Sermon Lethbridge Mennonite Church February 3, 2008

Scripture: II Kings 2: 1-12a

            Matthew 17: 1-9

            II Corinthians 4: 3-6

Title: Seeing But Not Understanding

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- Charles Schultz's cartoon character Peppermint Patty is someone who we can all feel some sympathy for when it comes to her adventures at school.

- Learning and understanding are continual struggles for poor Peppermint Patty.

- The insights are few for her while the trips to the principal's office are many.

- In one particular episode though, an insight was found.

- Peppermint Patty tells her teacher the following:

- "I've discovered something Ma'am: The more I study, the more I realize how little I know ...which has forced me to come up to a conclusion ...I may not show up tomorrow."

- There is a lot of truth in what Peppermint Patty says.

- The longer we live -- the more we study -- the more we learn, the more we realize the complexity and mystery of life and about how little we actually do know.

- Perhaps that is what learning is all about -- realizing one's abilities and limitations and working comfortably within them.

- Perhaps that is also what maturity is about.

- Now I don't want to try and paint myself as a wise old sage pontificating on the meaning of life,

- But I do want to talk about not understanding.

- Often it is understanding which is talked about.

- What about not understanding?

- I enjoy watching science and nature shows on television.

- It is interesting listening to the explanations of the various phenomenon of creation how some birds navigate while migrating and how black holes might be the key to understanding the physical origins of the universe.

- But there are a number of things which still remain a mystery, and as of yet, defy explanation.                           

- For instance: how the arctic tern (a bird) which migrates from the Arctic to the Antarctic each year is not yet known.

- Several years ago the big bang theory of the universe's
creation was dispelled which set off the pursuit of other theories to be worked upon in its place.

- If we started sharing within this congregation all the things that we don't know: we could be here for quite a while.

- The mystery of life: existence and understanding (in general) points us towards our God who is all knowing.

- Now I am aware that that could be dangerous theology.

- Not that God is all knowing, but that our ignorance leads to God.

- It is dangerous in that ignorance should not be the foundation of our spirituality.

- Our spirituality is better founded on that which we have
experienced and sensed.

- Primitive religions tend to be based on superstition.

- Because people don't know, because they don't know what makes the strange noises in the night (for example): they construct a spiritual world view which explains away their ignorance and quiets their fears.

- The strange noises then become deceased ancestors or some other sort of spirits and an entire spirituality becomes woven around that.

- Christianity has sometimes lapsed into that same error.

- At times: whenever some Christians come across something that they can't figure out: they then reason "God! and put matters to
rest.

- If they give up so easily: this can deprive them from learning and from adding a growthful aspect to their faith pilgrimage.

- Just because we don't know doesn't mean that we should believe in it.

- Just because we don't know things is not a firm enough reason to believe in a God who knows all things.

- Our ignorance should not provide the basis of why we believe.

- Again, that is the hallmark of primitive religions.

- It is interesting to note that Isaac Newton did not view
himself primarily as a scientist.

- Surprisingly he viewed himself more as a theologian.

- For Newton: God was to be found in the intricacies and in the myriad connections of life.

- And it was as he explored these wondrous elements that he found God's hand at work.

- Newton's spirituality was not based solely on what he knew but it also included the wonder of what he did not know.

- It was a belief based between the tension of what was absent and what was present.

- Newton did not know everything: even though his far sweeping theories have sure helped explain a lot of things.

- His faith was strengthened in his reveling in the mysteries of life and in the wonder of what he could not fathom.

- Unfortunately the modern secularist often comes out elsewhere in their thoughts.

- Unlike the primitive religious person: they revel in what they understand and then ask: "What more is there to know?”

- And so then the mystery and the experience of God is dead for them.

- This type of thinking is related to idol worship.

- It is worshiping what is known.

- If one has complete understanding and security in the thing which one puts their faith in: there is not much more to be said because there is no mystery which draws us out in our searching for God.

- For if we claim that we fully understand God (as some
fundamentalists who have all the answers come close to saying) then God becomes someone who we can stick in our pocket or in the neat recesses of our brain.

- While on the one hand we can know God by entering into
relationship with him: on the other hand we can never fully know him in this lifetime for how can something finite grasp the infinite?

- When I was younger I can remember getting extremely frustrated with the Bible.

- It contained so many things which I did not understand while at the same time offering precious little in direction for the things in which I wanted understanding.

- Take sexuality for instance (oh good now I have your
attention).

- The Bible says precious little about this area outside of
Paul's advice to those who would marry.

- By way of other topics: it also says conflicting things about war and peace.

- And aside from the creation story there is not much there for a directive on environmental issues either.

- Despite these short comings though: I remain impressed with the Bible. My frustration is waning although the hunger for God remains.

- I am getting impressed by it because it is a record of a
people's relationship with their God and the understandings which they derive from that.

- There is still a large mystery of why God does what he does in the Bible.

- But there is also a praising in it for God doing what he does and in the many ways and areas in which God is detected.

- Two of today's scripture passages are well reflective of this.

- Both of them contain fantastical accounts which raise questions and suspicions.

- Around the Old Testament story of Elijah's being taken up by the whirlwind: a lot of questions have been asked: the foremost being: "Why?"

- Elijah was a lonely character upon whom God's spirit was
evident.

- He was the greatest prophet of Hebraic tradition on account of the miraculous witnessing which he did against the many Canaanite prophets of his time.

- Elijah was also the only person aside from Enoch who did not see death but was taken directly up into heaven.

- In the reading from the book of Matthew: Elijah returns with Moses in the Transfiguration account where Jesus is glorified and is seen dialoguing with the two of them.

- The events of Elijah's being taken on up into heaven and the appearance of him and Moses in the transfiguration account are intriguing events: (Why didn't he die like all the other prophets and Jesus did):

- Perhaps both of these events are strongly connected for which purpose only God really knows.

- That the transfiguration helped strengthen the claim of Jesus’ Messiahship is certain but still there is a mysteriousness about the account which exists.

- Was it a later fabrication by the disciples? Did it have to occur? What does all that wonder and dazzlement mean?

- This is the stuff theologians thrive on.

- But the fact remains that: as a whole: the Bible attests to humanity's search for God and its interaction with Him.

- And as such, it also contains a sensing of the mystery of God.

- Often these mysteries are conveyed in fantastical accounts.

- But not everyone senses that mystery -- or if they do they want to explain it away or make an idol of it (just like Peter wanted to do when he asked if they could build three booths up on the mountain).

- Not everyone can live with not understanding and so they reject the gospel message and all of its miracles out right.

- For them the gospel message is nonsense and irrelevant.

- It is nonsensical and irrelevant to them because they cannot accept the ambiguity of life which in the end remains: an ambiguity which Christ himself conveyed at his end when he cried out "My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?"

(these are not the words of understanding. But of the open question which remains)

- Skeptics and those who cannot believe apart from their own understanding also tend fail to connect with God in a relational way.

- The apostle Paul writes in verses four and six of today's
reading:

They do not believe because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them: the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ: who is the exact likeness of God. ...The God who said: ‘Out of darkness the light shall shine!’ is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts: to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.

- There is a lot which we don't know.

- There is a lot which we would like the Bible to tell us which in some places it does while in others it doesn't.

- Maybe like Peppermint Patty we too would like not to come in tomorrow.

- But rejoice.

- For in the total sum of what God has revealed to us through the Bible and our own experience: and in the vastness of that which we do not know: lies our God -- the one who is mysterious yet close at the same time.

- May we revel in the delight of our understandings and in the mystery of the yet to be revealed.

- Amen.