Pastor Tom Johnson, December 4, 2011
Genesis chapter one says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And it may seem reasonable to go through the Bible chronologically, verse by verse, book by book, and that way build one’s view of God piece by piece.
But this, according to our Gospel reading is not the way to know God. And, sadly, it is often the case that people do not believe in god because we are not attracted to the god that we have formed in their minds.
Take, for instance, prominent biologist Richard Dawkins and his description of god. He calls him “arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser.” Martin Luther himself struggled with this profoundly. He describes his own view of God: “I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God.” Alister McGrath, a former atheist himself and now Christian scholar will listen politely as people talk about how they cannot believe in this maniacal, vengeful, angry god. He will winsomely reply, “I don’t believe in a god like that either.” Our view of God can be shaped from various things—Parents, grandparents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, or Voters Meetings—in good ways and in bad.
Our Gospel reading today suggests a good way—or rather—the good way of knowing God. Reminiscent of Genesis, it says: “In the beginning the good news Jesus Christ.” This is not just the beginning of Mark’s account. This is the beginning of the good news—embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Advent is about the arrival and coming of the Messiah but also of the One who gives a right and good understanding of and relationship with God. Mark is not alone in giving us the starting point in our understanding and relationship with God in Jesus. John’s Gospel has a beautiful prologue which begins with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And at the end of his prologue, he says, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” The book of Hebrews says, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son...He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” Jesus himself says in Revelation. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev 22:13). And again in the Gospel of John, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (Jn 8:19). “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). We know God the Father through God the Son.
When I was nineteen years old, I visited Salvador Dali’s Theatre and Museum. Several of his works of art fill up entire rooms. One room in particular is very memorable to me. As you walk into the room, there is an enormous painting that reaches up to the high ceiling. People line the wall with their heads looking straight up at the work of art. The large canvas has over a hundred smaller paintings that form a grid. It looks like many square paintings lined up in rows and columns. Some of the squares can stand alone as beautiful paintings by themselves. But most of them are blurred and beyond description and explanation—quickly dismissed as “modern art.” In the middle there is a woman looking out at the sea through a window.
I could hear whispering and giggling behind me. Turning around, I saw people lined up behind telescopes and looking at the painting—which was very confusing. Because you would think that the best place to be to get a closer view is to be right up next to the painting where I was, taking a hard, careful, and analytical look. Even though it was counterintuitive, the smiles and the laughter drew me in. The good news I was hearing from those who had looked through the telescopes convinced me that I should try for myself. And what I discovered was that the telescopes did not give a closer view but a more distant view. Have you ever looked through a pair of binoculars or a telescope backwards? That was exactly what they were—backward telescopes. And immediately I could see what I could not see before—the head of Abraham Lincoln. And so it is with Jesus. It is only when we look at the Bible beginning with the good news of Jesus—when we try to understand and know God through a Gospel lens—that we will see the face of God—
—the God who reveals himself and loves us through his Son, Jesus Christ who lived, died, and rose again to give us the assurance of forgiveness and the certainty of eternal life. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending of our knowledge of a loving, merciful, and gracious God. He is the God we know and love. He is the Advent of a right and comforting understanding and relationship with God in our lives—a personal Genesis of good and encouraging news—the beginning of a journey with a loving, heavenly Father that will have no end. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
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