the BIBLE, what do I do with it?

Humanity has had a long standing fascination with sacred objects. Things that are considered and treated extra special due to their close association with the Divine.

The Bible is such an object that fits solidly into the lineup of sacred objects, particularly for the 3 sister monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), so much so that it has garnered the title for many, The WORD of God.

It has been a key source of inspiration for both much evil done on our planet and much love and compassion.

To greater and lesser degrees, it has found itself in the crossfire of debate and war on how to interpret and understand it.

The book pictured here has been intriguing for me of late in my journey of searching for what to do with the Bible.

Yes, I know what many people do with the Bible.
I also know what many people SAY I should do with it.
But, I continue wrestling with what should "I" do with it.

I've found Karen Armstrong's Biography on the Bible very enlightening to discover more how the Bible has developed from antiquity and how people other than those in the last few hundred years have treated and used it.

Some of the particular insights from her work are:

• Interpreting Scripture very literally is a relatively recent development. History shows that it was often interpreted and developed in ways that were meaningful to the times, not necessarily true to an author's original intent. Indeed, much of the New Testament is a "wrestling" of Old Testament writings to help in dealing with the events at hand (i.e. how to relate to this self proclaimed Messiah and the subsequent stir that He caused).
• Many documents eventually became included in Scripture not because of noticing inspiration within them, but because of how they were treated by people (i.e. used in sacred ritual settings).
• Sacred writings (i.e. Scriptures) gradually replaced the Temple as the physical location for sensing the Divine.
  
• Through the millenia, Scripture was not so much a text, but an activity-a spiritual process that introduced people to a sense of God.
  
• Scripture is not a document on history as we consider history in modern times. Again, it was a process, (that most certainly reveals elements of factual history), that drew on historical events, ancient and current legends, and the ongoing "artwork" of interpreters to make it say something meaningful about current events.
  
• Charity must be the guiding principle in the exegesis (the art of interpreting and explaining Biblical text) of Scripture. Karen tells the story of a rabbi before the time of Jesus that was asked to recite the entire Torah while standing on one leg. The rabbi proceeded to state something to the effect, "Don't do to others what you would hate to have done to you. The rest is commentary, go and study it". Some parts of Scripture will naturally lead to lessons and inspiration on this point, others will take more digging, some will teach by contrast, and, yes, some will have to be "re-worked" to promote this timeless principle.
  

If I took the time to prepare my thoughts, I could say so much more, but the last point above is my big "takeaway" from the book, which I realize is nothing new.

So, this morning I turn to a passage of Scripture to practice appling the principle above and I land on the story in Judges 19. Go read it. It may stretch your ability to see Scripture as a commentary on the Golden Rule. But then again, it may enrich it.

Karen Armstrong in a presentation suggested that much of the hard parts of scripture are actually testing grounds for us in learning to apply the Golden Rule. In other words, if we can find ways to make the evil in Scripture teach us something about practicing the Golden Rule, then maybe we can actually find ways to implement the Golden Rule on the street with those that "test" us.

my recent reads

In the last couple of weeks, culminating in this past weekend, I've read through 4 books. This is somewhat out of the ordinary (ordinary being the trend of the last number of months) considering my shelf full of unread and partially read books. Some I will continue reading, some will be finished someday, and some may never be read.

Anyway, I'm sensing a theme that runs throughout the most recent reads.

As far as I can remember, the first book I completed was It's Really All About God by Samir Selmanovic.

My takeaway: God is bigger than any one "God management system", a phrase used by Samir to define how religions often posit themselves. In the end, no one really has God captured and figured out. God is a mystery. His presence is presented throughout His creation and His image is seen in every human. Thus, we can learn more about Him by being open to learning from each other, in every religion and tradition. This doesn't mean that there should be a great melting pot for religion, but that there is an opportunity to improve our world by respecting and listening the the various ways that God lets His presence mysteriously leak through a whole host of human diversity. Truth is not always learned through concrete certainty about who God is and what He does, but through the tensions that we often experience. Just such a tension is the pull between faith and doubt.

The second book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, written by a favorite author of mine, Donald Miller, was the second book I completed.

My takeaway: Our lives are opportunities to write good stories. Donald had felt his life slipping into meaninglessness after landing huge successes with his previous writings. He was approached with the offer to help write a movie about himself. Through this process he learned about what makes a movie a good movie (i.e. a meaningful story) and wondered if those same elements applied to making one's life meaningful. Indeed, for him, they did. The elements can be summed up like this-"A character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it". Naturally, the story is better if the the thing the character wants is for the good of others and has a relational aspect to it.

The third book, Speaking of Faith, written by Krista Tippet, host of the radio show by the same name, was a book I started on earlier this year. I have been blessed by her approach to matters of faith and spirituality on the show and knew I must read her book.

My takeaway: Religion is a topic that is well known to be divisive and polarizing. Often it's either manifest in the midst of debate and argument or in the context of proselytizing. For such reasons many want to dismiss it altogether. Krista argues that religion and faith, in spite of the persistent problems both with it and associated with it, hold much potential to improve our world. We need to find ways to "speak of faith" that don't create conflict and confrontation. She emphasizes that faith is more about mystery and questions than hard certainty.

The fourth book, Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Album, I just discovered recently and when I ran across it in Wal-Mart last Thursday, I purchased it on impulse. I sailed through it's easy read by Sunday. I have read several of Mitch's other books and, again, knew this must be read as well.

My takeaway: Mitch recounts the story of being asked by the rabbi of his childhood to present a eulogy upon the rabbi's death. Mitch agreed with the condition of being able to get to know the rabbi on a personal level. So began an 8 year journey that not only helped Mitch come to love and appreciate the rabbi, but also another clergyman from his own town. The lessons about faith were similiar, but the men from whom he learned, in this case, were vastly different. One a rabbi, the other an ex drug dealer poor Christian pastor.

Mitch was inspired to remember/notice that there is a Divine Spark implanted in each human soul.

All four books seemed to tie together in the sense of speaking about matters that truly bring meaning to life.

a mixed read

The authors of the book pictured here have co-written this book (with one voice) as a followup to their previous work, "If Grace is True". The previous book argues their belief in Universalism-the idea that God will eventually save every person. When I first read it several years ago it disturbed me. I attribute this to the fact that the book both deeply appealed to me and challenged some core Christian doctrines. Anyway, I had mixed feelings about reading the volume pictured here, "If God is Love".

This book basically describes what it could look like if we truly believed that God wasn't going to destroy any of His children, but ultimately bring ALL to salvation. The authors work through categories such as the home life, religion, Christianity, money and wealth, politics, and prayer. With each topic, they artistically narrate a vision for a gracious world.

I still have trouble with the idea of Universalism, not because I don't like it, but because I like it too much. I don't feel comfortable yet that it's true according to Scripture.

However, I can certainly agree that much of "Hell" is simply the result of ungracious living and that true salvation would be where people begin to live and care for the salvation of all peoples irregardless of class, religion, race, or current moral convictions.

I found myself longing to grow to be more gracious. To be saved from myself. To see grace not just as an idea that I believe will be my "fire insurance" for what comes after this life, but to see it become the power that changes my life now in such real places as the family and bank account.

I also long to learn to view and treat other peoples and religions not as things to fix, but as other members of God's family to love.

This book, while not leaving me with comfortable theological conclusions, certainly left me with some Holy tuggings. Oh that the picture these authors paint would become an increasing reality!

church as facebook

Recently I've attended frequent church social functions and been hit anew with a very positive aspect of my church life.

Church is a Facebook of sorts. In other words, it's a massive social networking site. Now, I know many would beg to differ based on their experience. I also recognize that being a pastor in my church gives me another level of automatic social connection that not everyone experiences.

However, it remains true for me, that my church gives me an instant social community wherever I go. No community is perfect and church community comes with its load of flaws. But, to be able to enter a new community, as I did last fall, and instantly be involved in countless BBQs, outings, home meal invitations, etc is a real privilege. Even the weekly meeting event called worship, although lacking greatly in being able to provide deep levels of friendship, still allows me to connect with people and build a social community very fast.

I don't know if this excuses institutional spirituality from some of it's other flaws, but it certainly is a benefit that I do well to appreciate.

Just some thoughts...

women in spiritual leadership

The book that I discussed in the last post uses women in spiritual leadership as a prime example of how to listen and discern the Bible as story.

Scot McKnight acknowledges that there are 2 main Biblical passages, by Paul, that speak about silencing women's voices in spiritual leadership. He also points out how the predominate societal culture for ages has NOT treated women as equal to men in value, giftings, and abilities. Then, he reminds the reader of the overarching Biblical narrative that God created humans to be one with Him and each other, as evidenced in the gift of marriage. Then, with the onset of sin, men and women began to fight to dominate each other. The purpose of the re-creative process is to restore the orignial oneness with God and each other including the equality oneness of men and women.

Scripture gives us glimpes throughout history, in both the old and New Testaments, of women in leadership and prominent roles in the story of God's work to redeem humanity (Miram, Deborah, Huldah, Esther, Mary, Phoebe, Junia, Priscilla). Scot explores that although these characters don't get much "space" in scripture, it really is profound the the level of recognition given to them if one pays attention to the stories (prophets, rulers, teachers, apostles). The profoundness of this recognition is further emphasized as you remember both the cultural views of women during these ancient times and the fact that Scripture was largely written by men.

He shows that the trend of these stories of women in scripture is in keeping with the trend of God's progressive work to redeem humanity back to oneness with each each other and Him, in spite of the persistent cultural work, through the ages, to repress women.

So then, what do we do with the 2 passages of Paul's where it seems like he's calling for a silencing women? We also have to remember that Paul made the profound statement that "in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ".

Scot suggests that those two passages are like "blue parakeets" (see the previous post) that seem to interupt the flow of the trend and story of Scripture. Thus, we need to look closer at the stories of these passages. If on greater examination, they fit with the overarching story, then great. If they're an unexplainable mystery of Paul's, then we have a choice. Are we going to listen to a couple of passages that go against the trend of scripture at face value for the basis of our doctrine and practice, or are we going to look at the larger picture and story of Scripture and let a mystery be a mystery? (I encourage you to read Scot's book to see his further explanations of those passages)

Here's a couple of concluding points on the topic from my perspective.

1. I find it ironic that Adventists (my Christian tribe) have such a hard time, generally speaking, with women in prominent spiritual leadership (i.e. ordination for pastoral ministry) when the person that they look to heavily for spiritual guidance (second only to the Bible) was a woman, Ellen G. White. How do they deal with that? I guess for some it has to do with the technicality that Ellen White is considered a prophet and scripture talks about women prophets and somehow the the distinction is made that prophets are different than ordained ministers. However, to my simple mind, prophets are on a higher plane that pastors. There was nothing silent about Ellen White in public gatherings. She was a preacher-plain and simple.

2. The church needs the voice of women (which it does actually have in many circles but doesn't always officially recognize)! For us to carry on dishonoring the gifts that God has blessed the church with in women spiritual leaders (by not ordaining [i.e. recognizing] ) is only shooting ourselves in the foot. What a beautiful day that will be when pastor's meetings are populated by a balance of women and men! We certainly recognize the extreme benefit of the balance of gender in the medical field. Let's have it in the spiritual too!

living the bible in our day

Well, here's what I'm exploring right now. I'm very interested in fresh approaches to how we deal with this complex book that we call the Bible. Scot McKnight points out how, as much as many people try to deny this, EVERYONE picks and chooses what they follow from the Bible and how they're going to follow it. Literally adhering to all of the Bible is impossible as evidenced by A.J. Jacobs in his Year of Living Biblically project. Thus, the question is, "how then do we live out the Bible?"

Scot tells the story how, as a birdwatcher, he observed a blue pet parakeet that had obviously escaped his cage and come and landed amongst the crowd of sparrows in his backyard. Initially, the sparrows were alarmed by this unwanted guest. Soon, however, they got accustomed to this parakeet and even seemed to like it. But, they didn't get him to become one of them. They couldn't tame him. He was simply an unusual intrusion to be lived with and observed.

Scot likens this example to the Bible. Often, we feel that we can make sense of much of the Bible until some "Blue Parakeet" passage pops in and seems to ruffle the understandings we've put together. So, what do we do? Do we tame the passage? Ignore it? Try to stuff it back into the cage of a predetermined theological system?

To begin, we have to recognize that the Bible is a story. This story reveals God creating, the fall, and the ensuing lengthy process of re-creation or new creation. God is seeking to restore oneness in His creation between each other and Him. As the story unfolds, we see God interacting with each person and group in their cultural ways. God talks to David in David's ways, Peter in Peter's ways, Paul in Paul's ways, and so on.

Our challenge is what to do with this Biblical collage. Do we return and retrieve the commands given to any particular Biblical character as literal for us?

Scot suggests that we need to start with LISTENING to the story. Then, we need to seek to DISCERN how to live out our lives now with the guidance of spiritual community, Holy Spirit, and also listening (not necessarily practicing verbatim) to the traditions of the forefathers of our faith. Ultimately, working within these parameters, we have to wrestle to work out what it means to live out God's story in our lives today!

I think I'm finding this perspective exciting and liberating.

However, I can hear voices (either in my head or anticipating what others may say) objecting to where will this approach end. Is there nothing absolute in scripture? Is this the beginning of the end of a denomination's theological belief system package?

Well, I don't know...

But, I do think we need to believe and rely more on the same Spirit that we believe inspired the Biblical process to also inspire the process of us continuing to live forward the story of God's redemptive work in our day and culture.

prayer-naming the heart stuff

The other day I was listening to a podcast from Speaking of Faith entitled "The Spirituality of Parenting". The host, Krista Tippett, was interviewing a rabbi on the above topic. In the course of the conversation, dealing with how children are naturally spiritual beings and how to nurture that side of them, the topic of prayer came up for a few minutes. I was impressed with how the rabbi defined prayer.

Prayer is NAMING your:

Hopes

Fears

Gratitude

Thus, prayer is more than just a religious exercise. A conversation can be a prayer. A thought can be a prayer. Prayer is where the deep stuff of the heart is identified and nurtured.
It's where these parts of our soul are offered to someone outside of ourselves.
To someone bigger.
To God.

For me, I find this a practical way to view prayer.

meaning in life

3 things that bring meaning in life according to an author (who I don't remember the name of) mentioned by my buddy in the phone conversation we just had.

1. Achievement

2. Love

3. Suffering

I suspect that I tend to feel compelled towards the first one primarily. A radio show I listened to once said that the great feeling of meaning from achievement is fleeting. It's love and relationships that bring the ongoing meaning in life.

And then, what about suffering? Many, more qualified than me, could speak to this aspect!

Now, supposing that these 3 qualities exist in some sort of balance or tension to bring a holistic sense of meaning to life, is that balance/tension to exist in every individual or in society and community as a whole? In other words, do some spend the majority of their days in only one or two of these experiences while others experience different ones. Then, in community, life is brought more meaning by appreciating these 3 things not just in one's life, but in the lives of others as well.

I'm thinking that balance in community may be more like it. Some seem to experience repeated achievements. Some are content to live quiet loving lives predominately. And many spend huge amounts of their experience in suffering.

Maybe the challenge is simply to be aware and increasingly appreciative of ALL 3 of these aspects to meaning whenever and however they are found.

life is a hike

I just got off the phone with my buddy where we were engaged in one of our many conversations about life-its meaning, direction, fulfillment, purpose, etc. As the conversation developed, these mental images emerged about having vision in one's life and knowing where you are going. We were contrasting the ideas of living with a sense of vision for your life verses living in the moment and trusting God to lead you.

I think it's like a railroad. As a human I want to know where I'm going, how I'm going to get there, and be assured that the path is laid out. I want (I think) to be locked on rails taking me somewhere successful and fulfilling.

However, the reality is that life is probably more like a hike. I get glimpses of vision (mountain peaks, serene valleys, tropical beaches, etc.) and I start making my way there. All I have is a compass. Generally I move in the pictured direction. Countless times I will have to take side trips, backtrack around obstacles, get focused on working out the details of an obstacle at hand, sometimes even completely lose sight of the vision, and (most of all) learn to appreciate the journey. The "vision" keeps me moving, but not just to get to the destination. I need to keep moving so I can truly live the moments, and yet I can't get so driven that I miss the moments along the way.

Life is not a passive, direct train ride. It's a dynamic meandering through the forest of life compelled by a vision, guided by a compass, and lived in the moment.

Now, that's heady enough. What do the metaphors of vision and compass stand for practically in my life?

I wrestle on.....

ants in the pants of faith

I just received the pictured magazine and the bold title of the article captured my attention. Reading it through quickly, I found myself frequently agreeing with it, admittedly out of my own experience sometimes. I share it here for you to read, of course attributing all credit to the author, Carolyn Arends. I have, however, bolded and italicized sections of the article that I particularly like. Please follow the above link to read the article without my highlighting/italicizing if you wish. I encourage you to check out Carolyn's music as well. On youtube you can listen to samplings of her work.

The article entitled "The Benefit of Doubt" begins here.

Sarah is a deep thinker. She wishes she could just accept things on the surface, but she can’t. A theological question about God’s sovereignty began to haunt her in her early 20s. She took her question to the spiritual experts available: her pastor and a local “Bible Answer” radio personality. They both told her it was arrogant to question God. But she found it difficult to be dishonest with God. So she stopped talking to God altogether.

Jenny grew up in the church and laughs that she’s saving her “rebellious phase” for her upcoming 40s. She’s had many faith-building encounters with God and loves to share them. What is harder for Jenny to talk about is the long, dark season after her first pregnancy when she had a colicky baby and a whopping case of post-partum depression. Worse, she had an agonizing sense of being cut off from God. For several months she begged God to break through the haze of her exhaustion and hormonal desperation with some reassurance of His love. The breakthrough didn’t happen. Gradually, she stopped feeling so desperate. But she also felt a little abandoned. Even now, when others testify about the times God met them in an hour of need, Jenny’s eyes well up with tears.

Richard was a minister but he’s not anymore. When a bridge collapsed unexpectedly in his small maritime town, so did his faith. His teenage son was on that bridge and drowned. After that, Richard couldn’t think of anything to preach about.

I’ve believed in Jesus since I was old enough to believe in anything. I can barely imagine a world or a life without God. And yet, now and then, I find myself sitting in a church service suddenly struck by the thought that perhaps the whole thing – faith in a personal, knowable God and all the creeds and prayers and the relationship that follow – is only a lovely dream, a benign fabrication that gives meaning to an otherwise achingly futile human existence. I refute these ideas as quickly as I can but I’m troubled by the fact that even now, after all these years of discipleship, such thoughts are possible.

I have questions about … doubt.

My research on doubt is informal. I’ve simply listened to my own heart and the half-whispered confessions of other pilgrims. But I’ve become convinced that most Christians experience doubt at least now and then. There are exceptions, beautiful ones, of believers who seem never to falter. I often wonder (as I fight back my envy) if perhaps they have received the particular spiritual gift of “faith” the Apostle Paul says has been given to some (1 Corinthians 12:9). Whatever the explanation, these unflappable Christians seem to be the exceptions who prove the rule. The rest of us eventually (or periodically) run into some set of variables – tragic circumstances, theological quandaries, physical or mental illnesses, or our own reflective temperaments – that leave questions welling up inside us.

We must determine, it seems to me, if doubt is always destructive or if it is potentially helpful. Are doubts the enemy of faith or, as American author Frederick Buechner puts it, “the ants in the pants of faith,” the very things that keep faith “alive and moving”?

The Bible encourages us to move toward faith and away from doubt. And yet, the “Hall of Fame” believers held up as examples in Hebrews 11 were almost unanimously a questioning lot. The point seems less that they never doubted and more that they came to God with their doubts. Some of them argued with or even hollered at God. But they didn’t walk away.

My favourite example is Jacob. Genesis 32 describes a mysterious encounter with a stranger whom Jacob eventually understands to be God Himself. Jacob wrestles with God all night long and tells Him “I will not let You go until You bless me.”

In the morning Jacob gets his blessing and a new name: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel [‘God-Wrestler’], because you have struggled with God and with human beings and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28). Imagine that. God names not only Jacob but also His people, His nation, His church: Israel. God-wrestlers. It seems God wants us to wrestle with Him, to fight for Him, to grapple with the Mystery, to hold on tight and refuse to let go.

The more I read the Bible, the more I am convinced that God has empathy for our situation. I don’t think our doubts offend God. But I do think He is concerned when we swallow our doubt, when we pretend He is not beyond our understanding and when we attempt to hide our true feelings from Him (as if we ever could!).

So how do we let doubt be a fire that refines faith rather than consumes it? In my own experience, the following four principles have been extremely helpful.

Expect Some Turbulence
The other day I grabbed a cup of water from the kitchen table. It turned out it was not my water but my daughter’s lemonade. I like lemonade, but the tart flavour was so unexpected I did a classic cartoon “spit-take.” Expectations are powerful.

Many Christians expect a doubt-free walk with God. When trouble comes, we must contend with not only the questions themselves but also with the stress and shame at having the questions at all. Our panic will be significantly minimized if we understand that the majority of believers who have gone before us (from biblical heroes and Early Church Fathers to more recent saints like Henri Nouwen and even Mother Teresa) have encountered seasons of doubt.

I suspect a great number of Christians discover as they journey with God that the more they believe (the more they perceive of God) the more doubt springs up as a natural response to the gap between what is and what is understood.

To have real faith – faith that hopes for things that are not yet seen – we have to be confronted at least occasionally with a keen and painful awareness of just how unseen some of those things are. That awareness often manifests itself as doubt.

The author of Ecclesiastes claims “I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

The Bible is wonderfully candid when it refers to this incredibly good news (that we bear something of the eternal right at the deepest part of who we are) as a burden. The truth is, if we flesh-and-bone, finite creatures really do house something infinite, we can expect to feel at odds with ourselves a good deal of the time. Accepting that tension can go a long way toward helping us do something constructive with our doubt.

Don’t Forget to Remember
Every time I hold a friend’s new baby, I’m shocked by how much I’ve forgotten about my own kids’ infancies. When they were tiny, I thought every precious (and not-so-precious) detail would be etched in my mind forever. Now I can barely recall what they looked like back then. If we don’t actively remember things – by writing them down, taking pictures, and telling and retelling stories about them – we forget.

You’d think it would be easy to remember our spiritual epiphanies – answered prayers, Holy Spirit insights and touches of God through circumstances or special perceptions of His presence. In reality, spiritual encounters are particularly difficult to recall precisely because they belong to another realm that seems to vaporize when we get bogged down in our material existence.

The Old Testament prophets understood this problem. They had a habit of marking milestone moments with rocks and altars (they called them ebenezers) so that later, when it all seemed like a hazy dream, they could go back and touch something tangible and remember what God had done for them. It is critical that we do the same. Journal. Write a song. Tell a friend. Take a picture. Read the stories of other believers as a way of accessing the collective memory of the Church. Memorize Scripture. Remember.

Focus on the Who Question
Slowly, I am coming to accept the fact that if God is really God, and I’m really not God, it only makes sense that there are aspects of Him that are beyond me. This awareness allows me to see mysteries that once threatened my faith as actual grounds for belief.

At the same time, there is much that God has chosen to reveal about Himself – through creation, through His Word, through the faith community and, most wonderfully, through Jesus.

We often don’t have answers to so many of our questions. Why does God seem to intervene in some situations and not in others? When will there be ultimate justice? How will God bring it about? But we always have the answer to the Who question. If we wonder who God is, if we need to know if God truly is about justice and mercy and a love for us that cannot be exhausted, we only have to look at Jesus to get our answer.

Knowing who Jesus is allows us to trust God’s character even when our present emotions or circumstances lead us in other directions.

Don’t Stop the Conversation
Pray. Even when you seem to be talking into the void. Even when you have no words. Pray.

One of my favourite prayers is recorded in the Gospel of Mark. A father brings his very ill son to Jesus for healing. He pours out his heart to the Healer, crying, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can?’ ” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

I imagine the father standing there in the middle of the chaos – his epileptic boy twitching on the ground, the voices of others crying out for healing, the crush of hundreds of people jostling for position – and sensing that this is the defining moment of his life. He swallows hard. “I do believe,” he says. And then he adds instinctively, “Help me overcome my unbelief!” The father is too desperate for charades. He comes to Jesus believing just enough to trust that Jesus will help him with his unbelief. And that, it turns out, is enough faith to move the heart of God.

I will not let You go until You bless me. I do believe; help my unbelief.

These are prayers God blesses – the prayers of honest people who understand that doubt is sometimes normal and that faith is worth fighting for.

god our mother

The following is a sermon that I gave at a cute little country church this past Sunday. The picture here comes from this site.

I know God has no need to do this. But humour me for a moment please. God shows up at the BC Access Centre to apply for His driver’s licence. Instinctively the attendant hands him an application form. God goes and finds a seat, takes out his pen and begins writing. As usual, the form begins by asking for personal information.

What would He put down for his name?

What about His address?

Height?

Weight?

Color of eyes?

Gender? Pregnant pause.

You might think this last one the easiest for us to answer about God. But be careful about how quickly you answer this one.

Think back with me to that story where a tired and thirsty Jesus finds himself beside a well talking to a woman. In the course of the conversation the woman begins talking about the right PLACE to worship God. Jesus then says that true worship is not about a place because God is a Spirit.

As human beings created by God we are created in his image. Genesis says that which gender is created in God’s image? Both. So which is God?

This week I had a couple of conversations that seem to weigh in on this subject. The first was my friend from college who is also a pastor. He said to me that me that we really don’t have God figured out. Now, while this may seem like a no-brainer, it does make me think about the countless volumes that try to help us understand what God is like. It also makes me think of scripture and all the descriptions of God in Scripture. God is a rock, a lion, a lamb, light, bread, and so on. How many of us take these metaphors to be literal? No one human metaphor can capture all of what God is like.

Now, the 2^nd friend I was talking to just the other night on Facebook. (a popular social networking site on the Internet) He reminded me about the Lord ’s Prayer and how if Jesus used Father as the description for God then that’s good enough for him. I certainly agree with him that God is all the best attributes of a good father. But, could it be that Father, again, is simply a metaphor? A metaphor largely used because of human cultures that have tended to favour males in many ways.

And could it be that Mother is an equally helpful metaphor for God?

Have any of you read the popular book out in the last couple of years entitled The Shack? In trying to help us understand how the trinity cares for us, it portrays Jesus as a man like you would expect, but God the father is portrayed as a black woman and the Holy Spirit as an Asian lady. As you can imagine, this has raised eyebrows amongst some as some sort of new age doctrine infiltrating Christian circles. But for me, I find this to be a healthy mental stretch.

It reminds me of Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” God is both the source of all our human uniqueness and the unifier of it all.

The fact is, God is a Spirit.

I saw a funny little music video clip this week on the internet. Some of the lyrics go like this:

God is not a man.

God is not a white man.

God is not an old man

God is not a man sitting on a cloud.

God cannot be bought.

God will not be boxed in.

God will not be owned by religion.

But God is love

God is love and He loves everyone

God is not a man. Neither is He a woman. He is as scripture says, a Spirit. But, seeing as we’ve attributed male imagery to him predominantly, I’d like for you to think of God in motherly terms today on this Mother’s day.

We all have a mother. Mother’s are in many ways the strength that make our world go round. Mothers tend to be more patient than men. More compassionate (at least in my household). I’m more likely to feel irritation than compassion over the endless mishaps of family life. I have a lot to learn. Mothers posses a strength often foreign to men-that of stamina and endurance for the endless mundane of domestic life. Mothers are nurturing. As you think about your experience with your mother today, although no mother is perfect, many of you can probably identify some special characteristic of a mother that I haven’t touched on here.

Unfortunately, we don’t always appreciate this. Some of you may have seen this little story about the importance of a mother’s work entitled:

JUST A MOM?

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk 's office,
was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is," explained the recorder,
"do you have a job or are you just a .?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.

"I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation,

'housewife' covers it,"
Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,
"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.
The words simply popped out.
"I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and
looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
"I have a continuing program of research,
(what mother doesn't)
In the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)
and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,
(any mother care to disagree?)
and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom." Motherhood!

What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make grandmothers
"Senior Research associates in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations"
And great grandmothers
"Executive Senior Research Associates?"
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts
"Associate Research Assistants."

Where do mothers receive the qualities that make them who they are? Let me share with you a select few scriptures. See if you can detect some imagery for God that is not male.

Isaiah 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you . . .

Isaiah 66:12 For thus says the Lord, ‘ . . . you shall be nursed, you shall be carried on her hip, and be trotted on her [God’s maternal] knees . . .’

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Isaiah 42:14 “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. (15) I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

Deuteronomy 32:18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Numbers 11:12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?

James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort

This is not always a quality that we men demonstrate very well. Even in my own home I watch my wife naturally exude this quality while I have to work to remember it and unfortunately forget it too many times.

Proverbs 8 portrayal of God’s wisdom as a feminine person that was present in the creation of our world.

Proverbs 8

Lady Wisdom Calls Out

^1-11 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?.....

^22-31 "God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth's Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.

Job 38:29

²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

Diane Ackerman: “But for a baby in the womb the mother’s heartbeat performs the ultimate cradle song of peace and plenty; the surf like waves of her respiration lull and soothe. The womb is a snug, familiar landscape, an envelope of rhythmic warmth, and the mother’s heartbeat a steady clarion of safety.”

Have you ever considered that you come from the womb of God? In fact, are there ways in which we can learn to sense and feels God’s heart beat in our world now as a baby would in the womb?

Today, as we celebrate our earthly mothers (and all those who portray motherly care and love for us) let us remember the source of the Mother. God is our ultimate mother just as he is our father.

May you embrace the God who’s bigger than any of our language. May you celebrate ALL of the images and pictures and metaphors that help us better understand who God is and what God is like.