Today we continue with Willimon's comments from Karl Barth on "All."
Disobedience to God is our primary enslavement, says Barth. We have relegated God to the "man upstairs" so we can "go our own ways" downstairs. Sometimes our disobedience becomes downright religious as we attempt "an impossible ascent" up the mountain as "foolish mountain-climbers" who arrogantly refuse to let God descend to us as we piously, stupidly attempt to ascend to God through our rituals, churches, beliefs, and deeds. Whereas I've heard people define religion as something that all people do to get up the mountain to God, Barth defines religion as a means God uses to descend down the mountain to us.
But...what do we do with this God who descends to us and to be for us and to be with us without condition. We try to turn it into a game...a very serious game of access where we may not have to climb a mountain - but we certainly have to clean things down here so God will be with us. I like Barth image...but. God is not the problem. We are. We find ways to turn utter announcement of God for us into God waiting for us to get our act together and be right. It all happens so quickly it is difficult to catch ourselves sin the act of acting and being like that. It may have been wrong for President Obama to use the word stupidly to describe how the Cambridge police department acted several weeks ago, but stupidly is a good word to put onto any attempt we make to ascend to God...or to take control of God's action that is meant to be eternally for us.
Connection: The openness of the Reign of God is baffling. That doesn't mean we need to be able to control its abundance. It might be good to take note of how often the Reign of God will be something that baffles us just within this day.
Lord of All Life, it is by your grace that we are filled up with the breath of life that brings about a new domain right here and now...right in this moment...right when we thought we knew another way. Praise to you. Amen.
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