How BIG is Your God?
- Terry Sweeney
- Oct 25, 2009
October 25, 2009
21st Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25
Job 42 (various verses); Mark 10:46-52
The Rev. W. Terry Sweeney
“Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old-fashion would say, “godless”, but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to “account for” life, big enough to “fit in with” the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing cooperation.” J. B. Phillips, “Your God is Too Small”, p. 8
In the Name of God: +Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
J. B. Phillips book, “Your God is Too Small” was one of the first books I read when I first became a Christian.
I was browsing in a used bookstore – The title caught my attention and I started to read the introduction – it didn’t just speak to me it spoke about me: the trouble with many people today is that they have not found a God big enough for modern needs.
At one point in my life – it was unraveling in front of me – and sadly the God I knew (or had pictured in my mind) was too small and either was incapable or chose not to respond to my deepest needs . . . . .
In those days – like many people today – God was a judge – constantly evaluating me for heaven or for hell – someone far away – distant – God had abandoned us and we’d made a mess of the world and He wasn’t about to raise a finger to make it better.
God became the One to make deals with – when desperate – make a deal and see if He’d take it.
Many people have a very confused, wrong notion of who God is, what He is like – and how to come to know Him.
Faith was often confused with “the possibility of God existing” and the exercise of “I have a need and God meets it therefore I will believe”.
Many are respectful, in a superstitious way, of holy places . . . . . Churches are often seen as full of the holy – its artifacts almost worthy of worship . . . . . like they belong to God and are His.
I recall feeling almost dirty whenever I’d see a nun – these women obviously lived on a higher plain than anyone else.
I was trying to fit life – every day living – into a box that God also occupied – but the God I kept making was far away . . . inaccessible and most often the great judge waiting to slam me into the ground for the numerous sins I was guilty of. . . . . but through His mercy I kept looking.
I, like many of us, was searching for a God big enough to account for life; big enough to fit in with the scientific age; big enough to command our highest admiration and respect.
A God BIG enough to Account for Life:
We all have wondered out loud with questions about disease, suffering of the innocent, and death.
I first came face to face with death when I came home from grade school and found my dog laying dead at the foot of the basement stairs . . . . . until then death seemed impersonal.
My first year as a seminary student, and during my CPE training I attended the deaths of 30+ children – and felt lost in a sea of doubt and questions – mostly “Why them”.
A classmate of mine asked me one day, “What makes them so special that they could not die?”
I didn’t like his answer, but it was helpful nonetheless . . . . . . not wanting to sound like a fatalist, I accept that God is the author of my life and my days are in His hands . . . . . yet like many, I want as much control as I can wrestle away from Him.
Working in critical care areas like Emergency Rooms and CCUs and NICUs and SICUs one sees heartbreaking things and miracles all in the same day.
People young and old die, sometimes violently and suddenly: a mother of three goes to the grocery store and dies because a drunk driver ran a red light and plowed into her car at an intersection – he receives a scratch and wonders what happened – the mother of three is taken to the morgue, leaving her husband and children in shock and deep pain.
Grandpa says he’s a bit tired and says he’s going to take a nap – as he starts up the steps stumbles and falls – before his face hit the steps he’s dead of a massive stroke – he’s 89 and people mourn his death but also rejoice at his long and fruitful life.
I still often think of young Ron Romanski – a 9 year old who put up a gallant fight – yet died from liver disease. . . . his parents went as far as to ask me to re-baptize him with water from the Jordan River thinking it could have a magical, healing effect. . . he died holding his favorite Teddy Bear.
There comes a point in our lives when the innocence of childhood is rudely awakened by the reality that people get sick – innocent children sometimes face horrific diseases and suffering – Grandpa and Grandma will not live forever and that accidents happen.
We learn that we are tough and fight disease and we are frail and can die from falling on a ski slope. . . . . life can seem fickle – on the one hand we can feel invincible and on the other like sitting targets.
One in one people die – many of us will face difficult days – and all of us can be strengthened and find comfort and purpose in life through faith in Jesus Christ.
The book of Job basically asks the question: Can God be trusted?
After all, suffering seems so mysterious – what or who is actually behind suffering? God? The devil? Are we the cause of our suffering?
Job claims that God is so close to him that he cannot even swallow his spit (7:19) and at the same time so far away and elusive that He cannot be found (9:11).
So on the one hand God is intensely concerned about humans, but on the other He does not always seem to answer our most agonizing questions.
Somewhere deep inside we search for sin we’ve committed that we now suffer for or we have friends/family/clergy/ that may suggest that “the chickens have come home to roost”.
We see in Job that God does NOT take offense at our questions, even our screams at Him. . .
We also see that God reveals Himself for who He actually is and sets before Job an awe inspiring picture of the majesty and magnificence of God.
We learn through Job that we have an enemy who will denounce us – the devil.
As well meaning as his friends were, they were terribly off base, and not helpful – they could not see the fuller picture of the trial Job was under. . . .
Job struggled through this awful time of heartache and screwy friends – and came out the other side understanding that he only saw a part of the problem – God was always there with Him – but Job could only see the painful part and not the healing part that God would eventually bring about.
In the midst of horrific times Job could boldly say the he knew his redeemer lived and it was in Him that he placed his hope (Job 19.25-27).
To account for life we have to come to the place of trusting God . . . . life is unbearable at times with trust in God . . . . when suffering we have to stand firm and obey Him and trust Him.
It is this trust and obedience that helps us support one another in hard times with a spirit of hope, humility and gentleness (Romans 12.15).
A God BIG enough to Fit in with the scientific age:
Four months ago I was diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus; Gastritis and Esophagitis. . . . I had my gall bladder removed and have had constant back and side pain since.
From the time my symptoms began, every time I ate, my back would start to tingle then ache under my right shoulder blade for 30 minutes then go away. Sometimes I’d get a gripping pain at the tip of my sternum that came and left sometimes three or four times a day.
So my heart was checked out and that too came out okay.
In the past few weeks, I’ve had further blood tests, and a MRCP of my abdomen (kidneys, liver, pancreas and common bile duct). I thought I might have a stone partially blocking my common bile duct.
All tests were normal. In the course of all this, I’ve discovered I have arthritis in my lumbar spine – so my back aches often.
As a last resort my doctor did a follow-up endoscopy to see if the Gastritis and Barrett’s had worsened. . . . . . . This has resulted in some anxiety . . . . if the Barrett’s had worsened it could mean cancer . . . . . if that was the case it meant a very nasty operation that does not generally have the best of long term outcomes.
Several times over the months Olivia and I have prayed and she has interceded on my behalf, always thanking God for His Son, claiming His majesty and simply asking for His healing hand to be upon me.
Last Thursday Olivia took my doctors call and he gave her the results.
I was visiting Ray Mariner at the time at Johns Hopkins when she called to tell me: The Barrett’s has disappeared and so has the Gastritis – you still have a bit of Esophagitis and have to take Prilosec twice a day the rest of your life.
I said – the Barrett’s is gone?!
The doctor had told me at least three times that Barrett’s never heals – it either stays the same or gets worst but never heals.
Science and faith collide at this point:
He now says that I may not have had Barrett’s – even though he was certain I had it in three conversations where I questioned the results. . . . . . but his story changed.
Here’s what I believe happened. I took better care of myself, I did everything I was supposed to do . . . . . my wife prayed for me several times, especially when I was distraught and troubled by changing my lifestyle or the times I was anxious . . . . . and God in His mercy healed the Barrett’s.
Why? I don’t know other than to strengthen my faith and allow me to give this testimony to you!
I believe my wife is a godly woman – I believe her prayer was effective – I believe as she prayed GOD in His mercy answered her prayer in a positive way and I was healed.
If we consider Mark’s account of Jesus healing the blind man Bartimaeus we find faith and science at odds inasmuch as blindness was common – healing could occur with simple issues like conjunctivitis – but beyond that the blind remained blind.
One of the aspects of this story that I really find interesting is that Mark tells us the name of the blind man who was healed.
He not only tells us his name, Bartimaeus, but he tells us his father’s name, Timaeus, and the town they lived in – Jericho.
Let’s say this happened in the year 33 and Mark was written in the mid 50’s AD, the time in-between Peter and others would have told this story in many and varied places.
Mark heard the story from Peter and thought enough of it to add it to his Gospel.
But during the period when the Good News was being preached and the written body was still undeveloped people could have easily either known who Bartimaeus was or his father. . . . or they could have stopped in Jericho, heard the story, and sought out evidence of its truth.
When the Gospel names names it is further evidence of the confidence the writer has as to its validity. . . . it leaves the story open to detail investigation as opposed to just saying “a blind man” . . . . heck there are hundreds of blind men, maybe thousands – but to name Bartimaeus, from Jericho whose father was Timaeus narrows it down to one man.
This man heard Jesus’ name as He was traveling through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem.
Bartimaeus, blind, poor, had the faith and courage to call upon the Lord – his intercession was for himself and God in His mercy gave him healing.
A God BIG enough to Command our highest admiration and respect:
The Book of Hebrews gives a picture of Christ as God Son who is simultaneously both High Priest and Sacrifice . . . . . perfect man, Holy God . . . . . who shed His blood for us thereby gaining atonement for our sins and bridging the gap between man and God.
It goes on to describe Jesus as the One who was like man – who was tempted in every way that we are but was without sin.
The One who took our infirmities upon Himself and suffered for us.
The result was that death no longer has power over us – the grave did not hold Jesus and it will hold us – because we have been given faith and therefore are baptized into His death and resurrection.
Colossians 1.5, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”.
John describes Him as the “creative Word” who was God, made flesh. God who was preexistent and eternal – all things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life . . . . this life was the light of men.
In other words – prior to Jesus we were living in darkness – and in Christ came the possibility of new life through faith in Him.
Hebrews continues with this by saying: 26Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Thomas the disciple brought to his knees exclaimed that Jesus was his Lord and God.
Peter knew Him as the Christ.
Paul knew that in Jesus we live and move and have our being. . . . . (Acts 17.28)
The Christian God – The Father, The Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. . . .
Three in One and One in Three is sufficient to meet all our needs.
He is Bigger than anything we will run into during our lives.
He gives meaning to life and gives it purpose; He lives squarely in the midst of science as He is the author of science and He is clearly BIG enough to command our highest admiration and respect.
I suppose the question for most of us when life is going well or when life turns upside down is this: How BIG is your God?
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