Emphasis Preaching Journal

In the morning, the east wall of our sanctuary is bathed in the light of the rising sun. The rising of the sun is itself radiantly beautiful, but when its beams come streaming through the stained glass windows, the worship center is bathed in the most beautiful combination of colors. Because those beams are filtered through the windows they do not assault the eye with the intensity that they would were there no filtering effect. Still, the scene is so majestic that one -- as a phrase from an old hymn puts it -- "scarce can take it in." Less scarce still could one "take it in" were one's eyes unprotected from the sun s direct rays.

Scenes like the one I have described have to do with the transcendence of God -- God's absolute otherness. In a day when we are fond of celebrating God's immanence, to behold God's transcendence insures that we do not try to domesticate God.