Lent Devotion 26

From Heaven above to earth I come
O worship the King, all glorious above
Sing praise to God who reigns above
Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above
Come down O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine

Many hymns and scriptures use the imagery of God being in heaven above us and we here on the earth below. Of course, we know that God is everywhere, not just one place and not another. By definition, God has to be everywhere. So there really isn’t anywhere, physical or spiritual, that God is not. And with advances in science, we know that beyond us is the atmosphere and space. But what is above? “Above” all depends on the frame of reference. What’s above to us may be below from another vantage point.

There is also other language such as “as far as the east is from the west” that implies the vast scope of God. We now know that if you go far enough “east” you end up in the “west” and vice versa since we know that the earth is round.

These images are quaint and can make scripture and religion seem antiquated and even irrelevant. The image of a far off heaven may be intended to convey the distance between the world as it is and the world as God intends it to be. As far as the east is from the west is a spatial image of distance and separation. If we want to convey distance and separation in more current images, how might we do that? Might we say as far apart as the Latin alphabet is from the Arabic alphabet? Might we express isolation and separation in terms of the internet: As isolated as if having no access to the internet for months on end. Are there other images of separation that we can think of in today’s terms? God was as silent as if I were in a dead zone with no cell phone reception. I pray, but it is as if I have no bars.

Using contemporary imagery and language is important for keeping religion, Christianity, and our faith vital and relevant and alive. It is also a reminder that those who penned what we now consider scripture used what was contemporary, colloquial language, which may loose something in translation across languages and centuries.

Prayer: We know that our faith is a living faith. God’s love and grace are relevant in every culture, in every age, and in every circumstance. We know that the way of Jesus is the way of life, whatever our context. May we not be afraid to reverence faith of the past and make relevant faith for today. Amen.