A God Thing
Sermon
It's News To Me: Messages of Hope for Those Who Haven't Heard
Cycle A Gospel Sermons For Advent, Christmas, Epiphany
Object:
Bil Keane, the creator of the Family Circus cartoon, said he was drawing a cartoon one day when his little boy came in and asked, "Daddy, how do you know what to draw?" Keane replied, "God tells me." Then the boy asked, "Then why do you keep erasing parts of it?"1
The child brings up an interesting point. Does God tell Bil Keane what to draw? Conversations like that one evoke all kinds of questions in us. It's like a discussion our worship team got into one night about whether or not God "talks" to us, or if it's just us talking to ourselves, or some coincidence, or nothing at all. If we're trying to make a decision, and we ask God for guidance, how do we know if the choice we make is God's direction for us or not? How clear cut is it?
I've often said I wish there were a bell that rang, and an announcement that said, "God now speaking. Pay attention." Or someone going, "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, God here..." I guess what most of us would really like is Caller ID, some clear, obvious sign that the direction we're going, or the path we're taking is the way that's right for us. How do we in fact know that it's a "God thing"?
Jesus certainly seemed to know in our Bible passage for today. There are many approaches we could take to this particular passage, but the thought that occurred to me repeatedly as I read and studied it was, "How did he know it was God's voice?" I realize that Jesus was a lot more closely attuned to God than you and I are, but I still wonder if God speaks to us, too. If so, how do we know? How do we know that what we're doing is the right thing, the God thing? Do we hear voices, or like Moses, have burning bush encounters in this day and age? If we were to tell someone God spoke to us in the middle of our busy day by setting the papers on our desk on fire, and not turning them to ashes, would anybody believe us, or would we be committed somewhere?
When I was preparing for ministry, one of the exams we had to take was the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or the MMPI. There are 600-some questions on that testing tool, and they keep repeating themselves. One of the repeaters has to do with hearing the voice of God, and that's one of the things that's used to weed out the questionable, unhealthy candidates for the ministry. Strange as it may seem, it's considered psychologically unhealthy to say you've heard the voice of God.
So then, does God speak to us? Today? Here? If so, how does that happen? Is it real, or are we crazy to think so? That's the question author Dan Wakefield asks in his book, How Do We Know When It's God? He recounts a long spiritual journey, and tells of the many times he was caught in a dilemma, and sought God's guidance. Should he go to California to write a movie script, or should he stay on the East Coast? Should he attend this seminar, or that one? Should he commit to this relationship, or wait? He talks about desperately seeking a sign of some sort that would let him know for sure that God is there, directing and guiding him, casting light in his darkness, showing him the way. "How do we know when it's God?"2
I'm convinced that God does indeed speak to us and interact with us, but I think I need to back up a little and tell you some of the basic beliefs I hold about God that support my conviction.
First, I believe God is in everything and is everywhere. As a friend put it, "There's not a spot where God is not." Other writers have expressed the same thought. Harriet Martineau said, "There's nothing which is not full of God."3 Baruch Spinoza said, "Whatever is, is in God."4 And Meister Eckhart said, "Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things."5
Do you see what it means for God to be everywhere and in everything? It means that God really does speak to us, but the voice can come in a myriad of forms. Maybe it's that gut feeling that leads us one direction instead of another. Perhaps we are hearing the voice of God when we start asking questions that we've never asked before. Maybe it's when an idea comes to us that we've never considered before, or maybe it's a random thought that just keeps nagging us. Maybe it occurs through hearing a piece of music, or in our imaginations, or through our dreams. Maybe it's God's voice that says to us through a friend, "Have you ever thought about...?" -- words that plant a notion in our minds that we never thought about before.
I've also come to realize that there really are no coincidences in life. The people who are in our lives right now are people who are part of our spiritual journey. What are we learning from them? How are they God in our lives? When things seem to come together serendipitously, I've begun to pay more attention. If someone comes to me, for instance, and talks about something that I've just read about, or about something someone else has just mentioned, I try to listen. I believe that's the voice of God trying to get through to us. I believe God is everywhere, and is in everything.
There's a second thing about God that's very much connected with the first. Not only is God everywhere, but God is active everywhere. I do not believe God is some distant idea or concept, or some remote being. Instead, God is a very real, a very present, a very active force in our world and in our lives, if we allow that to be the case. God is always active bringing a new thing.
Allow me to clarify something here. When I say God is active, I do not mean that God is orchestrating everything that happens, or causing everything that occurs in our lives. I don't believe God puts us in certain circumstances or hardships, or causes us to be in this place and not that place. God doesn't cause or send illness or disaster, and I don't believe that God's activity in those kinds of situations means there will be the sudden suspension of a tornado or a miraculous healing.
Rather, I think God is active in and works through every experience and every person we encounter in life to bring out the good in even the worst of situations. God knows our disappointments, and failures, our heartaches, and our fears, and I firmly believe God can be at work in the midst of the bad times, bringing possibility and hope out of them. I'm convinced the reassuring voice of God is calling to us, through the hug of a friend, or a word of encouragement, or a much-needed phone call. God is active and present in our lives.
That brings us to the third thing I believe about God, and that is, without any doubt, God is good. Period. End of conversation. That for me is the litmus test for whether or not the nudges we feel, the ideas we get, the experiences that come our way are of God or not. The ultimate test is asking the question: "Are these ideas positive and good? Are they life-giving?" Obviously, the idea to rob a bank is not of God because it does not meet the test of being a good, positive, life-giving option for a direction to choose. The way we can tell if it's a God thing or not is whether or not it is good.
There are probably some of you here this morning thinking, "I've never had anything like the Jesus thing happen to me. Not one of those super-duper, extraordinary, supernatural things has ever occurred in my life! God's certainly never spoken to me."
I'm not trying to say that type of experience of God is something we must all go through. I know those kinds of peak experiences, those ah-ha moments happen, but not every time, and not to everyone. Sometimes that isn't the best way for God to get through to us, and sometimes we just aren't open or ready for these kinds of experiences.
I also know there are times that, no matter how much we want it or think we're searching for connection with God, it doesn't happen. I believe God is always present, always with us, but I think there are times when, for whatever reason, we just can't connect. We can't see or hear God in our lives or anywhere else.
I have a friend who feels that God is absent from his life right now. He's always experienced God's presence and direction for his life through nature, but that's not doing it for him. The ocean where he's heard the voice of God is silent. The birds aren't singing anymore for him.
That probably happens to all of us at one time or another. We all go through stages and phases and changes and transitions in our lives, and the ways that once connected us to God may not work for us now. Maybe we've even been so beaten down or so roughed up by life, that we're callused and hardened, and we can't see God's presence or hear God's voice in our lives.
Nonetheless, I'm convinced God is there, and keeps trying to connect with us in ways we can understand. For my friend, I wonder if it's by way of the new connections he's made with a couple of folks on the Internet. Maybe not, but if they meet the test of being good, positive, and life-giving, they just might be God in his life right now.
How do we know it's a God thing? How do we know it's God who is speaking to us and leading us? Sometimes it may come in the way it did for Jesus -- through a powerful, life-changing, clear-cut experience. For some of us, it may occur in the ordinary, everyday routines when we sense God's presence in one clear, shining moment.
I was thinking back to how I wound up in ministry. It wasn't a big, cataclysmic kind of thing, but I believe it was very much a God thing. For me, it was a slowly unfolding process that all began with the sense of a pull, a nudge, a thought that seemed to be drawing me in a certain direction. It culminated in my asking a rather innocent question of a good friend who happened to be a pastor. It was a question along the lines of "What would it be like to go to seminary?" You can figure out the rest of the story.
So, is God speaking to you in your life? Have you heard God's voice? Let me tell you, God is everywhere and in everything, and God is active doing a new thing. And if it's a good thing, you can trust that it's a God thing.
Closing Word
I've come to believe that the key question isn't really whether or not God speaks to us, because I'm convinced God is constantly trying to connect with us. Maybe the key question is "Are we listening? Are we looking for God in our world? Are we expecting God to be active in our lives?"
As you leave here this morning, try to tune in to what God just might be saying to you. And go in peace. Amen.
____________
1. Cal and Rose Samra, Holy Humor (Portage, Michigan: Fellowship of Merry Christians, Inc., 1996), pp. 22-23.
2. Dan Wakefield, How Do We Know When It's God? (Boston/London/New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), p. 68-69.
3. Rosalie Maggio, editor, Quotations For The Soul (Paramus, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997), p. 20.
4. Ibid., p. 18.
5. Ibid., p. 19.
The child brings up an interesting point. Does God tell Bil Keane what to draw? Conversations like that one evoke all kinds of questions in us. It's like a discussion our worship team got into one night about whether or not God "talks" to us, or if it's just us talking to ourselves, or some coincidence, or nothing at all. If we're trying to make a decision, and we ask God for guidance, how do we know if the choice we make is God's direction for us or not? How clear cut is it?
I've often said I wish there were a bell that rang, and an announcement that said, "God now speaking. Pay attention." Or someone going, "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, God here..." I guess what most of us would really like is Caller ID, some clear, obvious sign that the direction we're going, or the path we're taking is the way that's right for us. How do we in fact know that it's a "God thing"?
Jesus certainly seemed to know in our Bible passage for today. There are many approaches we could take to this particular passage, but the thought that occurred to me repeatedly as I read and studied it was, "How did he know it was God's voice?" I realize that Jesus was a lot more closely attuned to God than you and I are, but I still wonder if God speaks to us, too. If so, how do we know? How do we know that what we're doing is the right thing, the God thing? Do we hear voices, or like Moses, have burning bush encounters in this day and age? If we were to tell someone God spoke to us in the middle of our busy day by setting the papers on our desk on fire, and not turning them to ashes, would anybody believe us, or would we be committed somewhere?
When I was preparing for ministry, one of the exams we had to take was the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or the MMPI. There are 600-some questions on that testing tool, and they keep repeating themselves. One of the repeaters has to do with hearing the voice of God, and that's one of the things that's used to weed out the questionable, unhealthy candidates for the ministry. Strange as it may seem, it's considered psychologically unhealthy to say you've heard the voice of God.
So then, does God speak to us? Today? Here? If so, how does that happen? Is it real, or are we crazy to think so? That's the question author Dan Wakefield asks in his book, How Do We Know When It's God? He recounts a long spiritual journey, and tells of the many times he was caught in a dilemma, and sought God's guidance. Should he go to California to write a movie script, or should he stay on the East Coast? Should he attend this seminar, or that one? Should he commit to this relationship, or wait? He talks about desperately seeking a sign of some sort that would let him know for sure that God is there, directing and guiding him, casting light in his darkness, showing him the way. "How do we know when it's God?"2
I'm convinced that God does indeed speak to us and interact with us, but I think I need to back up a little and tell you some of the basic beliefs I hold about God that support my conviction.
First, I believe God is in everything and is everywhere. As a friend put it, "There's not a spot where God is not." Other writers have expressed the same thought. Harriet Martineau said, "There's nothing which is not full of God."3 Baruch Spinoza said, "Whatever is, is in God."4 And Meister Eckhart said, "Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things."5
Do you see what it means for God to be everywhere and in everything? It means that God really does speak to us, but the voice can come in a myriad of forms. Maybe it's that gut feeling that leads us one direction instead of another. Perhaps we are hearing the voice of God when we start asking questions that we've never asked before. Maybe it's when an idea comes to us that we've never considered before, or maybe it's a random thought that just keeps nagging us. Maybe it occurs through hearing a piece of music, or in our imaginations, or through our dreams. Maybe it's God's voice that says to us through a friend, "Have you ever thought about...?" -- words that plant a notion in our minds that we never thought about before.
I've also come to realize that there really are no coincidences in life. The people who are in our lives right now are people who are part of our spiritual journey. What are we learning from them? How are they God in our lives? When things seem to come together serendipitously, I've begun to pay more attention. If someone comes to me, for instance, and talks about something that I've just read about, or about something someone else has just mentioned, I try to listen. I believe that's the voice of God trying to get through to us. I believe God is everywhere, and is in everything.
There's a second thing about God that's very much connected with the first. Not only is God everywhere, but God is active everywhere. I do not believe God is some distant idea or concept, or some remote being. Instead, God is a very real, a very present, a very active force in our world and in our lives, if we allow that to be the case. God is always active bringing a new thing.
Allow me to clarify something here. When I say God is active, I do not mean that God is orchestrating everything that happens, or causing everything that occurs in our lives. I don't believe God puts us in certain circumstances or hardships, or causes us to be in this place and not that place. God doesn't cause or send illness or disaster, and I don't believe that God's activity in those kinds of situations means there will be the sudden suspension of a tornado or a miraculous healing.
Rather, I think God is active in and works through every experience and every person we encounter in life to bring out the good in even the worst of situations. God knows our disappointments, and failures, our heartaches, and our fears, and I firmly believe God can be at work in the midst of the bad times, bringing possibility and hope out of them. I'm convinced the reassuring voice of God is calling to us, through the hug of a friend, or a word of encouragement, or a much-needed phone call. God is active and present in our lives.
That brings us to the third thing I believe about God, and that is, without any doubt, God is good. Period. End of conversation. That for me is the litmus test for whether or not the nudges we feel, the ideas we get, the experiences that come our way are of God or not. The ultimate test is asking the question: "Are these ideas positive and good? Are they life-giving?" Obviously, the idea to rob a bank is not of God because it does not meet the test of being a good, positive, life-giving option for a direction to choose. The way we can tell if it's a God thing or not is whether or not it is good.
There are probably some of you here this morning thinking, "I've never had anything like the Jesus thing happen to me. Not one of those super-duper, extraordinary, supernatural things has ever occurred in my life! God's certainly never spoken to me."
I'm not trying to say that type of experience of God is something we must all go through. I know those kinds of peak experiences, those ah-ha moments happen, but not every time, and not to everyone. Sometimes that isn't the best way for God to get through to us, and sometimes we just aren't open or ready for these kinds of experiences.
I also know there are times that, no matter how much we want it or think we're searching for connection with God, it doesn't happen. I believe God is always present, always with us, but I think there are times when, for whatever reason, we just can't connect. We can't see or hear God in our lives or anywhere else.
I have a friend who feels that God is absent from his life right now. He's always experienced God's presence and direction for his life through nature, but that's not doing it for him. The ocean where he's heard the voice of God is silent. The birds aren't singing anymore for him.
That probably happens to all of us at one time or another. We all go through stages and phases and changes and transitions in our lives, and the ways that once connected us to God may not work for us now. Maybe we've even been so beaten down or so roughed up by life, that we're callused and hardened, and we can't see God's presence or hear God's voice in our lives.
Nonetheless, I'm convinced God is there, and keeps trying to connect with us in ways we can understand. For my friend, I wonder if it's by way of the new connections he's made with a couple of folks on the Internet. Maybe not, but if they meet the test of being good, positive, and life-giving, they just might be God in his life right now.
How do we know it's a God thing? How do we know it's God who is speaking to us and leading us? Sometimes it may come in the way it did for Jesus -- through a powerful, life-changing, clear-cut experience. For some of us, it may occur in the ordinary, everyday routines when we sense God's presence in one clear, shining moment.
I was thinking back to how I wound up in ministry. It wasn't a big, cataclysmic kind of thing, but I believe it was very much a God thing. For me, it was a slowly unfolding process that all began with the sense of a pull, a nudge, a thought that seemed to be drawing me in a certain direction. It culminated in my asking a rather innocent question of a good friend who happened to be a pastor. It was a question along the lines of "What would it be like to go to seminary?" You can figure out the rest of the story.
So, is God speaking to you in your life? Have you heard God's voice? Let me tell you, God is everywhere and in everything, and God is active doing a new thing. And if it's a good thing, you can trust that it's a God thing.
Closing Word
I've come to believe that the key question isn't really whether or not God speaks to us, because I'm convinced God is constantly trying to connect with us. Maybe the key question is "Are we listening? Are we looking for God in our world? Are we expecting God to be active in our lives?"
As you leave here this morning, try to tune in to what God just might be saying to you. And go in peace. Amen.
____________
1. Cal and Rose Samra, Holy Humor (Portage, Michigan: Fellowship of Merry Christians, Inc., 1996), pp. 22-23.
2. Dan Wakefield, How Do We Know When It's God? (Boston/London/New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), p. 68-69.
3. Rosalie Maggio, editor, Quotations For The Soul (Paramus, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997), p. 20.
4. Ibid., p. 18.
5. Ibid., p. 19.
