“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Anyone who knows Jesus knows his Father. And every misconception we may have about God can be cleared up by the encounter with Mary's Son. Both the awful image of God as cruelly indifferent to human suffering and perhaps enjoying it; and the image of a doting, sugar daddy creator whose love is unconditional can be unlearned by the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth.
And so Christians spend our lives getting to know the Lord. We continually ask him to speak to us and help us understand him more clearly. As the song from GodSpell went: "...to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly day by day."
Jesus of Nazareth, aka The Word Made Flesh. also teaches us what it means to be human, for without that we cannot know the God who created us in his own image and likeness. We meet our needs and frailty in him. No one can hang on a cross very long, but we can, like him, carry one for a considerable difference. If we cannot hide from the murderous wrath of an insanely jealous Herod, we might flee; and return when the danger has passed. If we cannot walk on water, we can take the hand of the man who does and walk with him.
I think of our knowing the Father like this: We've all been in a room when Friend A spoke with Friend B over the telephone. We could not see that third party but we followed the conversation well enough. We could not hear the clever rejoinder when A said this; but we knew what B said when we saw A laughing, and we laughed with them. We might not know what the terrible news is but we know it's bad and we already feel the sorrow coming on.
As we follow Jesus we get to know God his Father. The Son of Mary is so transparent in his devotion, spontaneity, generosity, courage, and willingness before his God that we must give his Father the same eager obedience. And the gods whom we formerly knew, we forget. They were no gods; we regret every moment we spent with them.
As we follow the Lord, the day must come when, as David's ancestress Ruth said to Naomi, we say to Jesus,Do not press me to go back and abandon you!
Wherever you go I will go,
wherever you lodge I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people
and your God, my God.
Where you die I will die,
and there be buried.
May the LORD do thus to me, and more, if even death separates me from you!”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.