In my last post I pointed out what I believe is maybe the most important part of this whole story, and that is the “so that” part of our being created in Their image, in the image of Yahweh Elohim. It’s the aspect of obligation toward each other and toward the created world, and that obligation is one of care and tending, helping and healing, (tikkun olam = repair of the world) which to me are pretty fine definitions of love.
Love is risky business. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will cost you more. In earlier posts I wrote about the vulnerability of God that love requires, as it does all of us. The very nature of love is that it is freely given. It cannot be coerced, forced, or bought. Whatever is returned under those circumstances, out of fear or obligation, is most certainly not love. In the freedom, rejection is always possible.
As God gives ha-adam the invitation as he hid in the Garden (“Where are you?”), ha-adam was free to ignore the request and remain hidden.
“Here I am,” the man says to Them, stepping out from his hiding place, even though I have a hunch They already knew.
I wrote as well about God telling Moses Their name — YHWH, I Am Who I Am or I Will Be Who I Will Be — and how in the ancient world giving up your name, which contained the essence of your very self, was an act of great vulnerability.
This vulnerability of God to me is perhaps the most compelling aspect of the Divine, and in coming weeks we shall see just how far They are willing to go in order to bridge the chasm that has formed between God and God’s people — greed and injustice, turning to worship gods who are not givers of life, forgetting who and whose they are as they lose their unique identity as those who carry the story and the ethos of the One True God.
The relationship, couched in terms of a marriage covenant, seems irreparably torn. God instructs the prophet Hosea to give his son a symbolic name as a sign to the people. (Hosea 1:9) “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
What now?
A friend who belongs to a very strict, fundamental church tried to persuade me that when she goes to Heaven everyone will sit around singing praise to God all day long. I have a hard time with that idea - God never struck me as a narcissist demanding constant praise. I much appreciate your writing today - the idea that our relationship with God is two-way seems much closer to my reality. I look forward to reading more.
As I read this, and agree wholeheartedly, that love leaves you totally vulnerable, my sweet kitty is contentedly piddy pawing my belly and looking up at me with such trust and devotion. I think that kind of reciprocal love is why our pets are so special. And maybe if we could only open our hearts to God like pets do to we faithful, loving keepers, maybe we could glimpse how cherished and loved we truly are by our Creator? #randomthoughts