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| The two congregations worship at Lakewood on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. All are welcome! |
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This past week, we have been thinking about those who are Muslim starting the holy season of Ramadan. In Islam, there is reference to the 99 names for God. Some of the names are: God the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Tolerant. There are many beautiful ways of naming and thus describing God. In the Jewish tradition, there is the custom of not saying the name of God out loud. The four letters used to denote God, YHWH, are all consonants so technically the word is unpronounceable. So, there is a tradition of not saying the name of God in Judaism. In Christianity, we seem to embrace both of these approaches. We try to affirm the mystery and inscrutability of God. And, like our tradition of Jesus, we try to name God and call upon God like an abba, a daddy. In his time in the desert, Alesandro Pronzato came up with another name to add to the list of names for God: “God the Difficult.” Maybe we know about that God, too! Our tradition teaches that naming has power. When you give something a name, in a way, you claim it. And you create a way to influence or control it. Also, depending on what the name is, you may also be defining the thing. So naming has power. During the sacrament of baptism, the child or adult is named. Given a name, an identity, a way of being claimed by God through the church. There is power in that naming. Given the contention between people of differing religions today, and the continuing unfolding of scientific knowledge which influences our conceptions of God, I am wondering about abandoning the naming of God enterprise. What about a non-anthropomorphic God and a non-anthropocentric Christianity added to the mix? Maybe the less we make God like us and about us, the more we will live into the image-of-Godness within us – a force for love, never fully understood. In love with all of Creation. Note: The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981. |
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