs Odyssey, he writes about
love in terms of mutual gazing. Here he asserts that âLove does not consist of gazing at each other, but in
looking outward together in the same direction.â By lifting the gaze from the
object of love to a shared horizon, Saint-Exupéry shifts what could be a
closed, contained, oppressive connection to one which is mutually purposeful
and open to a shared future. The context is romantic love, but the shared
outward gaze is a strong metaphor for relationships of different sorts. The
famously small man in the New Testament, Zacchaeus, climbed the tree because he
wanted to see Jesus. Jesus in the story looks up and sees him, and that moment
of visual connection ultimately leads to a new and outward-looking way of life for
Zacchaeus. A change of perspective which affects the whole way he leads his
life, begun with a gaze.
Loving God,
lift our eyes to gaze on that which is true and noble and right, and to seek
out those who share our vision. Amen.
Broadcast
- Mon 22 Mar 2021 05:43±«Óătv Radio 4