The face is a symbol of the person and the privileged place of encounter. Thanks to the face and its expressiveness, one can address another person, establishing a dialogue, entering into communion with him or her, interweaving my life with theirs. The face demands to be looked at and at the same time desires to observe. Seeing myself in another’s face, I am welcomed in my singularity and individuality; I recognize myself; I hand myself over. Being seen by the face of the other removes me from the anonymity and hiddenness of being in a group. In the moment in which I am seen, I am in fact chosen by the other, who, by seeing me, brings out his or her interiority and intimacy. In being face to face I hand myself over to their otherness. To speak of the face is therefore to speak of subjectivity, of interpersonal relationship, of the mystery that one is to oneself and to others.[1]
However, is it possible to “see” the face of God? This question runs through the history of the West. Certainly for those of the Jewish faith, the Torah does not allow images, much less representations of God.[2] For Christian believers, however, God chose to be visible. By becoming incarnate in history, taking on a human form in Christ, God can finally be represented. All who have lived with him have seen him, touched and embraced him, spoken to him. God is therefore representable. In the face of that man, we see that of the Father, says John’s Prologue (cf. John 1:18). The unnameable God has been revealed in a human face, has made himself visible in the humanity of a man. In Jesus the deepest human longing, so often sung by the psalmist, finds fulfillment: “Come, my heart says, seek his face! Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Ps 27:8). No one can depict the face of God except by depicting that face, the face that Jesus assumed, manifesting it to all humanity. Through the image it is therefore possible to pass on and prolong the experience of the first disciples. In the history of the Christian West and East, the face of Christ would serve as the inspiration for probing the mystery of the human face. We are at the origins of the modern subject. This article is reserved for paid subscribers. Please subscribe to continue reading this article
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