DISTANT NEARNESS

Dr. Richard J. Henderson March 16, 2003

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Psalm 22: 23-31
Mark 8: 31-38

Introduction

Every Fourth of July weekend our family and my brothers and sister and their families gather at "The Farm." The Farm is actually an anachronism. It was once the farm that my father grew up on, but the farmhouses are long gone, and now it is fields and lakes and acres of woods.

Several years ago when we were there the night sky was perfectly clear. Since there wasn't a town around for miles, the stars shone brilliantly against an empty, black sky. The moon was so bright that it cast shadows on the ground.

We stood in one of the fields looking up at the sky and marveling at how stunning it was. Someone commented at how small it made him feel - to see the incredible vastness of space. Another person commented on how they were moved by the grandeur of God when they looked at that sky.

You could see light years into space. It reminded us of the otherness of God - how different, how much greater God is than we are.

I

Have you thought much about how far beyond us God is? God is beyond what we can imagine. Not only did God create our whole universe, not only did God bring to being all the planets of the Milky Way, God has created universes we haven't even seen yet.

God is inexplicable. Oh, we have some ideas about what this mysterious Creator is like, but how can we understand One who is able to create worlds out of nothing? God lives in a realm we aren't even able to comprehend.

Someone once wrote that we are to God as our dogs are to us. We live in a different world - one of language, complex thought and involved decision-making. A dog can no more understand our world than we can understand God's world.

God is omnipotent. God has all power, can do anything. God is the most powerful being in existence. God's power is limitless.

God is omniscient. God knows everything. So God knows what I need even before I ask for it. We don't surprise God with anything. We have all read a novel told from the omniscient point of view. In that situation the one telling the story knows all the characters, what they are thinking, what their motivation is, and all about their histories.

So we have a scene like this: Remembering the last time this had happened to her, Anna stormed into the house. "Frank, what have you been telling people?" Frank quickly decided not to admit to a thing, "Anna, what are you talking about?" Just then Bryce, who had been playing with the new toy that he loved, walked into the room.

"Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy. Look what I've done with the toy you gave me."

Anna smiled, but promised herself she would bring all this up again when they were alone.

God knows us like the author knows her characters - God knows our history, our thoughts, our motivation, everything.

God is omnipresent. God is able to be everywhere at the same time. We know that's impossible - for us it's impossible - but not for God. So I can feel the presence of God as I pray here, and peasant in Afghanistan can sense God with her there.

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. As Psalm 139 says, the knowledge of God is "a height to which my mind can not attain."

II

But God is also close to us. Sometimes God is so close we can feel God's presence. We can talk to God, and God hears. Especially when we are afraid or hurting we can feel God with us. Jesus says that even the hairs on our heads are numbered, and God knows exactly how many we have. And, by extension I assume, God knows how many hairs we used to have!

I think of the experience I told you about several months ago where a woman, who was a member of our church, was very anxious about her upcoming surgery. When the day came for her surgery she was especially upset. They wheeled her down the hall to prep her, and then left her there while they got ready. While she was sitting in that wheelchair she felt the presence of God surround her.

"It was like God was putting his arms around me," she said. "I felt it as clearly as any hug I've ever had. After that all my fears went away, and I knew I would be OK, no matter what happened. Suddenly I was peaceful."

Many of us have experienced that nearly palpable presence of God. God is as close to us as our breath. God is an intimate God.

III

It is a contradiction; God is far beyond us and yet God is as close to us as our skin. So much of the closeness we have with God is because of Jesus.

God wanted to be closer to us, so God came to us in a human being - Jesus of Nazareth limiting his power, restricting his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, God became a human being.

In doing this God knew what it is like to be tempted, knew what the pain of a spike pounded through flesh feels like, knew the pain of betrayal. It was God's action in Jesus that bridged the gap between God and us. God acted so that we would be brought closer to God, and so that we could understand God better.

Conclusion

For us, all this means that God loves us so much that God would make sacrifices to be with us. God stoops down; God lowers himself, so that we can be closer.

God didn't wait for us to approach him, God acted to be more intimate to us. God reached out and reached down to draw us near. He did it all for us.

This bread and this cup remind us of the loving acts of God involved in coming to us. These represent the degree of sacrifice God is willing to make to be closer to you and me.

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2003