That's What God Is Like

I’m hoping we all know about the United Church of Christ’s “StillSpeaking Daily Devotional” that can be delivered to our e-mail inbox every morning. Each day a United Church of Christ writer offers a brief reflection and prayer, in much the same pattern used by popular daily devotional booklets. Their pieces are thoughtful and provocative and, I think, quite useful. You can subscribe for free by going to http://www.ucc.org/. The daily piece is also available on Facebook and Twitter.

Here is today’s piece, written by Ron Buford, who, among other things, was team leader for the StillSpeaking campaign when it began.

That's What God is Like

Excerpt from Luke 13:18-2

"Jesus said therefore, 'What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?'"

Reflection by Ron Buford

In Luke 13 (read entire chapter), Jesus mocks human superstition and proneness to conspiracy theories about God when Pilate kills a couple of Galileans in the temple, or when a tower falls in Jerusalem, killing eighteen people. Jesus asks, "Did these things happen because these people were greater sinners than others?"

Jesus aims to un-twist our primitive God-mischaracterization in which God avenges, bending laws of the universe just to "get us" for some secret choice we now regret or about which we have doubts. Mistakes may have natural consequences, but God has nothing to do with them. This teaching we learned is false. Sickness, accidents, natural disasters, and Murphy's Law come with randomness despite anything we may have done . . . and they always feel unfair.

Jesus invites us to think of God's city as our dwelling place with God, where all God's children have yeast to make life's dough rise, double and triple . . . and, after waiting a while, produce enough to share. Imagine the smell and taste of fresh daily bread, kneaded by our hands, infused with the yeast of God's grace, shared among many. That's what God is like.

Transforming the barren places of God's city, with vision and patience, God's children plant God's seeds. And those seeds, after waiting a while, become mighty shade trees -- sheltering people, nesting birds singing . . . because that's what God is like.

Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for your Good News and grace, made known to us in the life and teaching of Jesus, freeing us from doubt, guilt, and condemnation about the past. Please grant us the daily bread of your mercy -- bread to share with all who love us as well as those who sin against us, and others who just make our lives yucky sometimes . . . because that's what our Divine Parent God is like. Amen.