Are You a Reliquary?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Walters Gallery in Baltimore to see an exhibit called "Treasures of Heaven:  Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe."  The exhibit was filled with intriguing items, mostly reliquaries of one sort or another.  A reliquary is "a container of relics," and a relic "may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures."  (Sadly, most of the reliquaries in the exhibit no longer contain a relic.)

Arm reliquary, on display in the
 "Treasures of Heaven" exhibit.

Some of the reliquaries were rather plain in shape or decoration, most were elaborately decorated even if simple and shape, and some of the later ones were crafted to resemble the part they once housed, like the arm reliquary pictured to the right that once contained part of an arm-bone.  The objects were intriguing to look at, and intriguing to reflect on the notion that a finger-bone of St. So-and-So or a sliver of The True Cross might have some miraculous properties.  I'm not quite sure what I think about the veneration of such relics, but that's not why I'm writing today.

I'm writing about relics today, because it occurred to me that in some sense, Christians ARE reliquaries!  At one point in the display, the exhibit preparers suggest that a relic is what is left after death and decay, and invited people to write about what constitutes relics and reliquaries in their own lives and experience.  Reflecting on that question, I noticed that as Christians, the Holy Spirit is what we have left after Jesus' death (and resurrection and ascension into heaven).  So in some sense, the Holy Spirit is a relic.  And if the Holy Spirit is a relic, and that relic dwells in us, then that makes us RELIQUARIES!

a very plain reliquary

So, are YOU a reliquary?  Have you confessed Jesus as Savior and invited the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart?  If not, I invite you to consider John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-13 as a starting point on your faith journey.

Rock-crystal reliquary,
so the relic can be viewed

And if you are a reliquary, then what kind of reliquary are you?  Some reliquaries are made so that the relic inside can be displayed to the faithful.  Other reliquaries have their relic secreted out of sight, and its presence is a matter of trust.  Some reliquaries are shaped to resemble the relic inside (like the arm reliquary above), others are not explicitly related to the relic inside.

elaborately decorated reliquary

Considering this reliquary metaphor for the Christian life, I don't think one type of reliquary is superior to another except for this: it is important that whatever type of reliquary we are, it should be obvious that there is something holy and set-apart about each of us.  No matter how plain and ordinary, or how extravagantly beautiful we are as "reliquaries of Christ," it should somehow be apparent that we are set apart for a special use, in the world but not of it.  Can others identify that "set-apart" quality in you?

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"Treasures of Heaven" will remain at the Walters Gallery through May 15, 2011, if you want to go see the reliquaries for yourself.  In addition to this special exhibit, the gallery also has a large permanent collection of medieval religious art and artifacts (mostly Christian).  Here are links to the Walters Gallery (to plan a visit), and for the "Treasures of Heaven" exhibit.