A Gift From the Children

An Inkling

Do any of you ever take yourselves and your problems too seriously?  I know I do.  Sometimes the Lord delivers me from my messiah complex by puncturing my pomposity.  He’s never at a lack for the means to do so.  And it can be pretty painful.

But sometimes his deliverance from self-importance comes gently.  And it seems that children are one of his favorite means for doing so. 

One bonus of working at St. Giles is that I get to see the preschool children here and there during the day.  Their knack for childlike simplicity and joy serves to remind us that God would give the same to us as his children.  Check out the attached video snippet from a few days ago when Melanie and Mhilet brought their class by the office to sing.

What a gift!  It’s part of what Jesus meant when he said “whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall never enter it.”

Thanks kids!

Keith

The Unending Quest

An Inkling

How large is the universe?  And how small are the tiniest sub-atomic particles?  For every answer scientific researchers find, more questions arise.  The more they learn, the more they realize they have yet to discover.  And until they learned what they do know, they didn’t begin to know what they don’t know.

I’m a theology researcher.  Not in a professional sense.  Some folks theologize for a living.  As a pastor theology is only one of the balls I juggle.  But it’s a hugely important one, which I pursue both through Bible study and reading theology books.  So I’m a fairly serious theologian, and have been for over three decades now.

Yet it’s not as if those three decades have brought answers to all the questions.  Far from it.  The farther I’ve gone with these theological quests, the more I’ve realized that the same dynamic is at play in theology as in scientific research – until you grow some in what you do know, you don’t know what you don’t know.

It’s the mystery of God.  The more you get to know of who he is and what he’s about, the more you realize that there is much more to know, and much more beyond knowing. 

And it’s not just in reference to esoteric questions like how providence works or the nature of evil.  It’s also true for such “basic” matters as God’s love.  What a happy discovery – to learn that exploring God’s love leads to more love to explore!  So too for such “basics” as God’s grace, forgiveness, joy, and peace.  And get this:  through the Spirit Jesus himself enables the search – mystery upon mystery, and all good!

Happy exploring!

Keith

The Gravity of the Supremes

An Inkling

With the media fixated on the same sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court this week, hardly anyone has noticed another momentous case before them – this one challenging the law of gravity.  The Court will determine whether the law of gravity is inevitably discriminatory in its application, bearing more heavily on some than on others. If they so determine, they will certainly rule the law unconstitutional. 

This case is before the Court because of a suit filed by seven people who believe it is unjust that they are considered heavy.  Ike Newton, attorney for the plaintiffs, declared that it is long since time for America to bring freedom for all who have previously borne the burden of extra pounds.

The seven plaintiffs prepared for the Court hearing with a service at their church, where the Reverend G. B. Shaw led a ceremony in which the seven were pronounced “light.”  During his homily the Reverend Shaw declared, “I don’t know what kind of bigoted blindness led the deity to put the law of gravity into effect, but the Supreme Court now has the opportunity to right a great wrong.” 

At a reception following the ceremony, the newly light celebrants were giddy with their new status.  One of the women declared that she can hardly wait to wear a size five dress. 

Meanwhile the Presbyterian Church has convened a study commission, which will consider the Church’s broad diversity of theological positions on gravity, and will bring a report in 2024.

“He who sits in the heavens laughs.”  And the joke is on us.

Lord have mercy,

Keith

Simple Truth

An Inkling

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

If you were to pick a single verse to summarize the good news, which would it be?  Many choose the verse above, John 3:16.  It is about as basic as our faith gets, and yet it expresses some of the gospel’s central mysteries.

Often we think of “the basics” as something we endure so that we can move on to what really matters.  We begin with basic grammar so that we can move on to competent writing, and with basic math so that we can move on to calculus.  But “the basics” are not lost; they are just assumed.  You can’t work a derivative equation without the assumptions of basic math.

So too with our faith.  We begin with the basic understanding that God so loved…  Only we do not really move beyond that.  We may study complex theological issues about the nature of God, or ethical questions about war and abortion.  And sometimes we lose track of “the basics” in the complexity of such matters.  But if faith remains Christian, then we can never leave behind those basic gospel truths.

In fact, one reason I’m persuaded of the gospel’s truth is that its deepest mysteries are found in its simplest truths.  It is not as if we ever move beyond John 3:16.  And we need not, for there is more than enough depth there for a lifetime of pondering, and more than enough good news there to make life worth living.  Thanks be to God!

Thinking simple thoughts,

Keith

The GRAND Stand View

An Inkling

Do you ever wonder how the Communion of the Saints works?  You know, that phrase we slide through in the Apostles Creed?  How does that it work?  I’ve been thinking about that this week, because this Friday is the premiere of Job’s Unbridled Faith.  And I’m wondering if Bob Wendell will be watching.

You may have heard about how Bob and Ed Keating collaborated on writing this musical telling of the story of Job.  They sensed the Holy Spirit moving through them as they pulled music and verse together.  Bob lived long enough to partner in the writing, but not long enough to see it performed – at least in the expected way.

I’ve been practicing with the choir for this premiere, and I can report to you that it really does capture the profundity and mystery of Job, and it does so in a way that is both moving and fun.  “Moving” you’d expect.  “Fun?”  From Job?  You’ll have to see for yourself, Friday at 7:30, here at St. Giles, complete with choir and orchestra.

Back to the Communion of the Saints.  It’s not about ghosts sneaking back into our realm.  Rather it describes the sense the scripture gives us that the community we have in Jesus Christ extends beyond the boundaries of this life.  Death changes, but does not end, those relationships.

So might Bob be watching Friday night?  I’d like to think so.  In fact, I’d like to think Bob would have the best seat in the house, watching from the GRAND Stand.  By that I mean he will watch with the knowing eye of one who sees fully what we can only glimpse in Job, and describe in terms of mystery.  Job’s Unbridled Faith does that well, and Bob will take it in with a far grander understanding than we have as we perform it.

You can see the video trailer I’ve attached, made from footage of a practice last week.  Share this link with your friends.  Tell them you found some folks who can have fun telling Job’s story.  That ought to interest them.  I think there will be a lot of joy on Friday.  And the happiest “Bravo” will sound from the GRAND stand.

Blessings,

Keith