April 16 (Easter Sunday)

1^st Congregational Church of Redwood City, UC= C

Carol Barriger

Sund= ay, June 18, 2006

(2^nd after Pentecost, Father’s Day)

“It’s Like This…”

With what can we compare the reign of God? (Mk 4:30)

Mark 4:26-34

Many = times I, and clergy friends of mine, Christian and of other traditions, have people = come to us and say, “Tell me what God is like.” “Who, or what, is God? How do I connect with God?”<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And maybe they even say something = like, “I haven’t been in church for 20 years,” or (the killer) “You went to seminary. = You are supposed to know.” = This happens increasingly in this post-church culture where many like the person= in my example have disconnected from faith communities, or have had difficult = or unfulfilling encounters with religious doctrine in their past. There seems to be a built-in assum= ption that church is the place where you go to learn about God, or = that that is the singular purpose of the church – assumptions that could be debated, but I’ll leave that for another day. There is also an assumption here t= hat a properly educated person can provide you with a fact sheet or a template. I’ll lay that to rest right = now.

Let’s accept for a moment at least the p= remise that a faith community should, as one of its foundational purposes, provide people a place to learn about and have experiences of God, to learn ways in which they might fulfill the spiritual yearnings we all have. One of the ways we do t= his is by storytelling. Today we hea= rd from 3 good storyteller-writers: Jesus of Nazareth (in the imagination of Mark), Thomas Merton, and Abraham Joshua Heschel. The g= ospel and the poems have something in common.&nb= sp; [What is it?]

They are attempts, within the limits of langua= ge, to draw some picture of God, to describe some part of the mysterious quality, = or action, of God. Some of the w= ords are beautiful, maybe even revealing or inspiring. And these are just snippets. Recorded human history is filled w= ith imaginings, drawings, poems, chants, drama, prayers, rituals -- all seeking= to describe the Holy. But all of= the descriptions are incomplete. = Many have you have heard the fable of the group of blind men who attempt to desc= ribe an elephant. I was surprised = to learn how very ancient this story is. It appears not only as a catchy 19^th century American poe= m, but multiple times in Muslim and Buddhist traditions going back thousands of years. Hear it again, and think about what it says about our understanding = of God.

Once upon a time, in a village, there lived six blind men. One day the villagers told = the blind men, “Be careful. There is an elephant in our village today."= The men had been blind since birth.= They had no idea what an elephant was, but they decided as a group, "Even though we can’t see it, let us go and touch the elephant anyway. They went to the edge= of the village where the elephant was, and each carefully touched the elephant= .

After some thought, the fir= st man, who had touched the elephant’s leg, said, "I believe the elephan= t is a pillar."

"Oh, no! It is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.

The third man touched the t= runk and exclaimed, “Oh, no! It is like a thick branch of a tree."

"It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.

"It is like a huge wal= l," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.

"It is like a solid pipe," said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.

Then they began to argue ab= out the nature of the elephant, and each one insisted he was right. They were getting agitated and upset. A wise man passed by a= nd observed this. He stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We can’t ag= ree what the elephant is like." Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like. The sage explained to them, "All of you are right.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> [In others words, he was saying: it is not necessary for you= to agree] The reason every one o= f you is telling it differently because each one of you touched a different part = of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features that you named."

Each man was telling his tr= uth, and while together they may have made a rather ridiculous picture of an elephan= t, there is no denying that the images these men created in their minds have r= eal meaning in understanding an elephant. An elephant’s legs are pillar-like; the trunk rope-like. The creature is as= big as a wall with solid tusks. E= ach person’s truth has meaning, and contributes to a fuller – if st= ill incomplete – understanding of the whole.

&= nbsp; Our descriptions of God, of the reign of God, of the action of God in the world= are varied and divergent because each one of us has touched a different part of= the elephant, or more correctly, come in intimate contact with the God who dwel= ls beyond our vision of our eyes. Each description has meaning. I ca= n hear Mark’s Jesus sigh as he speaks to those who gather about him. They are like children asking the = same question over and over and never hearing the answer. I hear Jesus say, “Well, it’s like this…” as he seeks to find yet another example, another metaphor which might do the trick, or a parable – a compact s= tory – to communicate for them the nature of the loving and mysterious God. There are so many parabl= es in the Bible. Some of them have = become great favorites, but it is important to remember that each represents just = one lens, just one piece of that unbelievably large Truth.

&= nbsp; Here, in Mark’s spare words, we hear the action of God compared to the myst= ery of growing things. Seed, rand= omly scattered and untended, sprouts and grows according to some germinating imp= etus we don’t understand, and then produces grain. It happens without the interventio= n or control of a person. Just…seeds. The = action of God is disorderly and unpredictable.&nb= sp; And then he charges onward, as if knowing that this is insufficient = and declares that the reign of God is like a mustard seed, a tiny, tiny seed to= ssed into the rocks and soil which, against all odds and expectations, grows int= o a great bushy thing capable of supporting birds’ nests. In reality, botanists do not belie= ve that the mustard plants that would grow in Jesus’ part of the world w= ould ever have been anything more than herb-like. But the point of the parable is no= t its factual (or non-factual) nature. It is the completely unexpected nature of the reign of God, and its growth aga= inst any presumably reasonable chance of success. Well, if that isn’t sufficie= nt for you, you can plow through the Bible (the gospels and the Hebrew Scriptures) and factor in God being like yeast, a shepherd, a loving father= , a rock, Sophia-Wisdom, an eagle, the wind, a fortress, a mother hen … the list is endless. Perhaps because God is endless? Each has its truth, and its moment= in time when someone, seeking to connect, is able to hear and resonate with it. <= /p>

&= nbsp; Merton writes: We can never fully know God if we think of God as an object of capture, to be fenced in = by the enclosure of our own ideas. We know God better after our minds have let God go. When we give God human qualities, we are attempting to capture God. That’s precisely what the wr= iters of scripture attempted to do – fence God in by the enclosure of their= own ideas. After all, they were h= uman beings, too. It’s a per= fectly natural thing to do, but I suggest that your God is an experience. Your God is a relationship. Your God is a presence. So is mine. The fact that each of us may, indeed, have a “piece of the truth” a= bout God, makes it ever more vital that we join together and share our stories, = our experiences – so that God is living, and vital, and “still speaking!” Especially i= n our UCC tradition, you are free to reflect upon, and choose, the images and understanding that connect you most deeply with God. We are in a unique position to enr= ich one another’s spiritual journeys, and in fact, we covenant to be toge= ther and do precisely that.

&= nbsp; Heschel was one of the 20^th century’s most prominent Jewish theologians. Jewish tradition profoundly honors the indescribable mystery of God and God’s actions = in the world. Observant Jews wil= l not utter the name of Yahweh when reading Torah aloud, for the name of t= he Holy One is believed to be unspeakable.&nb= sp; The word adonai is substituted. When written in English, Jewish te= xts do not spell out the English word “God.” It will appear in print, rather, as “G-d.” Heschel likens the pursuit of understanding of God to a wilderness ramble, not an orderly, rational progression. And when, in the course of stumbli= ng around in that wilderness, one actually comes face-to-face with God, Out= of endless anxiety, out of denial and despair, the soul bursts out in speechle= ss crying. It is an encounte= r for which there are no words. Thi= s is why we read that the experience of God is known in the rustle of the forest= and the crash of the ocean, in the act of making love, in nursing a child, in building something with one’s hands, in playing music, painting, sculpting, in unbidden and radical kindness, in an unconditional welcoming embrace.

&= nbsp; Yes, I went to seminary. Yes, I sp= end a lot of time in reading, and theological conversation and in prayer. I go on retreat. I also ask myself where God is mov= ing in this world, and what I could be doing to facilitate that movement toward justice and peace .. shalom … wholeness … the reign of God. That is the question I i= nvite you to ask yourself, too. But= if you asked me what God is like, I could only tell you ho= w God has moved in my life, and in the world I have b= een privileged, or fated, to see. I have my own wonderings, my own tears. Can I offer the brilliant, insightful words that complete once and f= or all your spiritual journey? N= o, I cannot. I would end up doing = the same thing Jesus did – telling stories, and listening to yours; drawi= ng pictures in the air with my hands. I am called to walk beside you; perhaps to provide some language for your own storytelling about God, to affirm your truth; and then to sit in wonder as you tell me … “It’s like this…”

Amen.

We know Go= d better after our minds have let God go. Some say that there i= s no helpful way to describe God; that God so completely transcends language that the on= ly thing one can do is to sit in silence and experience. I invite you into that silence now= .

Mark 4:26-34

He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if som= eone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, a= nd the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then = the full grain in the head.

But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, bec= ause the harvest has come."

He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and bec= omes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the bird= s of the air can make nests in its shade."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were abl= e to hear it;

he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

From No Man Is An Island, Thomas Merton

God approaches our minds by receding from them

We can never fully know God if we think of God as an object of capt= ure,

= ; to be fenced in by the enclosure of our own ideas.

We know God better after our minds have let God go.

God travels in all directions at once

God arrives from all directions at once

Wherever we go, we find that God has just departed

Wherever we go, we discover that God has just arrived before us.

From Man is Not Alone, Abraham Joshua Heschel

…Awareness of God does not come by degrees:=

from timidity to intellectual temerity;

from guesswork, reluctance, to certaint= y;

it is not a decision reached at the crossroads of doubt.=

It comes when, drifting in the wilderness,=

having gone astray,

we suddenly behold the immutable polar star.

Out of endless anxiety,

out of denial and despair,

the soul bursts out in speechless crying.<= /p>

<= /o:p>