Coming to God
Coming to God, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56587 [retrieved August 6, 2021]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/carsten_tb/22260925034/ - Carsten ten Brink.
Still Life with Stoneware Jug, Wine Glass, Herring, and Bread
Claesz., Pieter, 1596 or 7-1660. Still Life with Stoneware Jug, Wine Glass, Herring, and Bread, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=51136 [retrieved August 6, 2021]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Claesz._-_Still_Life_with_Stoneware_Jug,_Wine_Glass,_Herring,_and_Bread_-_13.458_-_Museum_of_Fine_Arts.jpg.
Entering Rest
Dear Companion of my day,
You are the Holy mystery I surrender to
when I close my eyes. I give You myself;
the flaws, the mistakes, the petty
self congratulations. I give You my dear ones:
my fondest hopes for them, my worries,
and my dark thoughts regarding them.
Take my well-constructed separation from me.
Hold me in your truth.
This day is already past. I surrender it.
When I think about tomorrow, I surrender it, too.
Keep me this night. With You
and in You I can trust not knowing anything.
I can trust incompleteness as a way.
Dark with the darkness, silent with the silence,
help me dare to be that empty one--futureless.
desireless--who breathes Your name even in sleep.
Gunila Norris
Dear Companion of my day,
You are the Holy mystery I surrender to
when I close my eyes. I give You myself;
the flaws, the mistakes, the petty
self congratulations. I give You my dear ones:
my fondest hopes for them, my worries,
and my dark thoughts regarding them.
Take my well-constructed separation from me.
Hold me in your truth.
This day is already past. I surrender it.
When I think about tomorrow, I surrender it, too.
Keep me this night. With You
and in You I can trust not knowing anything.
I can trust incompleteness as a way.
Dark with the darkness, silent with the silence,
help me dare to be that empty one--futureless.
desireless--who breathes Your name even in sleep.
Gunila Norris
Exploring the Text: Embracing the confusion
This entire discourse (John 6:22-59) happens the day after the feeding of the 5,000. During this discourse, Jesus focuses on the idea that he is the bread of life. When we read that now, we see that as a metaphor and it makes sense to use. We understand that Jesus sustains and satisfies us in all of the challenges of life if we turn to him. The group that he is speaking to, however, does not understand that. Consequently, this passage can seem a little crazy as Jesus tries to challenge his listeners to understand. We also have the benefit of hindsight. We understand this passage in the context of all that Jesus did and taught. His listeners on that day did not have that same context. As you read through this passage, look for clues that Jesus drops now that he will build on in his later teachings.
Put yourself in the place of the crowd listening to Jesus that day. Imagine that you don’t know the fuller context of Jesus teaching. Imagine hearing for the first time when he says that he has come down from heaven or that the bread that he will give for the life of the world is his flesh. Imagine how strange that would sound, or maybe even does sound to you still today. Imagine listening to him saying that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Do you find that a little challenging, confronting, maybe even insulting?
We don’t like to be confused. We like to have solid and clear answers that we believe we can rely on. God doesn’t always work that way though. Our greatest steps of faith, our greatest opportunities to grow in our relationship with God, don’t come in moments of clarity and understanding, they come in moments of confusion when we are forced to trust God. Please note that this is not an argument for blind, unreasoning faith. Rather, it is an argument for embracing our confusion and doubt and following Jesus through it, trusting that we will come out on the other side with a firmer faith, a clearer understanding, and a deeper knowledge of God that we had before.
Physicist Richard Feynman once said, “I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” When it comes to our faith, just like in science, questions are better than answers. When we have an answer, that is all we have. When we have questions and doubts, we have a million opportunities to explore and grow in our relationship with God.
Maybe you are struggling with doubts. Maybe, like the people listening to Jesus in this passage, you have heard things about Jesus or about God that don’t make sense. You can turn and walk away, or you can embrace the confusion, embrace the doubts, and look for God in the middle of it. Ultimately, that is what the disciples did, and they found all that they were hoping for and so much more. The same can happen for you, if you are willing to embrace the doubt and stick with Jesus through it.
David Dalton
This entire discourse (John 6:22-59) happens the day after the feeding of the 5,000. During this discourse, Jesus focuses on the idea that he is the bread of life. When we read that now, we see that as a metaphor and it makes sense to use. We understand that Jesus sustains and satisfies us in all of the challenges of life if we turn to him. The group that he is speaking to, however, does not understand that. Consequently, this passage can seem a little crazy as Jesus tries to challenge his listeners to understand. We also have the benefit of hindsight. We understand this passage in the context of all that Jesus did and taught. His listeners on that day did not have that same context. As you read through this passage, look for clues that Jesus drops now that he will build on in his later teachings.
Put yourself in the place of the crowd listening to Jesus that day. Imagine that you don’t know the fuller context of Jesus teaching. Imagine hearing for the first time when he says that he has come down from heaven or that the bread that he will give for the life of the world is his flesh. Imagine how strange that would sound, or maybe even does sound to you still today. Imagine listening to him saying that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Do you find that a little challenging, confronting, maybe even insulting?
We don’t like to be confused. We like to have solid and clear answers that we believe we can rely on. God doesn’t always work that way though. Our greatest steps of faith, our greatest opportunities to grow in our relationship with God, don’t come in moments of clarity and understanding, they come in moments of confusion when we are forced to trust God. Please note that this is not an argument for blind, unreasoning faith. Rather, it is an argument for embracing our confusion and doubt and following Jesus through it, trusting that we will come out on the other side with a firmer faith, a clearer understanding, and a deeper knowledge of God that we had before.
Physicist Richard Feynman once said, “I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” When it comes to our faith, just like in science, questions are better than answers. When we have an answer, that is all we have. When we have questions and doubts, we have a million opportunities to explore and grow in our relationship with God.
Maybe you are struggling with doubts. Maybe, like the people listening to Jesus in this passage, you have heard things about Jesus or about God that don’t make sense. You can turn and walk away, or you can embrace the confusion, embrace the doubts, and look for God in the middle of it. Ultimately, that is what the disciples did, and they found all that they were hoping for and so much more. The same can happen for you, if you are willing to embrace the doubt and stick with Jesus through it.
David Dalton