If asked to describe what God looks like I believe most people in our culture would describe God as a large bearded man sitting on a huge throne. This man may be very stern looking. Or maybe kindly looking. Or maybe something in between.
I wonder how the ancient Jews would
have described God? Right in their core
teaching – the Ten Commandments – is an order not to make a graven image of
God. That meant more than just ‘don’t
make a statue of God’. It meant don’t
try to come up with an image of that which is beyond being able to be made into
an image.
Though the Old Testament pokes fun
of the religious beliefs of the peoples around them – things like bowing down
and worshipping something made of wood or stone by human hands - the
surrounding religions did not believe their statues actually were their
gods. They believed their gods existed
elsewhere; or somewhere beyond. But
their religious beliefs still allowed for the creation of the image of their
gods and their gods’ key qualities; power and fertility being the key ones.
I believe it was common in those
days that when one nation conquered territory they would haul off the gods of
the conquered people. They may even
parade them around and publicly desecrate them or burn them showing that their
god was stronger than the conquered god.
However, that wouldn’t work for the
ancient Jews. With no graven images of
God it simply couldn’t be done. When the
Babylonians did finally conquer Jerusalem and haul off the riches of the temple
they were able to take: the tools and instruments, the items of gold, silver,
and bronze. They could haul off the gold
covered ark of the covenant. But there
was no image they could desecrate and destroy.
This idea of having no graven images had a bit of practical wisdom to it!
But
as I said a minute ago, the ancient Jews would not only not make an image of
God they wouldn’t even ever attempt to describe God’s appearance. Remember the vision the prophet Isaiah has
about God in the temple? (Isaiah 6) Isaiah describes light and sound and smoke
and the hem of God’s robe, but he never tries to actually describe God.
Perhaps the most grand and vivid
depiction of the divine presence is what we read in Ezekiel today. It is a strange and fantastic vision! After reading it you might be tempted to ask
if there were hallucinogenic drugs around in those days. How on earth could anyone have such a
fantastic vision if they were in their right mind?!? The answer is that yes indeed, they did have
hallucinogenic drugs in those days. And
many have suggested that Ezekiel used them to enhance his visions. What is this with these four creatures with
wings, each with four heads, and wheels and eyes and all sorts of stuff? Actually it wasn’t unusual for prophets of
the time to do all sorts of things to have visions. They may use drugs, or alcohol, or severely
starve themselves, or something to cause visions. Who knows what was going on with Ezekiel? But one thing is certain, regardless of his
state of mind his depiction of the divine presence is very much within orthodox
Judaism.
Many scholars have tried to
interpret Ezekiel’s vision thinking it is full of symbolic meanings. He does indeed pull on many traditional
images of ancient Judaism. However it is
fruitless to try to interpret the components.
They just don’t make sense or fit into any category. Instead it is best to just recognize this as
an amazing depiction of the presence of God.
And very importantly, God’s appearance is in no way described. Only the surroundings are described. The appearance of the divine presence is left
completely undefined. The ancient Jews just
would not let God’s appearance be defined.
They felt God was too big, to beyond, to ‘Other’ than could ever be
described by the limits of the human imagination.
When I was looking for cover art for
the bulletin I did a Google search of “Ezekiel’s Vision”. It is a topic that many artists have
attempted to depict. The search yielded
countless results. The vision itself
doesn’t actually make sense at all, nor is it very clear. However I was very disappointed to discover
that in almost all of the depictions the artist included an image of God. And God was indeed a great man on a
throne. Ezekiel’s sensibilities kept him
from describing God. Yet almost all the
artists were willing to give it a go. I
chose the art that is on our bulletin cover because the artist stayed more true
to what Ezekiel himself describes.
Christians have long been
comfortable attempting to create an image of God. We take the idea of ‘being made in the image
of God,’ and the predominate idea that God is masculine, and depict God as a
great man of terrific power. But that is
not only inadequate - for God is also revealed as having numerous qualities
usually considered to be feminine, and God can be described in female terms –
but it also flies in the face of allowing God’s presence to be beyond our
imagination. In fact God is so ‘other’
than us that to even describe God as having a presence is in and of itself too
limiting.
God presence should make our heads
spin for the sheer enormity of the idea.
And then that prepares us for the jarring contrast of the core of
Christian faith – that God became human and walked among us.
The idea of God -or the gods- coming
in human form is not unique to Christianity.
Most obviously were the ancient Greeks whose mythology often depicted
the gods coming to earth in human form.
Those gods usually wreaked havoc among the humans, either manipulating
them for their own selfish desires or using humans as entertaining playthings.
But Christianity is different for
the idea of God coming to live a lifetime for the purpose of
self-revelation.
When we can realize that God’s
nature is absolutely indescribable and unknowable then we are able to be in awe
of God choosing to reveal Godself in human form. God knows full well that we are simply
incapable of grasping the nature of the divine.
And so God comes in way that we can understand. God comes not with symbols or books or
intellectual puzzles but as a human – seeable, hearable, touchable.
God did not come making great
decrees to humans for what they were doing wrong. In Jesus God came as a man who ate meals with
anyone and everyone who wanted to.
The reading we had from John’s
gospel, those words so famously read on Christmas Eve, carry the great mystery
and contrast of it. In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and
without him not one thing came into being.
John is writing in the same spirit
as Ezekiel – recognizing God as unknowable and entirely other than us. That then sets up the shocking contrast,
perhaps actually scandalous contrast, of verse 14, “And the Word became flesh
and lived among us. And we have seen
his glory…”
Okay, so Christians do make the
audacious claim that God’s infinite glory can actually be seen. It can be imagined. It can be understood.
What is that glory? Keep thinking in John’s gospel. What does Jesus describe as his
glorification? John 12:32, “’And I when
I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he
was to die.”
Now we truly have a scandal beyond
what a human can comprehend. God as
powerful beyond imagination, yet God as knowable in human form, yet God’s power
fully revealed in dying!
The whole thing makes our heads
spin. Indeed it is not to be figured out
– which takes us right back to Ezekiel’s vision.
God’s promises are beyond our
imagination. God’s love is beyond our
imagination. It should make our head
spin. But it should also bring us great
comfort. God’s unknowable power, and
God’s infinite love.
God has commissioned us to be
messengers in this world – to proclaim the truth and mystery that is before
us. And with it the great promises of
goodness beyond our wildest imagination.
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