Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.
~ St. Thomas Aquinas
“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
~ language attempting, but faltering, to describe Him, in Revelation 4
Oh beloved, it is true.
Yes, G_d has made Himself known in the Person of Jesus Christ. And this same King of The Universe said, “if you have seen Me, you’ve seen The Father.” So, we can quickly begin to think we know what or Who we are speaking of when we refer to G_d.
Thankfully, many who have lived much deeper lives than most of us, have taken years to study the Issue, and come to conclusions very much like this one.
Si enim comprehendis, non est Deus.
(If you understand, it isn’t God.)
~ St. Augustine of Hippo
Oh yes, we might like to think that we should comprehend this god we have built inside our minds. We would like to think that we understand why G_d operates the way that He does. However, in our self-imposed illusion of understanding, we also belie our very identity. For in comprehending our Maker, we presume to take back some control against the eternal and infinite.
But, if we get honest enough, we will begin to see that we will never climb this mountain. Even Moses, a friend of G_d. A man who spoke face-to-Face with Him in the tent of meeting, knew better. For, in decades past, this One had put the question of defining Himself far out of reach in their first tangible interaction. Moses asked The Presence at the burning bush to identify Himself by Name. The response set the basis for their relationship.
The Presence knew Moses by name, and everything about this prince-turned-shepherd. But Moses was unable to get past the first question on the assignment he had just been given. He asked a simple question, but it totally missed the point. So, G_d set the record straight: I AM Who I Am.
“Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’””
יהוה in Exodus 3
But, what does this mean?
Everything.
Can we see it?
G_d was helping Moses from the very earliest stages to understand that he was not dealing with a contingent being, or one who was even in competition with any other. There was nothing to be taken away from G_d. There was nothing to compare Him to. He Is. Thomas Aquinas said it well: “Ipsum Esse Subsistens.” That is, G_d is the sheer act of ‘to be’ in and of Himself. And He is even, the very Basis of existence itself.
So, G_d does not ex-ist. He is not brought from something. He is, rather, The Predicate to the noun, “all of creation.” He is the Source of all contingency. Everything lives and moves and has their being within Him.
Some celestial event. No – no words. No words to describe it.
Poetry! They should have sent a poet.
So beautiful. So beautiful… I had no idea.
~Ellie Arroway, in the movie, “Contact”
Let’s stay with Moses here. Maybe his approach can serve as both a guide and evidence of this truth. Moses had been with G_d for years. These two had spent months of time talking to each other. Moses had seen the miracles that helped the Hebrews accomplish their exodus from Egypt. He had seen the manna fall, the flames rise up, and the clouds envelop. It seems like Moses knew this Being pretty well.
Not even close.
But, Moses did try to take things further. And it almost got him killed. Moses knew he was up against Goodness and Beauty far beyond anything he could imagine. But, even in his falling short, he fell short.
Moses asked G_d: “Please show me Your glory.” And He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My Name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
Huh?
Yes.
Moses did not want to see any more actions or provisions that G_d might provide. Moses wanted to begin to understand the Goodness that drove all the other stuff. But, the answer is so mind-blowing, that it is hard for us to even begin to grasp this. G_d is so Good, so Beautiful, so overwhelmingly and weightingly Glorious, that Moses had to be encased in the cleft of a stone mountain and protected by the very Hand of G_d to survive the affair. And, the aftermath of this interlude was so powerful that Moses quite literally glowed for months afterward. Wow!
And this, beloved, is where anyone who begins to try to experience Him ends up. The magic of Who He is, does not come through the power He displays. No, it is all based in Who He Is. And, any time any honest theologian has come up on this event horizon of reality, their view shatters and sprays off the Presence on the throne, like the insurmountable effulgence of verdant green Life and Light around His throne. Every honest attempt by the brightest and most dedicated of scholarly souls generally breaks down into an exclamation within their spirits. It all resolves to some baffled and worshipful, OH!
So, do you feel as though you don’t have G_d figured out yet? Good. You are on the right path. But, never stop trying. We do indeed have an eternity to figure this out. We will exalt in the ever-expanding moment, called forever, then dive into His Great Heart and begin the great adventure of coming to know The One Who made us, and Who knew us before time even began.
Tonight is your night. Feel it. Sense the reality and let it set you aglow, like Moses so many years ago.
Lord, how great is our dilemma! In Thy Presence silence best becomes us, but love inflames our hearts and constrains us to speak. …Were we to hold our peace the stones would cry out; yet if we speak, what shall we say? Teach us to know that we cannot know, for the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe.
~AW Tozer
