THE PATHWAY TO LOVEPART ONE
When I was young, it was my custom, and that of many others, to make the sign of the Cross each time I came to bat in a baseball game. Today, it seems many players point to heaven when they had an important hit or a homerun. They seem to be saying to God that God got it right this time. These are just a few of many times people thank God for their success or for other expressions of special help. My question at these times is, what is the image of God in these events? How does that image of God, as the Great Benefactor, fit the opponents who are the victim of one’s success?
One image that is clear to me from so many of these celebrations in all aspects of life is this: God is in heaven waiting to do what we need to be happy according to our terms. God is our servant with great resources waiting for us to be determined enough in our requests.
Of course, such an image of God leaves God absent from a whole lot of our experience which flows from the dark side of life. This includes sickness, injustice, prejudice and death just to name a few items of concern.
It does not take much reflection to see that our image of God is both very important for our life of faith and very complex and difficult to truly understand.
In the next two sections I am going to offer some reflections on the image of God as found in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.
In the Bible there are numerous images of God. Early on we have God casting the couple out of the Garden. Then shortly after, we have God destroying the world with the exception of Noah and his family. Then we have the horror of Abraham called to sacrifice his son Isaac, the heir to the Promise. In Exodus we have the thousands of unfaithful killed by the snakes.
You can continue on with the devastation of the Northern Kingdom and the Babylonian Exile followed by the centuries of oppression to other dynasties. There is much more in this vein. Selective reading of the Bible portrays an image of God of wrath, judgement and devastation.
On the other hand, we have a God of compassion and concern who makes the Promise to Abraham, who hears the cry of his people and leads the forsaken into the Promised Land. In Psalm 54 we have a picture of a God of extreme tenderness collecting our tears and placing them in his jar. There is Isaiah, 40-55, where we have a God who leads the abandoned exiles back to their land in a gesture of compassion and benevolence. In Ezekiel, we have the beautiful story of hope in the “dry bones.”
We know that the Bible is the story of the family of Abraham’s experience of God over two thousand years. In this story there is a maturing process of their understanding of God. Over the centuries the image of God develops a depth of complexity that shatters a self-centered vison that totally distorts the mystery that is God.
I
As we mature spiritually, we slowly learn that we do not earn God’s love by our good behavior. However, it is easy to see how this mentality can come from reading the Bible. Likewise, in this approach, we easily create an image of God as a God of mood swings between graciousness and fierce anger. We see God looking over our shoulder. God is seen as the concerned by our every move. Like the people of the Old Testament evolved in their image of God, our experience is similar. Our personal experience of God involves a steady growth in the transformation and refinement of our personal way of viewing God. We are being called into a Mystery of Love. The more authentic our image of God, the easier is our journey.
II
In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 we have an expression of this maturing image of God. In the exhortation we are given the responsibility. “I have today set before you, life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord…you will live and grow numerous…If however, you turn away your hearts…you will certainly perish”. (Dt 30:15-18)
A major section of the Bible continues this theme of reward and punishment. There are consequences to human behavior. We have a choice. We are no longer dealing with a puppeteer God who holds all the strings of life and is arbitrary and capricious. Now we, as responsible adults, are called into the process.
This image of God of moral sanctions inclines us to suppose that we earn God’s love by our good deeds, that we are blessed by our virtuous behavior. Life becomes a tradeoff, our good behavior for peace and prosperity. This attitude leads to the distortion of the Gospel of Prosperity.
The God of Deuteronomy leaves us with all kinds of questions. The Book of Job points out these contradictions. Evil still is a harsh reality in all human experience. This image of God offers little relief in the tragedies of life.
A major section of the Bible continues this theme of reward and punishment. There are consequences to human behavior. We have a choice. We are no longer dealing with a puppeteer God who holds all the strings of life and is arbitrary and capricious. Now we, as responsible adults, are called into the process.
This image of God of moral sanctions inclines us to suppose that we earn God’s love by our good deeds, that we are blessed by our virtuous behavior. Life becomes a tradeoff, our good behavior for peace and prosperity. This attitude leads to the distortion of the Gospel of Prosperity.
The God of Deuteronomy leaves us with all kinds of questions. The Book of Job points out these contradictions. Evil still is a harsh reality in all human experience. This image of God offers little relief in the tragedies of life.
