Today’s Readings: Psalm 27; 1 Samuel 4:12-22; John 14:8-14; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Psalm 44
If I were to ask most people to name one theologian, they would probably give me the name of someone like Karl Barth or St. Augustine. That’s because folks have come to think of theologians as historical figures that have had lots of books published. Because many people think of theologians this way, they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their own personal theology. As a result, they often end up simply adopt pieces of theology handed down to them by their family members or Sunday school teachers. This means they often don’t realize the implications of their beliefs. Let’s take the popular belief in a God that is completely transcendent. Many of us were taught the classical notion that God was a distant presence that lived far away from us in the realm of heaven. Consequently, we adopted spiritual practices in our lives that went along with the belief in a distant God. Our prayer time, for instance, was spent bringing this distant God up-to-date on the various happening of our lives. Even our practice of spiritual disciplines like prayer and devotion were affected by this outlook. Often we acted as if we were children whose parents were away - hoping we would be “caught” engaging in a positive activity when our parent(s) finally happened to re-appear in our lives. Today’s passage from 2 Corinthians challenges such a notion of a distant God. Paul wrote: “Whenever, though, they turn to God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are – face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a chiseled piece of stone” (2 Corinthians 3:16 from The Message). The question I have for you to consider today is what kind of theology do you carry with you? Do you see God in the classical sense as a distant, transcendent being – far removed from your daily life; or do you see God as an eminent presence in your life – one you encountered “face-to-face” and moment to moment? How you answer that question will strongly shape the ways in which you live out your faith. Til next time…
If I were to ask most people to name one theologian, they would probably give me the name of someone like Karl Barth or St. Augustine. That’s because folks have come to think of theologians as historical figures that have had lots of books published. Because many people think of theologians this way, they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their own personal theology. As a result, they often end up simply adopt pieces of theology handed down to them by their family members or Sunday school teachers. This means they often don’t realize the implications of their beliefs. Let’s take the popular belief in a God that is completely transcendent. Many of us were taught the classical notion that God was a distant presence that lived far away from us in the realm of heaven. Consequently, we adopted spiritual practices in our lives that went along with the belief in a distant God. Our prayer time, for instance, was spent bringing this distant God up-to-date on the various happening of our lives. Even our practice of spiritual disciplines like prayer and devotion were affected by this outlook. Often we acted as if we were children whose parents were away - hoping we would be “caught” engaging in a positive activity when our parent(s) finally happened to re-appear in our lives. Today’s passage from 2 Corinthians challenges such a notion of a distant God. Paul wrote: “Whenever, though, they turn to God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are – face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a chiseled piece of stone” (2 Corinthians 3:16 from The Message). The question I have for you to consider today is what kind of theology do you carry with you? Do you see God in the classical sense as a distant, transcendent being – far removed from your daily life; or do you see God as an eminent presence in your life – one you encountered “face-to-face” and moment to moment? How you answer that question will strongly shape the ways in which you live out your faith. Til next time…
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