Episode 03: God the Father
A Personal God
An opening mediation
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
Last week, we began discussing the first fundamental question of faith: Is there a God? How do we know that he exists? This is not an easy question to answer and you may very well have not answered it for yourself yet. But the best questions, just by asking them can prompt us to ask other questions. If there is a God, who is God? What is God like? Does God know who we are? Does God care who we are? Can we know God? What is God's name?
As you can see many questions quickly arise. A few may have even come to your mind before. Just as it is natural for humans to seek truth, we naturally yearn to know who God is and what God is like. Movies portray God in many different ways, such as a booming voice from the sky, a giant man sitting on a cloud, or even hurtling lightning bolts from the heavens.
This fascination did not begin with modernity. Man has been visualizing what God looks like throughout human history. In the beginning, man portrayed God, not as a single entity but many, meant to explain the forces of Nature seen all around man. Was God the sun? Was the moon a God? Perhaps the whole earth is god, as the Incas believed with their myths of Pachamama. This is really not that far from the depictions of Greek gods who sprang from the sea foam. You can even walk through the Valley of the Gods in the American West.
But these images seem cartoonish in the harsh light of reason. The sun and the moon are not gods; science tells us that. Hurricanes and the destruction in their wake aren't stirred up by Poseidon in his wrath. They are caused by warm water vapor mixing with low pressure to create a spinning mass of clouds. But even if these depictions of God were true, is it really a god you would want to believe in? These depictions are cold, impersonal, and distant.
Humans are imbued with a strong sense of self, often called self-awareness. Consciousness provides us with the ability to be aware of our surroundings and ourselves, so we know the difference between what happens inside and outside of ourselves. But without self-awareness, you would not appreciate the fact that you are indeed conscious. Self-awareness allows us to examine not only our actions but our motives. Asking about our motives prompts some of the other questions of purpose that we saw last week: What is the meaning of life? Why do humans exist? What is the purpose of my own life?
By asking about purpose, we are already oriented toward looking beyond what we see in the reality in front of us. It drives the longing humans have to peek by behind the curtain and understand why something happened, not just what happened and how. Thus, humans find the concept of nihilism, a purposeless life, unsettling. Once a purpose is aimed, then a creator or God quickly follows in the logic. But if the God you then find is cold, distant, and unconcerned with what happens to us, is that any better than there being no purpose at all?
Aristotle used reason to explain that the Greek pantheon of gods, was less logical than a supreme Creator. However, he also assumed that this supreme Creator was distant, unconcerned with the fate of man. This is why the God of the Jewish people was so radically different from other concepts of God that proceed it in human history. This was a personal God. This was a God that came to find us.
We find in the Old Testament the following story:
“Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As Moses looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So he decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight to see why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw him coming over to look at the sight more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” Moses answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. The cry of the Israelites has reached me and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.”
’But, ‘Moses said to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who I am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I am sent me to you. . . .This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.” But Moses said to the Lord, “If you please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past, nor recently, nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gives one man the gift of speech and no such gift to another? Is it not I, the Lord? Go then! It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what you are to say.” Yet Moses persisted, “If you please, Lord, send someone else.” Then the Lord relented, “Have you not your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know that he is an eloquent speaker. He shall speak to the people for you. He shall be your spokesman. I will assist both you and him and teach the two of you both what you are to do.”
The Old Testament is filled with numerous occasions where God reveals himself, such as he does to Moses in this passage from Exodus."
The astounding thing about this story is not only does God come looking for us, but he offers us his name. Think about what this means on a human level. Why do you tell someone your name? You certainly don't give everyone you ever speak to your name. The cashier at the grocery store likely does not know your name. But would you really consider someone your friend if they didn't know your name? So much of who we are is wrapped up in our name. Telling someone your name establishes a relationship with them. Gives them a means for seeking you out personally. This is what "I am who I am", the God of Moses wants from us, a personal relationship. Throughout the course of the week, we will explore what God's name reveals to us about who he is and how those revelations define who we are and our relationship to God.
Weekly
Prayer
Intentions
To be prayed daily
Pause for some silence
Pause for some silence
The Sign of the Cross
Start by touching your right hand to your forehead, then your stomach, followed by your left and right shoulders while saying "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen"
God by whose Word the world was made (Saint Ambrose)
God by whose Word the world was made, and by whose will it moves, you clothe the day in heavenly light and bless our sleep by night. So fill our hearts with dreams of you, as peace enfolds us now. May tranquil sleep refresh our souls to rise with strength renewed. All praise to God the Father be, to Son and Spirit blest, the Triune God who all things moves. Save us, who trust in thee. Amen.
Specific intentions:
Lord, help me to see myself as dignified being made in your image.
Lord, help me to appreciate the beauty of your wonderful creation and embrace it as a testament to how much love you have for all of your creations.
Lord, help me to take comfort in your desire to be near us as a personal God.
Personal intentions:
Please add your own intentions here.
Our Father:
Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Glory Be:
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end, Amen.
Weekly
Journal
Prompt
Weekly Readings
With this week's readings we have been thinking about who God is, how God and man are connected, and what that says about us. How does God's revelation about who he is give meaning to our lives? When you heard that you were made in his image, what comes to your mind? How should a person created in God's image live? Take a few minutes to write down your thoughts on these personal reflections.
Click on the Link to download each of the articles for further reading this week.
God Reveals Himself
What is God’s plan of loving goodness? Click here to download
God’s Creation
How God relates to the physical world. Click here to download
God Makes Man
What does it mean to be made by God? Click here to download
Weekly Activity:
Seeking God's Majesty
This week your task is simple.
God shows his love for us through his creation, whether that be creating us in his image or the beautiful world around us. In order to seek God we must learn how to be quiet and still. Some times this is most easily accomplished by sitting in church, but it can also be accomplished by spending some time in God's wonderful gift of creation in the natural world.
Your task for this week is as follows:
Take a walk in nature, somewhere outside of your normal routine. If you are on campus, you might consider the canal path or the Institute Woods. Go far enough that you can no longer see the road, so you are completely surrounded.
DO NOT TAKE YOUR PHONE. This is not negotiable. Don't deprive yourself of the opportunity to be completely present in the moment. For the time that you spend there, protect it from disturbances from your daily life. If it is your only way of keeping track of time, borrow a watch from a friend instead.
DO NOT TAKE YOUR iPOD. Enjoy the silence. Immerse yourself in the wonderful array of sounds that nature provides on its own.
DO NOT GO WITH OTHER PEOPLE. This is your time to be alone with God. If you wanted to have a deep conversation with a good friend, would you take a group,? No, so don't short change yourself the opportunity to spend time with God as well.
As you walk, thank God for the things you see. Thank him for creating the soft earth you walk on, the music of the bird chirping in the branch above you, the calm waters of the lake, whatever you see.
This is the world God made for you out of love. Enjoy your walk.