The Ineffable God - November 8
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 80; PM Psalm 77, [79]; Neh. 9:1-15(16-25); Rev. 18:1-8; Matt. 15:1-20
Yesterday was the conclusion of our Inquirer’s Class at Saint Stephen’s, six weeks of Episcopal theology, and a class that is often a tool for preparation for Confirmation or when people make a mature affirmation of faith. In this case, preparation for the Confirmation process led four people (two teenagers and two adults) to be Baptized yesterday as a requirement for Confirmation. Yesterday, we witnessed four people choosing the way of love that we have come to know through Christ and it was especially moving for me.
One of the ways I like to teach the class is to present paradoxes that are unresolvable as ways of understanding our tradition. For example: Is God timeless, simple, unchangeable (the classical understanding of God) or can God change as evidenced by suffering on the cross? While this might not seem like a big deal, this is the kind of dilemma that leads to wars and churches fracturing. These are contradictory understandings of God and only one could be true. And yet, when this question was posed in a room of ten people, there were at least eleven opinions! And this is where I get excited, usually jumping up and down, to point out the nature of the Episcopal Church isn’t resolving these challenging questions but being bound together by common prayer.
Robin Williams famously said in his top ten list about the Episcopal Church that” no matter what you believe, there is bound to be at least one Episcopalian who agrees with you.” People seem drawn to a tradition that can be intellectually honest.
Yesterday we concluded our class, where I answer questions and tell jokes (about the Church to prompt more questions). After some challenging questions on the nature of evil, we concluded with a simple statement that would be problematic in most traditions. I told the group that at the end of the day, I’m not concerned in the least with what they believe as long as their faith leads them to love God and their neighbor more deeply. I believe that is all that really matters.
Jesus is being questioned by the Pharisees and scribes, people who are pretty good at making theological arguments. They know the commandments and the laws, and they are good at reminding people when they miss the mark and so they lure Jesus into a conversation about the teachings, noticing that Jesus has not been following the handwashing tradition (he obviously hasn’t lived through a global pandemic).
Jesus’s response is essentially that it doesn’t matter what you do if your heart isn’t changed. Your heart is what really matters. The Pharisees had all of the right theological answers, but they didn’t actually care about people in the way that Jesus called us to love.
We heard a word in the All Saint’s collect that I only hear on that day but probably should use more often – ineffable. It means “too great or extreme to be expressed in words.” While the collect referred to the ‘ineffable joys’ I wonder if that might be a better description of God’s own self. God is too great to simply be described by words!
The Good News is that it doesn’t matter. We are not required to give an account of our understanding, to get it right as so many people are worried about. All we have to do is love. And we learn about that love from each other, and then we all get it chance to practice it.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: What theological questions do you have? Are there certain things that you believe must be true? Why are these important to you? Have you changed your opinions over time?
Daily Challenge: Here are the Contemporary Collects for the Church Year. See if you can find All Saints.