What Is Your God Like?

Many years ago, J.B. Philips penned a book entitled, Your God Is Too Small: A Guide to Believers
and Skeptics Alike in which he contrasted the popular understandings of God that we carry around with us with the God that is revealed in Jesus. In other words, he contrasted unreal (even destructive) gods with the adequate (constructive) God revealed in Jesus. His point is that for many professing Christians, the god they profess or reflect or actually “know” is way too inadequate to provide strength and wisdom to tackle the complexities of everyday modern life. Philips writes: “Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish…but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough…to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing co-operation.” 

Those inadequate understandings of God identified by Philips (e.g. a “resident policeman”, a “parental hangover”, the “grand old man” and others) come from somewhere. Often they are vestiges of a Sunday School faith or a tradition that fails to come to grips with the great God of the bible. For many, their god is not only too small, he is too conservative or too liberal, too cautious or too reckless, he is too much like them (in race, cultural and societal values and emphases) or he is unconcerned and disconnected from the reality of life in this world. And the tragedy is that most of the time we never stop to check our “god” against the understanding of God that is revealed in Jesus. And sometimes that is convenient, because if God is as Jesus says, than we have to deal with him and we come to realize that this God doesn’t like being marginalized. If I don’t allow the understanding of God that I see in Jesus to touch my life than I can see that my god is only concerned with parts of life – maybe my Sunday morning life, maybe just my “religious” life. Maybe we like a warm and fuzzy god who doesn’t ask much of us. This god isn’t concerned about how I use my money or what kind of career I pursue or how I act at school or work or relate to the members of my family or what I do with my time and possessions. My god may be concerned about things like social injustice, but certainly doesn’t expect us to engage in anything too radical.  A radical Christian, Dom Helder Camara once said: “When I feed the poor, everyone calls me a saint. But when I ask why the poor are hungry, everyone calls me a communist.” And maybe because we fear being labeled as an extremist, a radical, we settle for a tame god and a tame Jesus.

But the truth is that these inadequate views of God are hurting us, deceiving us, cheating us of the life that Jesus says is a full and abundant life. Jesus once described life/eternal life like this: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3)

What about your God? How does that understanding of God and your relationship with him stack up with the God Jesus reveals? Are you growing in your relationship with that God? I didn’t ask if you were perfect, but are you really growing in your relationship with the God Jesus reveals? Of course, that means knowing what this God is like and that means spending time in the Bible and prayer, discussion and worship with others who also claim to know this God. Growth also means that I am constantly looking at the various areas of my life to see if there are some aspects that I have not allowed this relationship to impact.

I said above that the God Jesus reveals is a God who doesn’t like being marginalized. This isn’t because he is a petty, insecure, starving-for-attention deity. He doesn’t like being marginalized because God knows that unless you take him seriously and are working at making him the center and driving force of your life, life in all its fullness is not possible. And that inner dissatisfaction that you feel, that lack of peace and contentment, will not be satisfied. So, again, what about your God? Is he too small?

"Living Sacramentally"

For Christians, God is not limited or solely encountered in the sanctuary or church. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” writes the Psalmist. And yet, for most of us, we don’t really encounter or see much of God in the everyday world of housework, the office or the classroom. But the problemis not the absence of God, but our seeing. What is needed is learning to live sacramentally. “Sacrament” is one of those words that carries a lot of baggage for some people. It smells of smoke and incense and reminds them of gothic churches full of candles and dark corners. I don’t want to dismiss the place of candles, incense and architecture in helping us become more aware of the nature of the sacred, but learning to live sacramentally is learning to see so that we encounter the Holy not just in the sanctuary or church or even just in our inner sanctuary, but out in the world in daily encounters, in every moment.
While particular understandings about “sacraments” differ from Christian group to Christian group, generally speaking sacraments are considered to be visible signs of God’s grace. A common definition is: “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” In other words, it is the realization that physical things and moments of time and space, can become instruments that reveal God’s grace and presence. “Living sacramentally” means living with our eyes wide open, of becoming aware that every hour and minute and second we live is played out in the presence of God. It happens when ordinary, seemingly mundane things are wrapped in the presence of an extraordinary, present God. Now if we could let that sink in a bit, we might see that staff meeting that we dread, that standing in a slow moving line, the tense family living room, the student in my class that I can’t stand, that job that bores me to tears in a different light. If we go into these situations trying to remember that this could be holy ground—if we can discern, and respond to God’s presence there in those moments and situations, things could change. God can change “wasted” time into meaningful time. Standing in that long line can become a sacred moment through something as simple as engaging someone in a brief conversation or exchanging a smile that could transform someone’s day. Each and every moment in our day is an opportunity to experience the sacred and have that experience transform the moment. It is more than an intellectual experience, a “psyching” yourself up, it is a real experience that anyone can have, if you open up all your senses to its possibility.

I said it is an “opportunity”, but not a given. Ultimately it grows out of a relationship with God that makes us sensitive to God’s presence – in us, in the world and in the other. And that relationship doesn’t just happen by accident. It has to be cultivated. And as we cultivate it  through prayer and worship, silence and reflection on God’s word, the heart and mind of Christ is formed in us and we begin to live sacramentally by being more open and empathetic. 

Maybe Frederick Buechner says it best in his book Now and Then: “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden part of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key elements, and life itself is grace.” 

Amen

"Beating Back the Darkness"

Recently I came across this story related by a physician. “One day, already far behind schedule, I brought a family in for a first visit. The signs were ominous: they brought voluminous records, having seen my kind before and “endured much under many physicians.” I read the records they had brought, looked at the x-rays and the child, and tried not to show the sinking feeling I had. Another desperate family searching for something I could not provide. My predecessors’ conclusions were undeniably correct. I had nothing to add. To tell them this today would take time I didn’t have. “God, help me” – my commonest workday prayer. “How can I help you?” I asked. “Give us a different diagnosis.” “I can’t do that,” I said. “Then listen to our story.” Suddenly it was clear. Doctors had examined their child, run many tests, said much to them—but no one had listened. I stopped and I listened. Nothing changed for them that day; not their child, not the diagnosis, not their future. Yet it was a marvel, because for a moment we had beaten back the darkness that engulfed them by being present for one another.”

“…for a moment we had beaten back the darkness that engulfed them by being present for one another.” I like that phrase – “beating back the darkness”. But even more, I am reminded how important it is to listen and really be present with someone. It is sad that in spite of how wired we are in today’s world, it is really easy not to listen, to really listen. When I am really present with someone, listening to their story, it says that I value them, that I recognize their importance, I recognize that they are. Theologically, it means that I recognize that they are created in the image of God and loved by God. We may not be able to change the situation, as in this case, but we can ‘beat back the darkness” at that moment for that person and in so doing it can bring hope. Often the hope begins with the knowledge that others are present with us and we are not alone. This can lead to a growing understanding that God is also present with us and that because he is, our hope is not pointless or ineffective. We are not blind to the pain and brokenness of our world, but our experience of God, of the one who really listens to us – our cries, our complaints, our laughter, our praise – beats back the darkness and gives us hope and a presence. Brennan Manning reminds us that: “In every encounter we either give life or we drain it. There is no neutral exchange.” I hope that today you have encountered someone who really listened to you and that in turn you will do the same. Blessings.

Gratitude, Thanksgiving and Happiness

I have been thinking about gratitude, thanksgiving, and happiness. David Steindl-Rast has written: “It is not happiness that makes us grateful, but it is gratefulness that makes us happy.” At one level this strikes a chord, but at another level it is so out of sinc with our world and modern life and probably our upbringing and experience that it makes no sense. The pursuit of “happiness” is at the heart of not only the American dream, but also the striving of most of the modern world. And that “happiness” is usually defined by status, possessions, health, looks, achievements, and the list goes on. But we can all think of people who have all of these things and should be “happy”, profoundly happy, but aren’t. Of course, we could say, “If I had what they have, I would be happy!” Would you? Happiness/joy/contentment/satisfaction is more than the possession of some “thing” or “things.”  I have known people who had very little in the way of this world’s goods or great health or a wide social network who were extremely happy people. For them it is more about relationships than things. And at the heart it all was a relationship with God—God, the Giver of this most wonderful gift of life.

Gratitude is the awareness that something has been given to me that I have not earned or can ever earn; it is the awareness that I am graced. Graced with the love and compassion and abiding presence of a God who will not forsake me –that,  in the storm as well as the calm, the dark as well as the light, in good times and bad, God is with me. And as I allow that gratitude to permeate my deepest being it begins to express itself in thanksgiving. I say “allow” because while it is a gift, it has to be taken into
my thinking, acting, perspective and relating. And as we do, we will often find that it will conflict with other things that we  have learned and will probably mean a great deal of unlearning and reorienting. It will affect my goals and dreams, the way I view and use things, my speech and actions. All of this will be grounded in a profound sense that my life is rooted in God and finds its fulfillment only in resting in and nurturing that relationship.

Thanksgiving expresses this gratitude. It helps us acknowledge not only the giver and our gratitude for the gift, it also reminds us that we are not alone. And the interesting thing is that as I live in this gratitude and express this thanksgiving it affects the way that I see the rest of life and especially my
relationships. If gratitude and thanksgiving are at the heart of my life and I learn to see the world through that experience, I begin to see the graciousness in the actions of others, even the small ones. I am often struck by how seldom people say “thank you” to others. People enrich our lives each day and we forget to thank them. Even if what they do is done out of obligation or without thinking, saying “thank you” acknowledges that in some way they have blessed my life and this can remind us of the most fundamental blessing, the gift of God himself. Saying “thank you” also moves me beyond entitlement or my feeling that something is due to me. It reminds me, in the words of Abraham Heschel: “Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.”

In the first chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul begins to lay out his argument that all of us stand in need of God’s saving grace. He is going to paint a picture of sin and its devastating effects. I find it interesting and profoundly humbling that a fundamental aspect of sin is ingratitude and the failure to give thanks (Romans 1:21). Happiness is not truly possible without a profound sense of gratitude and once we realize that and live in that reality, it is easy to express thanksgiving to God and those around us, but especially to God. And once we have learned to live that way, happiness follows. It might not be happiness as the world defines it, but it is a happiness/joy/contentment/satisfaction/peace that the world cannot take away.

Peace

"I Love You"

Cathleen Falsani in a great book on grace with the title: Sin Boldy:A Field Guide to Grace, asks the probing question: "Why do so many people have such a hard time saying, "I love you"? They ration those words, as if their meaning could be somehow cheapened or diminished were they said too many times to too many people. Is it possible to love too much? Too recklessly? Unconditionally and indiscriminately? No. There is nothing better in life than knowing you are loved. There is no more precious gift, no sweeter burden." She's right.  Jesus said: "My command (NOTE: not a recommendation, not a suggestion, not a hint) is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12). Who do you know that needs to be reminded that they are loved -- by God and hopefully by you? If you can't say those words, take some time to reflect on God's love for you -- an unconditional, indiscriminate, complete love. Let that love touch your heart. Just as you need to know that you are loved, so do the people around you. Just as you resist that love, so may they. But who knows, just as God's love slowly seeps into your consciousness and being, so it can in the lives of others. They need to know they are loved. And if you haven't heard it today: I love you. Peace

“Only God Can Fill A God-Shaped Emptiness.”

Rueben Job, a profound writer on the spiritual life, once wrote: “The care of the soul is a lifelong practice that is often relegated to second or even last place in our lives. We are so immersed in the demands of our noisy world that we can easily ignore the chronic emptiness deep within. That emptiness ranges from a dull ache on the edge of our awareness to a sharp pain calling all of our
attention to itself. As Pascal has said: “Only God can fill a God-shaped emptiness.” And only God can remove the ache of our soul.”  

This is another way of saying: “Set your hearts on God’s kingdom (that is, God’s will/desire/pleasure) first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these other things (the things that we really need for life and happiness) will be given you as well.” (Jesus in Matthew 6:33). But as Rueben Job reminds us, this is a lifelong practice that we often downgrade to an option rather than an essential. How would our lives change if we saw this care of the soul as the primary goal and focus of our lives? As the demand that needs to be tended to above the demands of our noisy world? It requires, at least it does for me, a reorientation of the way I see my life and the world around me. Just as I suffer when I don’t get enough sleep, exercise, or eat the right way, so my soul aches, my heart cries, my vision gets distorted and twisted and things begin to come unglued and all because I have lost the focus, the central thing that is intended by the Creator to hold my life together – a relationship with God that is personal, intimate and growing. And that only happens when I am intentional about cultivating this relationship through regular worship, prayer, Bible reading, silence, and service – those spiritual “disciplines”  that attune my life to the presence, power, and grace of God. Instead of trying to fill a God-shaped emptiness with things, achievements, friends, activities and whatever else there is that isn’t God, I need to realize that only God, who is most clearly seen in Jesus, a God of unconditional love and complete forgiveness, a God of tenderness and compassion, only this God can ultimately and fully satisfy the hunger that I have for authenticity and LIFE. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him!” (Psalm 34:8)

“My Great Obligation"

The 20^th century writer on the spiritual life, Thomas Merton, once penned these words: “My great obligation is to obey God, and to seek His will carefully with a pure and empty heart. Not to try and impose my own order on my life but let God impose His. To serve His will and His order by realizing them in my own life. This means certainly a deep consent to all that is actually and manifestly His
will for me.” These are hard words, at least for me. I really know them to be true, because there have been times in my life when that was precisely what I wanted. But it is easy to forget – or ignore. I have other obligations, “great” obligations – family, work, school, friendships and relationships, and the list
goes on. Is my great obligation really to obey God, to seek his will carefully with a pure and empty heart? That seems to have been Jesus’ conviction – “not my will but yours be done”-- he said over
and over again. And I think that he expects no less from us who claim to be is followers.  It isn’t easy. There are pressures from without and from within to choose another will – our own, our parent’s, our friend’s, our in-crowd’s. But in the final analysis choosing a will other than that which God intends for us doesn’t really satisfy and ultimately doesn’t matter. Just this morning I read of a man who was faced with a choice when his boss said – “You need to choose, your job or Jesus. I’ll give you a week to think about it.” The young man, who has a family, said: “I don’t need a week. I choose Jesus.” He knew his great obligation was to obey God and seek his will. Maybe the real challenge is there in Merton’s closing words – “this means certainly a deep consent to all that is actually and manifestly His will for me.” “A deep consent.” A consent is an expressed willingness. Am I willing to obey God and seek his will for my life? And am I cultivating that willingness so that it is becoming stronger and stronger and more central in my life? What would this look like in our lives, in our family  relationships, our work, our school, our associations? I’m pretty sure that while it might not be easy, it will ultimately satisfy.
Peace