ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 5, 2025
Years ago, I remember hearing Archbishop Desmond Tutu preach at the General Assembly of our denomination. His sermon was based on Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God…” Actually, that is where he stopped. He did not move on to the next few words that speak of God creating, but instead, stuck with this notion that God existed before there was existence. It is sort of hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea of God existing before there was even the first particle, atom, or molecule. Most of what I believe about God is in regard to God’s relationship with creation. What is love if there is no object of God’s love? What is mercy or forgiveness if there is nothing that needs such gifts? What is all-knowing when there is nothing apart from God to know? At the end of the day, I believe Desmond Tutu was trying to get us to glimpse the God who exists independently of everything that is, while being the God who chose to fully engage, once there actually was something for God to engage. All the egocentric things we might believe, the money we adore, or that really cool car that we claim to desire above all other things, suddenly become entirely devoid of any sort of perceived divinity when we glimpse that God is. Something can appear to immense power and sway over our lives, and then we pause long enough to realize that our ego is built on sand, money is a human construct that holds no intrinsic value, and that really awesome car, even with the best care, is probably not going to exist twenty thousand years from now. With that said, I feel pretty confident that God will.
Keep me humble, O God who was, is, and will be forever, not because you’re mean and want to keep me in my place. I ask for this help because knowing who I am and what I am not helps me to become the best version of myself possible. Amen.
