Our God is beyond words, but that does not make Him abstract.
Our God is beyond our comprehension, but that does not make him unapproachable.
Our God is bigger than creation...but that does not make him invisible.
Our God is a visible God. He willed that every inch of creation be a signpost pointing back toward Him. This becomes most clear when we're standing before a beautiful landscape, such at the beach. The enormity of nature completely absorbs us - the wonders of the world overwhelm us, and often the only phrase at our lips is My God.
This is far from being my own idea - the concept of "God shown in creation" is as old as the creation it refers to. Take, for example, this passage from the Psalms:
"The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims His handiwork....
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth." -Psalm 19: 1-4
It's easy to look at those landscapes and see that God created it...but we can go deeper. We can look and see not just that God created it, but what and who God is. The mountain can show God as our "rock, fortress, deliverer" (Ps. 18:3). The way the tide gently erodes a sandcastle can show us God's forgiveness as he gently washes away our sins. The stars at night can show us the triumph of God against the darkness.
God reveals himself to us everywhere, little by little. He gave us bodies with various senses, and then returns those senses to himself. That's really what the history of the world really comes down to - God creates something, which then returns to Him. God makes man; man must turn toward God. God creates the world and then weaves himself through it so completely we can use creation as a means of getting back to God.
It is at this point that many fail - they see the vast goodness of creation and see it as the end in itself. They worship aspects of the world: food, material goods, relationships, et cetera. All of those things are good - but they are not the good. Creation should lead us to the Supreme Good (God), not become ends in themselves.
The challenge, then, is to be able to see the goodness of creation...but not stop there. To see the good of this world as a signpost pointing to the even greater good. Creation is not bad - it is God's way of giving us a preview of Him.
The Catechism sums it up nicely when it says:
"God speaks to man through visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator. Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both His greatness and His nearness" (1147)
God is found in ordinary things, and sometimes He uses those ordinary things for extraordinary purposes. St. Gregory of Nyssa, a first century preacher, cited Scripture to make this evident. He told how Moses' rod was a simple hazel switch, yet God saw fit to work miracles through it. A mere bush showed Moses the presence of God. A forgotten manger held the infant Christ. A humble dogwood tree became the Cross.
The Sacraments, then, are not just a ritual - not just a script. They are simple actions that reveal God. They appeal to every sense - the taste of the wafer, the smell of incense, the sound of music, the sight of sunlight coming through a stained-glass window. The sacraments are ways in which we can worship God in a concrete way - not in abstract terms, but in physical actions. Sacraments embrace a visible creation to direct us to an invisible God.
That was a lot of information, the majority of which barely skimmed the surface of what it was saying. What, then, should we take away from this?
- God left traces of Himself throughout all Creation
- Creation and created things are good, but they should always lead us to the Supreme Good (God)
- God is found in both the scenic and the ordinary; the mountain and the foothill, the ocean and the pond
- God often uses those ordinary things for extraordinary tasks
- The sacraments are our way of seeing God in created things - using our senses to fully worship
So, knowing all this, how can we apply it to our own lives? My challenge is this: become a part of creation. Recognize the traces God left in you, and use those to lead others to God. Live your life so that when people look and see how good you are, they don't stop there. Be a reflection of God.
That's my challenge to you for today: become an even better reflection of the God that transcends all. People are constantly searching for God - lead the way by being an even better example. Find God everywhere - in every encounter, and in every moment. Make every action a prayer. Recognize God's presence always.
Don't just observe the signs - be the signs.
Don't just recognize God's love - live it.
No comments:
Post a Comment