God
In the World
“Like
countless others, I have been schooled in vertical theology. Western
culture, especially Western Christianity, has imprinted a certain
theological template upon the spiritual imagination: God it far off
from the world and does humankind a favor when choosing to draw
close.”
Diana
Butler Bass (Grounded)
It's surprising, isn't
it, how ingrained the notion of “God Above” is in our modern
mentality? I'm in the process of creating banners for Advent, which
is coming up in just a week or so. Every image that comes to me is
sky-related, and, of course, much of our scripture supports this
notion that God is somewhere out in space. It's an almost automatic
response to look up, or to point to the sky when we attempt to locate
God. But having a deity that is so inaccessible is not terribly
helpful—at least, not to me. I gladly follow in the footsteps of
Barbara Brown Taylor and Diana Butler Bass in finding God in the
world, in the everyday activities of life. I wonder whether you do,
too.
One way to bring God into the palpable reality of the everyday is
to frequently ask, “Where is God in this?” When
we're sitting around the feast table at Thanksgiving, for instance,
we might ask either silently or aloud, “Where is God in this?”
(I'm pretty sure that question will have the added benefit of halting
most caustic political debate and family sniping.) When we're
watching the news, or the “big game,” where is God in it?
Likewise, when we're doing chores, working, grocery shopping—where
is God in this? And don't just ask the question, but allow the
answers to rise up in within you.
I don't mean to suggest
that we use this question simply as a tactic for shutting down
conversations we don't like, but as a way of clarifying for ourselves
what God-in-the-world looks like. Are the faces around the table, the
family conversations and laughter sacred to you? Is your heart full of
gratitude for the delicious food, the hard work and love involved in
preparing it? Are the crazy old family stories precious beyond
measure? That's the face and reality of the Divine presence.
One of the most telling
comments we hear a lot these days is, “I'm not religious, but
I am spiritual.” The meaning of that can be confusing, but to my
ears it says, I have altered the location of the sacred for myself. I
have moved the Divine out of the stratosphere, and out of the
hierarchy of religious establishments, and brought It home to the
world in which I live. It may be that we are slowly, but surely,
coming to the full understanding of Emmanuel—God with us.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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