Jack
Miles’ book, God: A Biography, was
first released in 1996. In it he
examines what the bible says about God through a very specific lens; not one
used by a theologian to ponder lofty ideas or one used by a historian to check
for accuracy and verifiable details, but a lens used by a literary critic to
ask how God as a character is developed as the story unfolds. Such an approach is not easy to take, says
Miles, because of our tendency to read into every chapter the knowledge of God
we already have from episodes in the bible’s future. When you first read a book, attend a play, or
watch a movie, each character develops from scene to scene as more and more
information and insight is shared. But
if you have read the book before, already attended the play, or are seen the
movie multiple times, you bring to each scene all that you have learned about a
character from previous readings, performances, or showings.
So,
according to Miles, when we hear today’s reading from the Book of Genesis,
which occurs only 18 chapters into the bible, we bring to it everything we know
of God from the Exodus and the Psalms and the prophets and the Gospels and the
writings of Paul and the Book of Revelation.
Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but Miles wanted to explore
what the bible tells us about God if we approach it as an unfolding work of
literature.
And
what he sees in these early chapters of Genesis is a depiction of God who calls
forth creation and then creates human beings not for company and not to receive
worship, but to be an image of God’s own self.
Initially, human beings express this image chiefly through procreation
and productivity. The effort, as you no
doubt know, sours quickly with the story of the apple, Cain slaying his
brother, and a general state of wickedness that culminates with the flood where
only Noah and his family are saved.
God,
as a literary character, always seems to be surprised by these turn of events;
caught off guard by human behavior, if you will, and placed in a position of
having to respond ‘on the fly.’ This is
not the picture of St. Paul’s God who, from before the beginning of time, has
been working out a cosmic plan of salvation.
It is a picture of God with strong feelings for creation that swing
between passionate love and deep regret.
And
at this point in the story’s development we come to Abraham – a person God
deems as righteous. It is during this
act when Abraham’s character is on the stage that we read today’s Old Testament
lesson. God “hears” of the wickedness of
Sodom and Gomorrah, but must see in person whether it is true or not.
Now,
it might be worth noting how, in the Book of Genesis, God’s character appears
on stage in ways that are different from the acts that follow. Here God visits Abraham in the form of three
men who are in fact angels who somehow are God.
The men leave for the notorious cities in order to discern what has been
going on and Abraham is left standing with God in conversation. Believe me, at this point, it is refreshing
to read the Bible as literature rather than theology (where you have to make
sense of what it means) or as history (where you have to figure out how it
actually happened).
Abraham
posses a very simple question: “Suppose the men down there are as wicked as you
have heard. Will you sweep away the
righteous just to get rid of the wicked?”
“What if there are 50 righteous people?
45? 40? 30?
20? 10?” Finally God seems to tire of Abraham’s line
of questioning and simply walks away.
But in the process Abraham has born the image of God; an image yet to be
revealed in the literary development.
Abraham reminds God that God is just, measured, and merciful.
All
in all, I think it is fair to characterize the conversation between Abraham and
God as being a forerunner to prayer, but it does not look much like the kind of
prayer we offer this morning or that I, for one, typically pray. In worship we offer collects and Eucharistic
liturgy. They are reasoned, articulate,
and adoring expressions of our gratitude, our intercession, and our awe. My own personal prayers tend to offer loved
ones to God’s care and keeping. What I
ask for them and for myself is the strength and ability to accept all that
comes our way. But Abraham’s prayer is
different. It is more akin to a debate
and in this debate Abraham gets the better of God.
At
the very least, Abraham assumes the future has yet to be determined and even if
God is bent on going down a particular path God still can be persuaded to
change course and move in a different direction. I grew up in a faith setting that saw God as
sitting beyond time and time itself was something like a giant movie. For us, we live in the moment; seeing only
the particular image as it is being played out on the screen of human
history. But for God the film is
unrolled and every image is laid out beginning to end before God. This perspective creates a spiritual
challenge. How and why should one
pray? If the next scene is already set
then what is the point of praying for anything other to happen? Within this spirituality the most effective
prayer, and perhaps the most pleasing prayer to God, is “Thy will be done” –
“As you wish” – “Let it happen.”
Think
how differently Abraham approaches God early in the human drama: “God, let’s
talk about what is going to happen next because I have a few ideas on the
matter.” And through this prayer Abraham
is able to convince God to act in a way different from what God intends. This perspective on God and prayer gives a
unique and empowering emphasis to the teaching Jesus offers to His followers,
“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door
will be opened to you.”
Why
should you pray? If you ask someone who
conceives of God as being like the person with the entire film rolled out
before him, he will tell you to pray because God likes it when you ask… even
though it won’t change the outcome. But
if you were to ask Abraham, he would tell you to pray because it makes a
difference in how things unfold.
“Sometimes,” he might say, “God needs to be reminded to do the right
thing.”
Now,
I am not suggesting (nor does Jack Miles suggest) that we view God as being
only a literary figure or as being only like the literary figure of the early
Genesis stories. Holy Scripture provides
a multi-faceted image of God who is, among other things, both immutable and open
to change. What I am suggesting is that
in our prayer life we have permission, though I personally do not often take
advantage of it often, to approach God with very specific, concrete proposals
and ideas:
Ask:
Lord, my friend is in the hospital following a massive heart attack and his
daughter is going to be married in two weeks.
Will you, who hears the cries of all, please grant him relief and make
it possible for him to be at the wedding.
Seek:
Lord, my brother has caused me much harm that he can neither see nor
acknowledge. Will you please teach me
how to confront him that he might amend his life and not do wrong to others as
he has done wrong to me.
Knock:
Lord, so many innocent people are dying on the streets of our country and
hatred and violence are on the rise.
Please watch over us and send forth your Holy Spirit to impart peace,
respect, and understanding.
Today’s
readings invite us to embolden our prayers, believing the future is open and
God is interested in our input.
