Revealing What Is Hidden
As we begin today, let’s start with a bit of Bible study, as some of you may have been surprised by the scripture choice of Sirach 42:15-22.
This book is part of what is called the Apocrypha, which, if included, comes between the Old & New Testaments and is viewed as an extension of the Hebrew Bible. Sirach, also known as The Wisdom of Ben Sira (meaning Son of Sirach), is known as wisdom literature like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and is written as a teacher’s guide to students.
It is known for encouraging “Fear of the Lord,” meaning observance of these teachings and the laws of Moses, because to the writer, keeping the laws guarantees God’s blessings. This is a poem of praise to God as the creator. What is striking to me is the level at which we are known to God according to this scripture.
“God explores both the Abyss and the human heart, and is intimate with them to their depths; God knows all things, and watches over the signs of the times. God declares the past and future and discloses the traces of things held in secret. Not a single thought is unnoticed by God, and not a word is hidden from God.“
Take a moment to consider that. Not a single thought is unnoticed by God.
As a teenager, I remember being told to never be in a position that would be embarrassing if Jesus showed up. Obviously, that was meant to put the “fear of God” in me!
But do you believe these statements? Do you believe that God knows everything? Omniscience? Since I believe that God is with all and in all, I do believe that God knows everything.
Do you believe that God declares the past and future?
As God knows everything, God knows the past. As for the future, I believe God knows infinite possibilities for the future. If you believe that God knows the future, then you believe in predestination, which follows the premise that God has already planned out everything that is to happen.
I don’t believe that God would plan for good people to suffer or plan for us to hurt each other in the horrible ways we do.
Do you believe God discloses what is held in secret? This question leads me to another: If so, to whom does God disclose the secret? The adage of “We are only as sick as our secrets” comes out of self-help programs and is repeated because of its truth.
I do believe that God has our best interests in mind, so encouraging us to be honest about our secrets with God and those who can be trusted not to hurt us with this information is helpful to us.
And it is at this point that I saw the connection to the work I have been doing with the Gestalt Pastoral Counseling.
Our bodies hold our shame and guilt as well as our minds and hearts. And our shame and guilt skew our perception as well as increasing our overall suffering.
But God is also able to heal us when we engage with God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit or whatever name you wish to use for the Divine. Unlike the government wanting to listen in on our private conversations, God listens and knows in order to bring healing, wholeness, and love.
So another question is: Do we trust God enough to be open to God’s healing?
Or do we gain something from our secrets or suffering? Yes, welcome down the “rabbit holes” of my thinking. In addition to reminding us of all that God did in creation, I think this scripture is another reminder that we are not God.
I believe the Jewish theory that there is a space within us where a sliver of God resides and our call as God’s creation is helping to mend the brokenness of the world. Our gospel reading invites us to consider what we do with the most precious thing we have–which, by the way, is meant to be the love of God that we know best through the life and teachings of Christ Jesus.
This begs the question: Do you consider the love of God to be your most precious thing?
If not, what then is more important to you? If so, what are you doing with it? How are you showing and sharing it?
The point of this scripture is that we are not to hide our faith or the love that we are so grateful to know. It is to be on the “lampstand” – obvious in the way we live our life – written on our faces by the way we encounter others. This has been taken by some to mean that one makes a show of it – asking others if they are “saved” or “if they know Jesus.”
I think God is looking for how we treat our neighbor, the stranger, the one in need. Are we willing to use our resources to make sure others have what they need?
This is at the heart of the Good Samaritan story. What does the love of God ask of us? Are we diligent in growing our faith through study, prayer and action?