How do you understand God? How do you experience God might be a better way to ask the question. Tomorrow’s first reading tells us the story of Abraham taking his son up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac to God, who commanded him to do so. I horrible story that says much about how we understand God.
Abraham had two ways of understanding and believing in God. The first is the God who judges us sternly and justly, measuring out justice and salvation. This is a way of seeing God that reflects a way Abraham saw God. But the God who intervened in the moment Abraham wields the weapon to kill his son, a different God emerges, a God who wants Abraham to destroy the image of God he was used to experiencing: the distant, exacting autocrat like deity demanding obedience. The God of the Covenant is a loving and personal God who wants us to be vulnerable enough to experience a love that just won’t end, no matter what.
In our time of advanced science and technology, in our enlightened world of truth and justice, we still do battle with that primitive understanding of the god of retribution. Many of us from many walks of life, culture, race and religion refuse to let go of this dusting tirant of a god.
Jesus, the Incarnation of God, brought God DOWN into our lives and hearts, all the while remaining majestic and glorious, wanting to show us the depth of His love. He teaches us much about God, One who always gives us another chance, who wants us to share in the recreation of the world. We both embrace this God and kneel in adoration before Him.
How you experience God speaks volumes about how you see everything.
Peace,
Fr. Frank