With God as Our Father

The Bible repeatedly refers to God as father and his followers as his children. Dependent upon our relationships with our earthly parents, this can either be a calming thought or one that leads to tension. Some of us were taught that our heavenly father was mostly a judge who showed his disappointment and anger when we made mistakes. Most of the time when I think of the relationship between father and son, my mind goes to how I feel as an adult, but perhaps the better way to imagine the concept is between a wise father and a very young child. The Bible tells us that God is far superior to humans in reasoning and love (Isaiah 55:8 is only one place we find this truth) and we can readily see that as the creator of this vast universe in which we live, he is far beyond us. When we are mere babes-in-arms or toddlers, and our fathers are given the responsibility to care for our needs and train us up in the ways that we should go, perhaps that is when we are most like the relationship between God the father and we the children.

Pastor Steve McMillan at Bow Valley Christian Church recently used an illustration that points to the truth in this. When a child reaches that age where they begin to walk (usually within a few months of their first birthday) we see the pride of the father in the child. The child manages to get up and hold onto some piece of furniture and walks along it before coming to the end of safety. At some point, they must launch out on their own and so they stretch a leg and arm out and take those first halting steps. Soon the awkwardness of legs, body, and heavy head get in the way and the child thumps down on the forgiving cushion of a nicely padded bottom. At this point we don’t see the father berate the child for falling. We don’t hear him say, “What is wrong with you? You only took three steps!” No, instead the father is ecstatic. He cheers the babe on and says, “Wonderful, you did so well. You took three steps before falling." He pulls out his cell phone and tries to capture the next steps on video. He calls his wife into the room and says, “Honey, come in here quick, see what our daughter has just done!” He calls his parents on the phone and acts like his child is the most brilliant and coordinated child on the planet. He jumps around and hoots like a mad-man, all because this child took three steps and fell hard.

So too, our heavenly father is more interested in the steps we take than in the many times we fall. Sure, he does not want to see us fall and get hurt; there is pain in his heart when he sees us scrape our knees and bruise our muscles. Yet, he is more interested in the fact that we actually walked for a while. He is there to encourage us to get up, wince at the pain, bandage the scrapes, and get moving again. Fathers do not worry about the falls. Certainly, if the child keeps falling for the next several years there may be something wrong and the father intervenes to find a way to help the son walk, but that is not the usual case. 

So, what of my life here on this earth? Am I focussed on how many times I fall or on how much progress I am making? I would do well to set myself some goals and aim toward them rather than focussing on the time I spend on the ground. My heavenly father is certainly looking at foot-steps and progress, otherwise he could not be my loving father at all.

The Music of the Ainur

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion is widely recognized as a great writer. He was also a faithful Catholic whose theology appears in his writings in poetic ways. His description of the way evil came into the world, as seen in the opening chapter of The Silmarillion is a work of art infused with theology. Here I quote a portion of Tolkien's creation story:

There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad. But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.
And it came to pass that Ilúvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Ilúvatar and were silent.
Then Ilúvatar said to them: 'Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will. But I will sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great beauty has been wakened into song.'
…
But now Ilúvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good to him, for in the music there were no flaws. But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar; for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself. To Melkor among the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in the gifts of all the gifts of his brethren. He had often gone alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame; for desire grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own, and it seemed to him that Ilúvatar took no thought for the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Ilúvatar. But being alone he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren.
…
Then Ilúvatar spoke, and he said: ‘Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Ilúvatar, those things that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.(1)

I should leave the words of Tolkien to themselves and allow the reader to grasp the beauty and complexity of the theology that is revealed in these poetic words. Yet, the words are old enough and strange enough to require some explanation and so I will do my best to enlighten the logic that is contained in Tolkien’s creativity. 

In this account of how evil entered the world, it is through the pride and self-promotion of one of the Creator’s created beings. Melkor, here one will draw parallels to Satan, becomes impatient with the creation timeline of the Creator and begins to imagine himself creating Beings and things. He does not have the power to create things on his own, but he begins to weave his ideas into the songs rather than content himself with the themes of the Creator. He creates discord and disharmony and begins to pull more of his brethren along with him.

The Creator allows the discord for just a moment and then stops the music. He tells the Ainur - his created beings who were charged with singing the music of creation - that he will allow their songs to come into being. Even Melkor’s songs will be represented in the creation. Yet, the Creator’s theme shall be sung, and his will shall be done; the Creator will use the songs of Melkor to devise things more wonderful than Melkor or any other Ainur could imagine. For the Creator is the source of all and his will shall prevail.

Tolkien knew that poetry and metaphor were better suited to explaining the great themes of God than pure logic. May his words and further poetry continue to help us as we struggle to understand the great mysteries of God and the universe God created.

(1) Tolkien, J.R.R. The Silmarillion. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994, p.15-18.

Billy Graham and Forgiveness

In light of the recent passing of Billy Graham, a reprint of a previous blog is in order.

The Crown, Season 2, Episode 6: Vergangenheit

Written by Peter Morgan

Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe

This post contains numerous spoilers and explanations of a current episode of The Crown. You may want to watch the episode before reading this article.

The German word, vergangenheit, has many uses [1] in the German language. Its simplest meaning is “the past.” In some contexts, this can be a “time that has elapsed,” a “forgotten past,” a “past with which some have not yet come to terms,” or a “past that needs to be forgiven.” This is the word the producers and writers chose for Season 2, Episode 6 of the Netflix series, The Crown.

The episode opens with the uncovering of secret Nazi documents which reveal the plans and thought processes of the senior Nazi leadership and their collusion with European leaders prior to and during World War II. Most of the documents are translated and published, while the Marburg papers are labelled confidential and stored away in secret so that the embarrassing contents might never be revealed.

The scene quickly shifts to King George, who, on discovering the contents of the Marburg papers, says that the people of the world must never discover the contents. He says, “Our people would rightfully never forgive us.”

Although most will see the story as a depiction of what to do with a former King (Edward VIII) who wants to rehabilitate his image, the interesting part of this British drama is the question of “forgiveness.” If one notices how many times the word is used in this script, they will get the sense that the discussions between the Head of the Church of England (Queen Elizabeth II) and the unofficial Head of Evangelical Christianity in America (Reverend Billy Graham) are much more than peripheral to the overall development of the episode.

Certainly, we cannot get away from the fact that Her Majesty is wrestling with how to, and whether or not to, forgive her uncle, the former King Edward VIII (and subsequently the Duke of Windsor), for associating and conspiring with Nazi Germany in a failed attempt to recover the throne for himself and his wife who wished to be Queen. In this version of historical-fiction, the Duke of Windsor is seen as one who wanted the throne but could not have it because of the divorced woman he chose to marry. Yet, the question of forgiveness is bigger than one act of pardon or denunciation. Forgiveness here, in the context of this well-written and well-directed program, is about forgiveness in all its forms.

It is about God forgiving individuals.

Billy Graham: “The Bible teaches that all have sinned. … God offers hope for the individual, hope for society, hope for the world.”

It is about forgiving Kings.

Duke of Windsor: “Can a former King be forgiven?”

It is about forgiving a German political movement which brought about the Nazi Party and the horrors of World War II. At one point, we hear the Duke of Windsor suggest that, “It could be argued that we were the ones that made him [Hitler] a monster.”

It is about forgiving oneself.

Billy Graham: “The solution for being unable to forgive: one asks for forgiveness for oneself … and prays for those whom one cannot forgive.”

The drama is played out with commentary provided by the private words spoken between The Reverend Billy Graham and Her Majesty, The Queen. Graham preaches a question and then answers it for the small audience in Windsor Chapel.

Billy Graham: “What is a Christian? … A person in whom Christ dwells. … it means, that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” (Here he references Colossians 1:27.)

The Queen praises Billy Graham, the evangelist, and says, “You speak with such clarity and certainty.… It is lovely to disappear and become just a simple Christian.” By that, she means that it felt good to be in chapel and not feel that she had to be the Head of the Church.

The scenes shift back and forth but we are soon taken to a scene featuring the Duke of Windsor as he writes to his wife in America. He complains that the evangelist, Billy Graham, has disturbed him and says that “all taste for prayer has evaded me.” We begin to see the Duke transformed from a bored socialite to a demon in disguise. One scene ends with a fade to black in which a menacing glint in his eyes is the last thing to fade. When the publication of the Marburg papers becomes inevitable, the Queen Mother remarks that “this was always going to come back to haunt us.”

Yet, The Queen and The Evangelist are eager to want to forgive The Duke and the sins of others, even as they admit to the difficulty of forgiving those who betray and murder their countrymen. At one point the Queen says, “It is time to discuss forgiveness for Uncle David. … Forgiveness is very important to me.” However, when she is confronted with the magnitude of David’s sins, perhaps there is even an allusion here to King David of the Bible, she speaks these harsher words to her uncle,

“We all closed our eyes and ears to what was being said about you. … But when the truth finally came out, it makes a mockery of even the central tenants of Christianity. There is no possibility of my forgiving you; the question is, how on earth can you forgive yourself?”

It is at this point that the key conversation between Billy Graham and The Queen occurs.

The Queen: “I would like to hear your views on forgiveness. Are there circumstances in which one can be a good Christian and not forgive?”

Billy Graham: “The solution for being unable to forgive [is that] one asks for forgiveness for oneself … and prays for those whom one cannot forgive.”

It is refreshing to see a historical-fiction from the UK tell a redeeming story of the power of forgiveness. The writers have truly challenged us to wrestle with the question of forgiveness for war-mongers, Nazis, attention-grasping former Kings, fair-minded Queens, and a good many other sinners. (Perhaps we might even wrestle with the contemporary issue of forgiveness for men who sexually assault or harass women.) In his time as an evangelist, Billy Graham made it clear that the Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Vergangenheit, the episode, asks us significant questions about how far the forgiveness of God could extend and leaves us wondering how we might “forgive others as God has forgiven us” (Matthew 6:14, 15 and Matthew 18:21-35). Oh Lord, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12, New Living Translation).

 

 

The Crown

The Crown, Season 2, Episode 6: Vergangenheit

Written by Peter Morgan

Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe

This post contains numerous spoilers and explanations of a current episode of The Crown. You may want to watch the episode before reading this article.

The German word, vergangenheit, has many uses [1] in the German language. Its simplest meaning is “the past.” In some contexts, this can be a “time that has elapsed,” a “forgotten past,” a “past with which some have not yet come to terms,” or a “past that needs to be forgiven.” This is the word the producers and writers chose for Season 2, Episode 6 of the Netflix series, The Crown.

The episode opens with the uncovering of secret Nazi documents which reveal the plans and thought processes of the senior Nazi leadership and their collusion with European leaders prior to and during World War II. Most of the documents are translated and published, while the Marburg papers are labelled confidential and stored away in secret so that the embarrassing contents might never be revealed.

The scene quickly shifts to King George, who, on discovering the contents of the Marburg papers, says that the people of the world must never discover the contents. He says, “Our people would rightfully never forgive us.”

Although most will see the story as a depiction of what to do with a former King (Edward VIII) who wants to rehabilitate his image, the interesting part of this British drama is the question of “forgiveness.” If one notices how many times the word is used in this script, they will get the sense that the discussions between the Head of the Church of England (Queen Elizabeth II) and the unofficial Head of Evangelical Christianity in America (Reverend Billy Graham) are much more than peripheral to the overall development of the episode.

Certainly, we cannot get away from the fact that Her Majesty is wrestling with how to, and whether or not to, forgive her uncle, the former King Edward VIII (and subsequently the Duke of Windsor), for associating and conspiring with Nazi Germany in a failed attempt to recover the throne for himself and his wife who wished to be Queen. In this version of historical-fiction, the Duke of Windsor is seen as one who wanted the throne but could not have it because of the divorced woman he chose to marry. Yet, the question of forgiveness is bigger than one act of pardon or denunciation. Forgiveness here, in the context of this well-written and well-directed program, is about forgiveness in all its forms.

It is about God forgiving individuals.

Billy Graham: “The Bible teaches that all have sinned. … God offers hope for the individual, hope for society, hope for the world.”

It is about forgiving Kings.

Duke of Windsor: “Can a former King be forgiven?”

It is about forgiving a German political movement which brought about the Nazi Party and the horrors of World War II. At one point, we hear the Duke of Windsor suggest that, “It could be argued that we were the ones that made him [Hitler] a monster.”

It is about forgiving oneself.

Billy Graham: “The solution for being unable to forgive: one asks for forgiveness for oneself … and prays for those whom one cannot forgive.”

The drama is played out with commentary provided by the private words spoken between The Reverend Billy Graham and Her Majesty, The Queen. Graham preaches a question and then answers it for the small audience in Windsor Chapel.

Billy Graham: “What is a Christian? … A person in whom Christ dwells. … it means, that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” (Here he references Colossians 1:27.)

The Queen praises Billy Graham, the evangelist, and says, “You speak with such clarity and certainty.… It is lovely to disappear and become just a simple Christian.” By that, she means that it felt good to be in chapel and not feel that she had to be the Head of the Church.

The scenes shift back and forth but we are soon taken to a scene featuring the Duke of Windsor as he writes to his wife in America. He complains that the evangelist, Billy Graham, has disturbed him and says that “all taste for prayer has evaded me.” We begin to see the Duke transformed from a bored socialite to a demon in disguise. One scene ends with a fade to black in which a menacing glint in his eyes is the last thing to fade. When the publication of the Marburg papers becomes inevitable, the Queen Mother remarks that “this was always going to come back to haunt us.”

Yet, The Queen and The Evangelist are eager to want to forgive The Duke and the sins of others, even as they admit to the difficulty of forgiving those who betray and murder their countrymen. At one point the Queen says, “It is time to discuss forgiveness for Uncle David. … Forgiveness is very important to me.” However, when she is confronted with the magnitude of David’s sins, perhaps there is even an allusion here to King David of the Bible, she speaks these harsher words to her uncle,

“We all closed our eyes and ears to what was being said about you. … But when the truth finally came out, it makes a mockery of even the central tenants of Christianity. There is no possibility of my forgiving you; the question is, how on earth can you forgive yourself?”

It is at this point that the key conversation between Billy Graham and The Queen occurs.

The Queen: “I would like to hear your views on forgiveness. Are there circumstances in which one can be a good Christian and not forgive?”

Billy Graham: “The solution for being unable to forgive [is that] one asks for forgiveness for oneself … and prays for those whom one cannot forgive.”

It is refreshing to see a historical-fiction from the UK tell a redeeming story of the power of forgiveness. The writers have truly challenged us to wrestle with the question of forgiveness for war-mongers, Nazis, attention-grasping former Kings, fair-minded Queens, and a good many other sinners. (Perhaps we might even wrestle with the contemporary issue of forgiveness for men who sexually assault or harass women.) In his time as an evangelist, Billy Graham made it clear that the Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Vergangenheit, the episode, asks us significant questions about how far the forgiveness of God could extend and leaves us wondering how we might “forgive others as God has forgiven us” (Matthew 6:14, 15 and Matthew 18:21-35). Oh Lord, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12, New Living Translation).

---

[1] http://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/Vergangenheit ; http://www.interglot.com/dictionary/de/en/translate/Vergangenheit

A Note About Privacy

A recent article in Wired Magazine reviewed and critiqued the various Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered devices known as home assistants or homebots. Tucked into the innocuous article was “A NOTE ABOUT PRIVACY.” It is perhaps the most relevant part of the article and reminds us of something we have all been thinking for more than a decade.

A NOTE ABOUT PRIVACY

If your paramount concern in life is privacy, turn back now. Google Home and Amazon Echo are constantly listening, and they send some of what you say back to the mothership. But you know what? This is just another scootch down the slippery slope you stepped on when you signed up for Facebook, bought your first book on Amazon, and typed “symptoms of shingles” into a search box. Tech companies have always asked us to give up a little privacy, a little data, in exchange for their wondrous services. Maybe homebots are the breaking point. But the things Alexa can do—so convenient! One bit of advice: Before the gang shows up to plan the casino heist, hit the device’s mute button. — David Pierce, Wired.com 

In a world of bank machines, cell-phones, smart-phones, internet browsers, and homebots, we have chosen to get services for a reduced cost or “free.” What we have traded for these free services is information about our choices. This is an invaluable commodity for those who would sell us products or services. The movie Minority Report (2002, Directed by Steven Spielberg) envisioned a world in which shopping malls would be filled with personal advertising to appeal to our particular tastes and purchasing history. The movie came out in 2002 and seemed implausible at the time. In 2017, we are tiny steps away from this view of advertising. Such advertising may seem invasive, but the things your smart-phone can do - so convenient!