Picture God

Being moved by a God of love and mercy

09/22/2019

1 Timothy 2:1-8 Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle — I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

I heard this little joke at the Ladies Auxiliary meeting this past week, so before I tell it, would you please cover your children’s ears? A white man and an African-American man were best friends. They had been best friends for many years, and had shared a lot of their lives together, and basically agreed on everything. But there was one area where they adamantly disagreed, namely, on what color God was. The white man said he was sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that God was white. His African-American friend, however, was equally convinced that God would be African-American, that God is black. One day both men were driving along and had a terrible car accident where they both died. They found themselves standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the Pearly Gates, knowing that any moment the doors would fly open and their long-lasting debate would finally be resolved. At last the eternal gates opened, and God stepped forward, and said, “Buenos dias!” Maybe that joke would be better received in the Spanish Masses.

I share that joke because it suggests that how we see God – how we picture him in our mind’s eye – profoundly affects how we think, how we think shapes our choices, how we choose fashions our character, and our character steers the course of our life. In other words, how we visualize God – not just what color he is – changes not only how we think; it changes everything.

For example, if we tend to imagine God as a strict judge, who’s only looking to squash all our fun and trying to catch us making a mistake, we will be paranoid, and only try to avoid his punishments. We feel like the poor children of an abusive parent. Jonathan Edwards, the fiery Evangelical preacher in colonial Connecticut, wrote a famous sermon called, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He explained to his congregation: “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.” He literally wanted to scare the hell out of his parishioners. Jonathan Edwards pictured God as a judge and therefore preached a legalistic relationship with him, which deeply influenced the faith of his followers.

On the other hand, we can visualize the Almighty as a God of infinite mercy. Pope Francis, shortly after he was elected in March, 2013, led the world in praying the Angelus. He made a statement that day that has always stuck with me. He insisted: “The Lord never tires of forgiving us. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.” The difference between Pope Francis and Jonathan Edwards’ view of God could not be more black and white, more night and day. One relationship with God is based on fear and legalism, the other on faith and love. Our picture of God changes our thinking, and in the end, it changes everything.

Our scriptures today offer us two contrasting images of God and how that deeply affects behavior. Jesus tells a parable of a dishonest steward who fears his master and quickly comes up with a selfish solution to keep him from being fired, and even a back-up plan if he is fired. Moved by fear and legalism, he does the minimum for his master. On the other hand, St. Paul teaches Timothy God is merciful and only desires to save us. We read in 1 Timothy 2:4: “God wills all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.” When we see God in that light – where God wants to save us rather than punish us – we feel like doing the maximum, motivated by his mercy.

Ask yourself today: How do I see God? Most of us are not worried whether God is black or white, but we do have some image of the Man Upstairs in heaven. Does that image make us live by fear and legalism or by faith and love? What do I mean? Do you tend to do the minimum as a Christian? We might ask how far can I go with my girlfriend before it’s a mortal sin: can we hold hands, can we kiss, can we French kiss, etc.? What’s the least I can give in the Sunday collection so I don’t feel guilty: is it $5, or $10, or $100? What it the least I have to do to stay out of hell, because that’s all I’m shooting for? These would be the kinds of questions that Jonathan Edwards’ congregation might ask.

Here at Immaculate Conception, though, I find people asking the opposite questions. For instance, some ask what times are the daily Masses because I want to go to Mass more than just Sundays? Or, I already give money in the Sunday collection, but how can I help the poor, or a family who cannot afford to send their child to Catholic schools? Others ask, what are the bible studies I can go to in order to learn more about this loving and merciful God? And every now-and-then, someone says, I want to give up everything and become a priest or nun, like Omar Galvan, from our parish, who will be ordained a priest in two years. No wonder it’s Omar, a Hispanic man, who wants to be a priest, since God is Hispanic and speaks Spanish: “Buenos dias!”

Folks, why do we do the things we do? Simple: when we look up to heaven and see a God of infinite mercy and love, and we realize how he sent his son to die and rise for us, and we believe he has given us all his heavenly riches in the sacraments, it feels like you can never do enough to say thanks. King David sang in Psalm 116 (my favorite), “How can I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” How we picture God changes our thinking, our choices, our character and our lives. It changes everything.

Praised be Jesus Christ!