Church Family Update - May 8, 2020

Good morning everyone! It’s a cold drizzly day outside. But it’s a perfect time to sit down with a cup of coffee and get ready for another…

Friday Book Discussion!

Thanks for joining me. I’m writing this from my basement but I’m picturing us in an old library seated in a circle in comfy chairs with a fire glowing on the hearth. This week we read chapter 1: “Discovering Our Disenchantment” from Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper.

Summary: Mike opens with a funny story about attending a service at the mega-church his parents attend. During one of the songs, a four-story-high cross began to glow until it was “migraine-inducing bright.”

After the service, Mike’s dad suggested that maybe the light was miraculously bright. Possibly a divine intervention. Mike immediately rejects the suggestion as ridiculous and I expect so would you and I. But he then goes on to ask an important question: Are we too quick to explain away divine encounters instead of experiencing God in all the ways he reveals himself? 

It’s one thing to explain a giant glowing cross by using the laws of physics and the bad taste of whoever it was that designed it. But have we become so jaded that we miss it when God reveals himself to us in both subtle and spectacular ways? Do we miss the spiritual because we’re focused exclusively on the material?

This dis-enchanting of the world was less common before the scientific revolution. Back then the world was full of mystery and unexplained phenomena. People were naturally inclined to see themselves as spiritual beings and to believe that the most important aspects of existence relate to the unseen world inhabited by angels and demons and God himself. 

Back then people were more inclined to see the divine hand of providence behind everyday events like sunrises and the birth of children and a good harvest. Nowadays we can explain each of those events using the language of science without the need to appeal to God. And while it’s true that all Christians believe that God is the one causing those things, we are far too often satisfied with a material explanation of things and fail to stand in awe of the wonder and mystery and majesty of creation itself in all of its glory. 

For example, a scientist can tell you all about the molecules and elements that make up a canvas. And they can explain how the light bouncing off the paints hits our retina and causes us to experience color. But that scientific explanation cannot explain why certain paintings have the power to move us deep in our souls. There’s no formula or materialistic explanation for that. 

Once we’ve developed the habit of disenchanting the world, we’re only one step away from disenchanting the Bible. A disenchanted Bible is a book like any other book. You can study it and memorize it and even learn from it. But it’s not alive. In our modern, rational, scientific culture it’s good for us to be reminded that the Bible isn’t simply a text to be studied and mastered. It’s a living, breathing, fiery, mysterious book that is to be approached with awe and humility. 

Commentary: I didn’t love every section of this chapter and I found that a couple of Cosper’s rabbit trails didn’t add much to his discussion. But let’s not waste our time talking about what we didn’t like. A lot of good points were raised in this chapter. 

Two of the main ways that God reveals himself to us is through creation and Scripture. We are multi-sensory beings and God is everywhere, all the time revealing himself to us. Sometimes knowing the scientific facts about creation can drain the mystery and wonder out of life. But it doesn’t have to. 

I remember years ago I was speaking with a Catholic friend who suggested to me that it is ridiculous to pray for rain because we understand how the water cycle works and there’s nothing divine about evaporation, condensation and precipitation. That strikes me as a sad approach to life and it’s that kind of thinking that Mike Cosper is arguing against in this chapter.

Just because we humans have managed to figure out how some of the systems in nature work, that should not prevent us from seeing the hand of the divine master craftsman. God created everything and sustains everything and is continually revealing himself through his creation. Think of it like this: All of creation is a poem. And just because we’ve figured out the grammar of how the poem works doesn’t explain the emotional power and beauty and wonder of the poem. And if we fail to appreciate the poem for the masterpiece that it is then we’re choosing to live a black and white existence in a world full of color. 

And the same analogy holds true with the Bible. The Bible isn’t a book of facts or rules or instructions. It contains those things but it’s so much more. It’s the voice of God. Sometimes whispered and sometimes shouted. Sometimes comforting and sometimes scary. Sometimes crystal clear and sometimes extremely complicated. All those things and more. And that’s why we need to approach it with awe and wonder each time we read it. 

This chapter reminded me that our world is an enchanted world and the Bible is an enchanted book. I’m thankful for that reminder and I found myself looking at things a little differently after reading this chapter and I’m looking forward to the rest of the book.

Application: For me, the application of this chapter is all about slowing down and noticing. The voice of God is like a radio frequency that’s always playing but the question is whether or not we’re tuned in and listening. So I’m going to make an effort to listen for the voice of God in creation and to be awed and full of wonder at the majesty of it all. Life itself is a miracle. I’m going to choose to live in color instead of black and white. 

And the same goes for my Scripture reading. No hurrying through so that I can get on with my day. No easy answers to the hard questions the Bible raises. I will choose to appreciate the Bible for the miraculous poem that it is. 

Discussion: What about you? Did you like the chapter? Did you see something that I missed? How are you going to apply this in your own life? Send me a note and let me know. 

Have an enchanted weekend.

I’ll see you on Sunday!

Pastor Jason