God, save me from God
Here are my initial thoughts for this weeks RCL readings. There will be no sermon notes as we have another guest preacher.
Over the last weeks I have suggested that Lent is a time for
us to pay attention to one of our central questions – whose are we? It is a
time to reflect on how our experience and understanding of God shapes how we
see ourselves and what our lives are about. Lent is a time then to hear the
invitation to deepen that understanding, to let go of some images and embrace
new images.
This week we are offered a whole plethora of images for the
divine. Some we might see as helpful, and others we might struggle with. There
is a temptation to think that we have a much greater or deeper understanding of
God than many who have gone before us. We have the benefit of knowing about
Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are more advanced, and surely our
understanding of God is more advanced. When we read Numbers for example we are
sure we have a better understanding of God than the ancient Israelites. The
danger is that we miss how Jesus in John uses today’s story from Numbers. And we let our misunderstandings get in the
way. Lent teaches us that in many ways we are no different than the ancient
Israelites or anyone else. We like them, are on the long and hazardous journey
toward understanding God. Humility is always a good companion on this journey.
Central to this journey of understanding is the person of
Jesus. The writer of Ephesians (who may have been Paul) reminds us that we are
offered a huge vision of God’s compassion in the life of this person, who is
understood as Christ the Eternal Word come among us as one of us. And just as
those “Paul” was writing to had to let go of so much of how they understood God
and themselves, so we too have much we need to let go of to fully trust and
bond with the God revealed in Jesus.
John’s theology regarding the cross is different from the
other 3 gospel writers. (Remember, the gospels are primarily theology told in
the story of Jesus, not primarily history books). John does not dwell on Jesus
death on the cross, but uses the cross as the means by which we look and see
beyond, as the Israelites looked at the image of the serpent and looked beyond to
God’s compassion. As they looked they were reminded they were called to be the
people of God. So too for John in the cross we are reminded of God’s deep
compassion and hear the invitation to redefine our family of origin as children
of God.
The last verses of today’s gospel reading remind us of the importance
of how we live. The last few centuries has put a lot of emphasis on right
intellectual belief. But the Greek word at work here is more about trusting and
bonding with God rather than intellectual activity. To put it another way, it
is less about what we believe, and more about trusting in God’s love and
compassion and making that the starting point of our lives.
The Franciscan writer, Richard Rohr OFM, established The Center for Contemplation and Action in
the USA. The Center’s Eight Core
Principles includes, “We do not think ourselves into a new way of
living, but we live ourselves into a new way of thinking.”[1]
How do we grow in our understanding of God? By seeking to live as children of
God, and treating all others as the children of God. That means living with the
same compassion and love, honouring them as we are honoured by God. In that way
we will grow in our understanding whose we are, and we will learn who we are
and what is ours to do in the process.
May we know God’s compassion as we continue on this lent,
growing in humility, trust and compassion.
Comments
Just reading your post at work. I find myself regularly trying to control all manner of things in my life and essentially to be like an island. It's a challenge to admit that there is so much that we are not in control of and also that we are part of a bigger picture. I'll certainly look for ways to live out your message.
Thanks Paul