Pastoral Thought--March 25

As our Lenten season ends this weekend, I want to share with you the words of Jewish philosopher Saadia Gaon that are found in the beginning of a book that I am currently reading. His words address the truth that God exceeds our mind's ability to fully speak about God. We can know or comprehend all of the aspects of God’s nature and personhood. We marvel at how God, who is greater and more caring than we can imagine, would willingly come to earth and suffer as Jesus did for us.

God’s will can also be a mystery that we are living and working at understanding. . . God far exceeds our ability to reason or rationalize. Gaon wrote: 

"Were we, in our effort to give an account of God, to make use only of expressions that are literally true, it would be necessary for us to desist from speaking of Him as one that hears and sees and pities and will to the point where there would be nothing left for us to affirm expect the fact of His existence."

So much of our devotional life is dedicated to understanding, even in a small sense, the nature of God. We want to understand who God is and why God acts in the manner in which He does. Countless hours have been spent trying to figure out how God chooses to move in our lives. But there is just some information that we are not able to fully assimilate into our minds correctly or clearly. Yet we still try. . . 

Throughout Lent this year I have tried to make some sense of the sacrifice of Jesus—besides just saying that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I cannot fully grasp the nature of God being willing to come down from the heavenly kingdom and suffer for us. My only recourse is to fall back onto the fact that God loves me, loves us, so much that He will willingly do this for us. 

I have wondered about how he felt as the days grow closer to Good Friday. . . 

I wondered what he thought about when Jesus and His Heavenly Father were together communing in worship while he was on earth. . .  

We know that the disciples did not see the pain in Jesus’ eyes each day of Holy Week. I wonder what anguish was on his face in those days? 

There is a lot to consider and reflect upon. And so I hope that as Lent ends, you will let the mystery of God’s choice and God’s presence wash over you. He willingly did this. . . What does that make you want to say or how does that call you to live? 

Blessings

Rev. Derek