As we play with our theological toybox, we are discovering what we
believe about God, Jesus, ourselves, and others. I remember when I went through my toy box as
a child; I would sometimes find, at the very bottom, a toy I forgot I had. I would find a Matchbox car I thought was
lost forever. When we delve and dive
into theology, the same is true. You may
discover in your theological toybox an idea about God hidden in the cobwebbed
corner of your soul that you thought you gave away, let go of, lost years
ago. I know several people, for example,
for whom referring to God as only/exclusively male can be hurtful and pick at
the scab of a wound that has never healed.
This could be because their own father was abusive or abandoned
them. This could be because referring to
God only as “Father” feels like your soul is cramped and confined. This could be for a thousand reasons unique
to each person’s experience and encounters. Perhaps this week, one of the questions I’ve
asked surfaced, stirred up the sand in the ocean of your soul, causing you to
recall God as an old white man with a beard on a throne. There are ideas in each of our theological
toyboxes that we are called to ponder prayerfully. I know this: God creates us in God’s
image, and too often, in turn, we create God in our image. What we say about God says more about us
than the Holy Other of the Divine.
Remember all theology is autobiographical ~ talking about God is talking
about ourselves.
While the last two
mornings have been about you and God/Jesus/Spirit/Church ~ there is a whole
world where you are not the main character of the play. Ponder these questions:
What are my
responsibilities to my neighbor?
What are my
responsibilities to the poor and disenfranchised?
What do I want to
give to the world?
What are the
elements of a well-lived life?
As you rummage and roam around your theological toy box with these
questions, look for threads and themes that connect your response to each. For example, is there a connection and
consistency between your neighbor and the poor/marginalized? For example, how is my love for my literal
neighbor like my love for my siblings who are unhoused? How might my love be different/distinctive
for different people? Is there a
connection to how I view a life well-lived?
Perhaps all of this grows from thinking about my responsibilities to
others in my life. We live in a culture
that worships at the altar of the individual.
We demand and decree that things be done our way, on our timetable, and
to our liking, thank you very much. Yet,
the life of faith calls into question whether our life is ever isolated from
others. Faith challenges the myth of the
“self-made” individual ~ which is biologically impossible and theologically
irrational. You are a collection of
fingerprints, DNA, smudges and smears of others ~ some chosen and some you’d
rather not have experienced. Let these
questions open you to the mystery that your life has never been lived on an
island, but in community. The price of
community can be annoyance and ache and joy upon heaping helping of joy. Let these questions move us beyond thinking
to ways we embody and experience life in this beautifully broken/bruised world. Amen.
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