| If God is relationship with God's people - something we hold at the center of our faithfulness - then things change and move and continue to unfold so that even that which is set in stone can be seen and heard and lived in new ways. .... we may judge that the distinctiveness of "God" in Old Testament tradition concerns YHWH's deep resolve to be a God in relation - in relation to Israel, in relation to creation, in relation to members of Israelite society and of the human community more generally. The power and sovereignty of YHWH is given in the Old Testament that is rarely called into question. What is readily and often called into question in the text is the character of this God in relation, a defining mark of YHWH that requires a radical revision of our notion of God. To be in relation means that we give of ourselves and we receive from others. It also means that we do and will change as the context changes and the needs of those in relation change and are transformed. Our God is always calling us into the depths of our covenant with God. For the followers of Jesus, that is a call into the depths of our baptism. How that character of baptism shows forth through us will demand that we remain engaged with our world and with the covenant that makes us into God's holy people. Being a holy people from one time to another will mean that there will be a consistent character about us - but that character needs interpretation when we find ourselves standing in a place we had not known. The wonder of our baptismal covenant is that we are always invited to wrestle with who we are in the eyes of God and what that offers us for the carrying on of life in the contexts in which we find ourselves. We must always use the lens of God's saving grace to help us deal with who we will be here and there. Not always easy to do. Connection: So how do we continue to be in dialogue with our God so that we continue in the eternal relationship? O God, who was and is and is to be, continue to talk to us and shape us and lead us beyond our ways and into the ways of your unfolding Reign within this day. Amen. |
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