A Trip Around The Son

While at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) this past academic year, I attended chapel most days. And in the course of those days, I heard many a mighty sermon.

But the 'mightiest message' was not delivered by a faculty member or a visiting theologian, but a PTS student, Devlin McGuire.  Preaching on Ezekiel 36, Devlin made a very simple (but not simplistic) point:  the universe doesn't center around us (contrary to conventional thought); the universe centers around God. 

But the Israelites, along with the rest of us, assumed that they were the focus of concern and attention. And so over, and over again, God keeps reminding the Israelites (and in turn us) that the reason for any favor and grace in life is not that 'we're so good,' but because 'God is so great.'

Indeed, God promises in Ezekiel 36:26ff --

"...I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh...I will save you from your uncleaniness.  I will call for the grain and make it plentiful...I will increase the fruit of your trees...so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations..."  (Ezekiel 36:26-30).

But then, the 'bombshell.' I'm not doing any of this because of your importance, God goes on to clarify, but because of my importance.   "I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord..."  (Ezekiel 36:32) -- but "...for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned..."  (Ezekiel 36:22).

In his sermon, Devlin McQuire reminded us, that God constantly clarifies: goodness comes to life not for our benefit but for God's glory; to be precise, "...so that they will know that I am the Lord..." -- a phrase that appears twice in Ezekiel 36 -- and 90 times throughout the whole of Ezekiel.

And so a sobering reality peppered 'the whole' of Devlin's sermon -- and most importantly -- the whole counsel of God, in Ezekiel and elsewhere.  

"...While I would never want to diminish the truth that God loves each one of us more deeply than we could ever imagine [Devon preached], we must understand that God’s world does not revolve around us. God’s primary concern is not for me, or for you, or for us. God’s primary concern is for God. God’s world revolves around God. How dare we think that it is about us! What a low view of God and what a arrogant view of ourselves we must have to think that."

Such assertion begs the question: who is God, and what does God want?  In a phrase:  God wants God's Truth and God's Righteousness to govern all that we do, and to have the last Word.

And there's the rub:  we want to have the last word -- not God.

One of the privileged moments during my time in Princeton was to be a part of Y House's discussion on human consciousness. Held at Einstein's former workplace, the Institute for Advanced Studies, an eclectic group of intellectuals gathered on a regular basis to grapple with numerous topics, including the definition and identity of life. The Astrophysicists in our group made animated presentations on the progress they'd made in developing an algorithm, that would indeed, identify life. The biologists described new advances in quantifying DNA as a way of defining and identifying our existence.  More medically minded folk spoke of new discoveries related to brain waves and other telemetric ways of exploring human function.   Finally, there was a lull in the conversation, and a Christian philosopher from Japan, who was a member of our Visiting Scholars cohort, calmly, but confidently asserted:  "what if Jesus Christ is life?"

And with that, there was more than awkward silence.  And then, the discussion quickly shifted, to a more acceptable, 'saner' subject.

But the real sanity is Jesus.  For though it sounds terribly naive -- simplistic -- reductionistic --foundational -- Jesus is "...the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him].   (John 14:6, The Amplified Bible, emphasis added).

That's what the world truly revolves around. And so, technically, Galileo is correct to say the sun is the center of the solar system.  But theologically, scripture is correct to say, that the Son (Jesus) is really the center of it all.  

And so the grand adventure of life is 'tripping' around the Son -- centering life not on self -- but on the only one who is truly worthy of our attentiveness.  

For, yes, we are 'good,' with value and worth -- but God is great, with endless...infinite...value and worth.  

I love the way Psalm 8, holds in tension our worth, but the infinite worth of the God, who is Almighty.

"Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens...When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? [Yet] You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet...Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  (Psalm 8:  1-9, emphasis added).

And so as we trip around the Son, we do with both worth and humility.   Demonstrative humility.  For though we have dignity and honor in God's eyes (and we do) -- God has ultimate dignity and honor.

And so we aim for humility -- anticipating, in the words of Andrew Murray -- that humility will lead to "...the displacement of self by the enthronement of God."

For as God is probably enthroned -- placed -- centered -- life is humbled.  Settled -down.

But better yet: we experience the ultimate trip.  A trip around the Son -- who is Almighty.  As life is recalibrated -- caught up -- in the gravitational pull of His Truth -- and His Righteousness -- God's right and sane way, of truly coming alive!