How real is your God?

06-07-2020Weekly ReflectionFather Prince Raja

I once had a spiritual director who was fond of asking the question: "What is your God like?" he would then challenge me to go even deeper as he would continue to ask: "What does God feel like for you? What does He smell like? What does He taste like? What does He look like? What does He sound like for you?" Initially these questions seemed silly, and even difficult to answer. Eventually they opened up for me a whole new way of perceiving God. For instance, if you were to ask me: "What does God smell like for you?" I might say something like: "He smells like the fragrance of a cool evening in a hilly area after some showers; the air is fresh; there is a limy fragrance in the air; and you just want to take in a deep breath." This God is real to me! Yes, it is analogical. In fact all our talking about God is analogical. But these images make God real to us.

The Real Father: The first reading of today from the book of Exodus (34:4-6,8-9) describes God in a very concrete way: "Moses called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him… And Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped." It is almost like the scene in the Garden of Eden, though also different (Gen 3:8): "The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden." There are several such expressions in the Hebrew Scriptures that describe God in very real, tangible and experiential way: For instance, in Genesis 18:1 – "Yahweh appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him." And in Gen 32:25: "And Jacob was left alone. Then someone wrestled with him until daybreak." These are concrete experience of the Lord God.

The Real Son: The Letter to the Hebrews begins with these lines (Heb 1:1-2): "At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son…" The gospel text of today reiterates the mystery of incarnation: "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son" (Jn 6:16). The mystery of incarnation and the mystery of the Holy Trinity co-exist together. One presupposes the other. Put in a very simplistic manner: when God was in Nazareth in the form of Jesus, who was maintaining the universe? Yes, the Father and the Spirit were in control! That is why even in talking about the resurrection of Jesus the expression used is "the Father raised him up" (Acts 2:33; Gal 1:1).

The Real Spirit: "When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them" (Acts 2:13). Is this description an external event or an internal process? If you take for granted that these are external happenings that took place once upon a time, perhaps you may not experience it. It remains mere history. Whereas, if we understand that they are inner processes then we can experience them even here and now. Yes, God the Spirit is real and tangible. Those who have experienced Him can attest to it. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor 13:13)