Standing Between Certainty and Mystery

Beloved of God, grace to you and peace from God our Creator and the Savior of the world Jesus the Christ. Amen.

When we joined the cathedral church for worship in the heart of bustling Singida, Tanzania, it was Bishop Delzer’s job to preach. Bishop Mkumbo of the Central Diocese carefully guided him up to the pulpit, and from the raised pulpit he shared a story about a young boy and an older woman that I want to share with you as I begin my message this morning:

“Once there was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his bag with some biscuits and some bottles of pop, and started on his journey. When he had gone a little ways, he met an old woman. She was sitting under a tree staring at some birds. The boy sat down next to her and opened his bag. He was about to take a drink from his bottle of pop when he noticed the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a biscuit. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a bottle of pop. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating biscuits and drinking pop, and smiling, yet they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him the biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own home a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God!” Before his mother could respond he added, “You know what? She’s got the greatest smile I’ve ever seen.”

The old woman, also radiating with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and asked, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate biscuits and drank pop under a tree with God.” Before her son could respond, she added, “And you know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

In our Genesis text for today, we also have an encounter with God that defies expectation. When we think of, talk of, or worship God, I imagine that most of us already know what we picture as God. Our Lutheran expression of worship understands a God who is filled with grace, a God who is loving, and a God who is not far from the seasons of injustice in our lives, but rather seeks liberation with us in the body and ministry of Jesus the Christ. Our 1st reading for today encounters Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin of being inhospitable. Abraham, in his life’s story, knows God as someone who promises to bless him with land, offspring, and blessings in abundance that he might bless others. He knows God’s ability to test the ends of his faithfulness through the near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac. In short, Abraham comes to this moment of God pronouncing destruction with his own set of beliefs and experiences. God sends the two men Abraham is with to inspect the city, while Abraham remains alone with God. Back and forth, we see Abraham negotiating with God on the severity of punishment and the separation of the righteous from those who have sinned, and every time Abraham speaks God relinquishes punishment: where there are righteous people, there will not be destruction. The young boy in our story met God in a different way from what he was expecting. Abraham met a different side of God, the Creator and sojourner with the Israelite people, in a way that called him to be courageous, in a way that dwelled somewhere between certainty and mystery.

I think that the tension between those things – certainty of God and the mystery of God – is something that we can explore more of as the Church. Often, our life experiences tell us what we should think about God and how God operates: I’ve heard many stories of people who, after a difficult life experience, believe God is absent. I’ve heard stories from people who believe that God will exact vengeful justice. I have heard stories from people who believe that God is energy, God is relationship, God is the embodiment and creation of love. I think that our central task as the Church is to envision God in this way: what are the things that widen our circle of belonging to one another? What are the fruits of love, generosity, patience, willingness, hope? There, in those moments, words, and actions, do we find God. Also, we need to ask ourselves – what are the words or actions in our lives that have been hurtful to us? Where have we hurt others? Where do we see the work and results of injustice, or hatred, or evil? There are the things that separate us from full communion and life with God and with one another. As we see in our Genesis text, God desires for the fullness of righteousness, the fullness of right living, and the fullness of love to be what shapes our own lives, our communities, and our belonging to one another. And the beauty of this is that again and again, God welcomes us to continue trying to get it right.

That is why we gather together as the Church: because we believe that God’s vision can be brought forth with our hands, our mouths, and our feet. It is a frightful thing sometimes to stand up to injustice or harm, but we follow the example Abraham set for us: “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.” All it takes to speak to God, to intercede to God, or to share God’s love with our neighbors is to recognize the very core of our being – dust and ashes – that out of the ground we were created and born to bear the divine image. Any of us, all of us, can speak to the certainty and mystery that is love, which is the very heart of God.

And so, my friends, today let us be bold. Let us stand together between certainty and mystery. Let us set aside our images of God that are in our minds and let us see God in the faces of those sitting next to us, those around the world from us. Let us undo our expectations of God so that the fullness of love and justice might meet us wherever we are on our journey of life and faith. I invite you to journal or to think through in this next week: Who do you think God is? Where or in whom did you see God show up over the course of the last few days? How were you changed as a result of setting aside a preconceived notion? God just might surprise you in your answers. As always, I give thanks for our ministry, our communion, and for our life together – because our witness to God’s expansive love is rich. Together may we continue to bear love, mercy, and justice into God’s world, trusting that in it all is a beautiful promise of a mystery that defeats sin and ends the pain of death. Thanks be to God. Amen.