In the Gospels, Jesus is asked 187 questions. He answers (maybe) 8 of them; He himself asks 307…maybe faith isn’t about certainty, but learning to ask…and sit in the complexity of good questions. (Thanks to Kevin M Nye for this quote)
Questions…good questions…complex questions. I have a few….
The question in my mind as I read over the readings for today, was “Just what am I going to talk about on Sunday?” There is a lot in these readings, at least one homily in each of them! But what Paul says in the first reading about the altar with the inscription, “To an unknown God”, kept rattling around in my mind.
Humans since the beginning have always tried to understand the world around them, and each group, tribe, or nation has always understood that there is more to just what we can see, hear, touch, taste or understand. In ages past, natural phenomenon that they did not have the scientific knowledge of, was attributed to the Divine as they understood it. As we became more knowledgeable and understand the world around us, we seem to have accepted science as not having anything to do with the Divine. And yet, we still yearn for a relationship with the Divine. We question…and we ponder.
And so, through the ages many variations of religions, of spirituality have emerged. Do we reject the idea that God…the Divine…was active in each of these? A question to ponder…
We see ourselves as Christians. Remember Jesus was not a Christian, but a Jew. The first followers of Jesus were mostly Jews. They were seen as a branch of the Jewish faith and were called a lot of different names, but mostly they were called Followers of the way of Jesus. In the Gospels, we hear Jesus speaking of, and interacting with not only his fellow Jews, but with anyone he met, no matter their faith or ethnic background. Our particular faith has its beginning in Judaism. But do we believe that God has not spoken to, loved or interacted with humans before or after Jesus lived, or in other parts of the world? Another question to ponder…
We read our Holy Scriptures, the bible in many different translations…and remember that it was not originally written in English. A lot of it was not written down at first, but told and retold by elders around campfires. And once written it was not first printed by a printing press, but hand written and copied by human hands…fallible hands and eyes! Some read it and believe it literally, some read it as metaphor and story. Some of it is poetry, song, parable and metaphor. But has God not encouraged divine insight since the last of this holy book was written?
We read about how God, the Divine “I am”, appeared and/or spoke in visions and dreams. But has, and does God still interact with us humans?
In the Gospel this morning Jesus tells his followers that God will give them another Advocate to be with them forever. The Holy Spirit. Did he mean it was just for those who were there to hear him say it? I don’t think so!
Are we so arrogant to think that God is exclusively ours? That God did not weep at the deaths of the Egyptians at the Red Sea? That God does not weep when we humans decide that those of another religion or faith are not fit to live or be respected? Do we really believe that as Christians we have not “got it wrong” throughout history?
We are Christians. If we had been born or raised in another place or another time, we might follow another way. We follow Jesus and will do our best to follow his example to live a life of love, compassion and inclusivity.
We talk of God the creator…but do we understand that God, the Divine created and loves all that is created? Do we respect this earth that we inhabit? Do we not see the Divine in the other animals, the plants, the air, the water, the earth or even the Universe? Do we not see the Divine in all of Humanity and Nature? Sadly, it is obvious that there are many in our world who do not…but then again…God loves them too! That is a complex thing to sit and ponder.
An unknown God? A God we try to understand and a God who accepts us as we are…who doesn’t mind that we have question and that at times we get it wrong.
Maybe Faith isn’t about certainty, but learning to ask…and sit in the complexity of good questions.
Amen.
