October 21, 2007
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church Pr. Per Inge
Vik What does your image of God look like? How do you imagine God? What characteristics does he have in your thought and experience? Do you recognize the situation that the parable depicts today, and think that this judge resembles how you have experienced God? Do we have to nag him, and if we just are persistent, we at last are rewarded by his answer? I have my baptismal day today, on October 21st. This makes me think that once I got a strange task, paint your picture of God! Together with some other pastors at a course I was asked to put on a paper how I imagine God. We were to do it by delivering a color drawing, and then come back to the group and share the result with each other. The last years before I came to Mindekirken, I was on a team of pastors giving work guidance to other pastors and church employed persons. The idea about such work guidance is to speak truly about our life, as it really is. Being honest and working on integration between faith and life. In order to be able to guide others, we ourselves also had to receive guidance. For that reason we were summoned to gatherings, where we got professional input and guidance on our work, and things to work on. It was during such a gathering that this exercise was handed out. All participants were given a blank sheet and color pencils. To pastors that are used to basic texts and exegesis and Bible commentaries, we who stick to the spoken and written word, this was an unfamiliar exercise. I chewed on the pencil and wondered. But after some minutes, my fingers started to form a picture. It was the view towards the mountains through the window in my childhood home, that formed the frame: the view eastwards, to the mountains the Hellandshorn and the Bergetindene, ”furet, værbitt over vannet”, as we have it in our Norwegian national anthem. I depicted God as the morning sun, going up over the mountains. It is in that way I have met God from when I was a child, in the face of Jesus. Jesus is the one who was raised from the dead, and he is to come again and bring the new day. The Book of Revelation depicts the Son of Man with a face, shining like the sun. But I must admit that it hasn’t always been equally easy to get a clear picture of God. There are times when it seems as if God has hidden himself. Because of that there was a big cloud in the picture I made, shadowing out more than half of the sun. But the beams around the sun were there. The biggest and thickest beam reached all the way down to me. By this picture I got to remind myself that God is like the sun. Unimaginably far away, but at the same time here with his good and life-giving effects by beams, light and heat. As a basis and source for all life. In hot countries, and during summer here up north , the effects of the sun are plentiful. While the closest months ahead of us, light and heat are modest at our latitude. And even less at 62 degrees North, where I come from! It can be in a similar way in a human’s life of faith. Sometimes there is just winter coldness, and to grasp the heavenly light is hard. God seems far away. He is slow to answer. But if he hadn’t been there all the time, all life would have died, instantly. If God seems far away, let us ask, not only God, but ourselves how that can be? See, the Lord's hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear, says the prophet Isaiah 59:1. In the parable that Jesus tells, this judge is not an image of God.. But rather he is an anti image. It can remind us about another parable, that we had four weeks ago, about the dishonest manager. Jesus really is bold in his use of pictures! He takes examples from daily life, without stating that “God is like this”, or “you ought to do like this!” No, on the contrary, what Jesus wants to make clear today is the following: If even an egoistic, ungodly and unrighteous judge at last gives the right to a person that persists, and do not give up, how much more will not God then give all good gifts to those who beg him for it? It is a widow that Jesus tells about. The widows at that time were the most unprotected in society. They were poor, and without any protection in the world. This widow was helpless and had to put her life in the hands of another. It is also like that with every human being, basically. If God as the sustainer of life didn’t protect us and keep us alive, our life would end momentarily. So if this judge is not an image of God, the widow at least can be an image of us. The parable teaches us that in the middle of our weakness, we can put our trust in God. He sees our case, even when we feel left all alone. He hears our prayers, even in times when we ourselves feel that they do not even reach the ceiling. Because of that, we as believers can live in prayer. So then it is all about nagging and nagging until God gives in? Well, if not exactly that, it is rather about trusting in God. So that we do not stop praying, even if the times are difficult. So that we hold the fire of faith burning, even during time of darkness. All the three Bible texts for today are about not giving up. Both Jacob, wrestling with God by the river Jabbok, Timothy, hearing that he should be persistent whether the times are favorable or unfavorable, and then this widow that fought against the unrighteousness that was committed towards her, he will fulfill our prayers, in his time. So Jesus’ word for us today is an encouragement to persistent and continuous prayer. And it is an assurance that “the answer will come, angels fly with the news, though not always as you might have prayed, but our God, who is faithful has promised to you, call on me, I will answer today. There is one who hears those who keep calling day and night. Some of us do that, pray day and night. I experience that there have been more nightly prayers as I have grown older. More people need intercession. The texts for today are a big encouragement and incitement to prayers and intercessions. God has seeing eyes, and ears that hear. In addition he is a righteous God, just the opposite of the judge in Jesus’ parable. But because he is God and we are humans, we can not dictate him. God himself decides when and how he answers our prayers. If we have seeing eyes and open censes, we will discover that God gives much more than we can ask him for. Every day he does so. He overflows us with every good and perfect gift. Next Sunday, as we have our first Harvest Celebration service here in Mindekirken, and we’ll decorate the sanctuary with the fruit of the fields and beautiful autumn colors, we will focus on creation and the crops that are brought forth this year, and thank God for it. This Sunday we can learn from the widow in Jesus’ parable, and from Jacob who wrestled with God and didn’t give up before he was blessed! We started with the image of God. What kind of image do you have of him? Perhaps, when you get home today, you can sit down with some paper and colors and make your image of God. Perhaps it will be a picture of God answering prayers. Or of hands touching humans with grace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit, who was, is and shall always be one true God, from eternity to eternity. |
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