We spoke of God the Father and explored a number of issues about the inappropriateness of gender for God: God who is all genders and no gender, who behaves as Father and Mother and also as something else quite different again.
A little boy had returned from Sunday School and was quizzing his Mum:
“Mum, God is everywhere, isn’t he?”
“Yes. That’s right”
“He’s here in this house?”
“Yes. That’s right”
“He’s here in this kitchen”
“Yes. That’s right”
“Yes. I suppose so…”
“…and here on this table…?”
“Err… yes…”
“God’s even here, in this sugarbowl?”
“Yes…”
The boy grabs the sugarbowl and pops his hand on top…
“Gottim!”
How we would love to capture God in our sugarbowls, to bring him down to our size, to limit him by our imagination, our intellect, our science and our language. How we want to proscribe his power and his glory to solely within the pages of a collection of books completed around 120AD. Language is simply not enough, and so we need to see the fingerprints of God in all of Creation.
We spoke of the two creation stories in Genesis: the well known 7 ‘period of time’ one from the Elohist (E) tradition, which we concluded was a pretty good 3500 year old take on Evolution, and the older, more mysterious Yahwehist (J) tradition one. I stated that I believed the Bible’s account of creation but that I was not a creationist, that I saw in evolution the fingerprints of God and rejected the literal understanding of the creation and fall myths.
God does not ask us to leave our brains at the door when we engage with him and with Scripture, and asks us to see Scripture as part of the revelation, but not its sole, literal, unthinking example.
We looked at the J, E and Priestly (P) influences on the Exodus story and watch this little diversion from last Summer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fTbCXcqrsY
Then, as we sat bathed in candlelight, we prayed together powerfully. Thank you, God. Thank you for providing this journey of faith, this fellowship and this opportunity to share.
The good people were sent out with a blessing, encouragement to read the Gospel of Mark in preparation for next week and the film of the week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOrKTpJ2Pw
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973) by Franco Zefferelli Amazon Link
This is currently available at under 4 quid!
A slightly twee, but none-the-less lovely film about the life of S.Francis of Asissi. As his feast day is next weekend, and as the flim is currently so cheap, I strongly encourage you to watch it. If you can get past the early 1970’s Donovan music and the horrible sound mix which seemed to infect all films of that age, I think it is a powerful, faithful film about a radical notion, and a life-and-church transforming insight which led Francis to “rebuild my church”.
A good feeling as we parted this evening. Deo Gratias!
I love Brother Sun Sister Moon, even the corny Donovan numbers. In fact you have got me humming them now. And I never cease to have a tear in my eye when the Pope kneels at his feet. And the costumes of the Curia – divine! Thanks for the reminder.