STEDY, August 22, 2018

“Mum, why are you so far away? Ahh, why are you now so close? Now you’re far away again.” I prepared dinner as my son sat at the counter playing with a pair of binoculars he had found. He was fascinated that looking through one end made things appear to be close and yet the other side made things look so far away. He looked at his hand, the cat, the food I was preparing and asked a million questions about what was inside, how does it work, where do you buy the lens, can you clean the lens, can you take it apart, why can’t he take it apart, could I take it apart, what about his dad, or my sister who is super smart and why is she so smart? I took a looooong drag of iced tea and looked at the clock to see how long before my husband would be home before admitting that I really didn’t understand how binoculars worked beyond lenses. I explained to my son that this was really not my area of expertise. “Oh right,” he said, “you only know about the Bible.” With that he stuck his tongue out in disgust causing me to die inside a little bit. Always hoping to pass along my love of scripture I told him he was right which is why I only know about swords, battles, and how to escape an army of bad guys when you’re blocked by a sea. I know what happens when you stab a really fat guy in the stomach and how to defend yourself using only a tent peg. Looking at me through one end of the binoculars he asked what happens when you stab a fat guy in the stomach.

After destroying an innocent eggplant who served as the obese King Eglon, the questions resumed. “Have you read the whole bible? How many times have you read the bible? Has your sister read that story? Has she read the whole Bible too?” I told him she had, she studied it very carefully as a child, and then in college and again as her daughter prepared to be bat mitzvah. I waited for more questions but bored by me, my son climbed off the stool and went off to look at more things with his binoculars. A book worm and history nerd like me, my sister had studied the bible quite thoroughly. While my early reading of scripture led to various degrees in Biblical Studies which continued to lead me closer to God, my sister’s studies led her to atheism. My reading of scripture made God seem so close and hers made God seem so far away.

Unlike binoculars, I understand how this can happen. Besides the painfully dull parts, there are sickening stories that appear to condone violence, rape and genocide. There are stories I remember reading as a teenager that caused me to pause and ask God for an explanation. While tempting, to ignore or skip over those sections would be as irresponsible and unfair. We also have to recognize that by reading these stories thousands of years later, we are looking at the Bible from a different direction. We have been given a peek into lives that are very different from ours and yet very much the same. When we can see the grace of God in those dark situations, it can help us see God more clearly in our own.

~ News Flash ~
I’m not as cool as you think. Can you please look at the church Instagram account I have opened and let me know what you think. I’m worried it looks dorky.

View on Instagram

~ Upcoming Events ~

Sunday, August 26
Team 4 Acolyting