Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Jesus is NOT My Homeboy {Reflections}
But the journey doesn't stop there. Over the past decade, our understanding of God has evolved to include a profound fascination with His wild, untamed, and mysterious nature. We ponder the awe-inspiring force of wind and waves and reflect on the story of Job to capture the transcendent and otherworldly aspects of the divine. As we unpack the duality of God—simultaneously fearsome and deeply good—listeners are invited to embrace both the overwhelming power and infinite goodness of God. Whether you're joining us in Elk River or tuning in online, prepare to encounter the fullness of God's mystery and magnificence.
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What is up everybody? My name is Ryan, and welcome to our Reflections podcast. This is our weekly or I don't know. I think it is weekly, weekly podcast, where I get on here and I just talk about some things that I find interesting. I'm here in our studio. Mike is our producer. What's up, mike? Hey, this episode is dedicated to Mike's aunt. Her name is Kathy, kathy and her new husband, ken. This is for you guys. I don't know if you listen to our Reflections podcast, but maybe you'll start. They got married last night, so congrats to you two, two lovebirds, man, love is in the air, mike, which reminds me.
Speaker 1:Dude, this is apropos of nothing, but hey, when I was in my early 20s, there was this popular t-shirt that people Christians would wear, and on it it had a picture of Jesus and it said Jesus is my homeboy. Did you ever see those shirts? I recall seeing things like it. Okay, they were like all the rage amongst the Christians in my 20s. I think it was because we were on the border of Gen X, and Gen Xers always want to be a tad rebellious, and I think it felt just sacrilegious enough for the young people to kind of flaunt it to their baby boomer parents or whatever the case might be, but I liked it, it was good For me, it was actually a message that I needed to hear, because when I was younger, I needed to know this about God Like Jesus was knowable and in the stories you can read about him and you can kind of know what Jesus is like.
Speaker 1:And therefore, according to like the scripture that says that Jesus is the image of God, therefore, according to the scripture that says that Jesus is the image of God, if Jesus is knowable, then God is knowable. And so in the stories, jesus is very different than me, but also he's a lot like me. I mean, he's a human, he was like a friendly person. In the stories, at least as I was taught them, he was like a brother to me, like a friend to me, he was like one of us. I mean, he was a human. And so this shirt was actually, you know, kind of fitting for many people because it was like hey, jesus is like one of us.
Speaker 1:And as a young boy or a young man, this image of God like Jesus as my friend, my homeboy, a human who knew me and accepted me, was just what I needed to hear, for me, anyway. I mean, I grew up like maybe many people, but I think for me, growing up in a divorced home and lots of experiences I had, we moved a lot. I grew up and I often would feel insecure, like I didn't belong, like I was, maybe even in many cases or settings, like I wasn't seen, and so this image of a God who saw me, who was like a homeboy, a brother, a friend, one that could relate to me, was actually. It resonated with me deeply on many levels. Now, theologically, I had no idea how accurate this was or wasn't, but in the moment it felt like I needed to hear this kind of a message as a young man.
Speaker 1:But here's what I've noticed In the past probably 10 years. I have discovered and become deeply fascinated with another aspect of God, not that Jesus is my homeboy, but rather what I call the wild and untamed God, or the God of mystery, the God who is utterly other and unknowable. And so, look, I know that in Jesus we know God, but there also has to be some parts and bits and pieces of God that are utterly unknowable. If we knew everything about God, that would probably make us God, wouldn't it? There must be some parts of God that are unknowable and mysterious, and the theological word is transcendent, meaning one that's above or other than. And so this God, this wild and untamed, mysterious God, is not my homeboy. This God, rather, is what I might sense when I hear the fierce wind in the trees of the forest at night. Like you ever try to catch the wind? Listen to me, I sound like a Garth Brooks song. Was it Roping the Wind or something? Anyway, you ever try to stop the wind from blowing? It's not possible. Or this God, this wild and untamed God, is what I feel like when I'm in the ocean and I'm utterly crushed by a wave. Are you ever standing in front of a wave in the ocean? I'm like a big wave. You're trying to stop the wave. I mean it's. It's impossible. You cannot tame a wave. I love it.
Speaker 1:There's this, there's this passage in Job where Job, like the first several chapters of Job, job and his friends are arguing about why all these things happen to Job and they're indicting God and they're offering all these explanations. And then God speaks up, and I love it and it says the text is that God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, and what you're about to hear is like the God, who's mysterious and divine and utterly other and unknowable. And this God says to Job basically, hey, job, were you there when I hung the foundations of the earth? Were you there when I held back the seas, when I created the stars and hung them in the sky? And begins to put Job in his place. Job thinks he knows everything about God and him and his friends can sort of wax philosophic about God and why all these horrible things happen to Job. And God basically tells Job, job, you don't know anything. Dude, sit down and you be Job and I'll be God. I love it Like.
Speaker 1:This God is wild, I would say dangerous, even like mysterious. It's what Rudolph Otto, the famous Lutheran pastor. He once calls the mysterium tremendum et fascinans, which basically is this fancy way of saying this mysterious, majestic, fear-inducing and terror-inspiring, and yet utterly attractive in spite of the fear. This is God, like the sun. Perhaps it's beautiful and terrifying at the same time. And, by the way, this is actually a more appropriate way to look at Jesus, I would argue. I mean, jesus was not a softy, he was very kind and gentle, absolutely. But look, jesus was a radical apocalyptic prophet who was not afraid of powerful people and goes around basically proclaiming an eschaton or an end of the time, which is terrifying and fascinating at the same time, and you cannot look away from it yet. It's utterly earth-shaking and frightening, and you'll notice, whenever that people in the Bible have encounters with God, they experience almost simultaneously both awe and wonder and also terror at the same time. It's wild, like there's that moment when Jesus is in the boat at night and the disciples see him and they're terrified. The texts are terrified. They think he's a ghost. Actually, they're so scared but they can't look away. And I love it. This is what Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans means.
Speaker 1:There's a scene in one of my favorite books, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where the kids, the Pavenzi children, make their way through the wardrobe into Narnia and they meet this family of beavers and the beavers and them are having the conversation. I mean, you know, like you do when you meet a family of beavers, you go to their house and have some yummies and you talk, anyway, and the beavers are telling these kids about this lion named Aslan, and he sounds great. And the kids are like oh, this is wonderful. So Aslan, okay, so he's safe then. And the beaver's like what are you talking about? Safe? Of course he's not safe, he's a lion. I'm like that's so good. Lions aren't safe. You ever been around a lion? But they say he's not safe, he's a lion, but he's good.
Speaker 1:And so if God wasn't safe, we would and should live in terror. This is what the ancients and the pagans, I think in many cultures they live in fear of their gods because they don't know if their gods are good or not. They see the gods as all powerful, but they're fear-inducing only because they don't know if they're good. But God is good and so we can trust him. It doesn't make the mystery of God go away. God is still mysterious and awe-inspiring and frightening on many levels, but we know that he's good. It doesn't remove the fear. He's a lion, he's not safe.
Speaker 1:He held back Leviathan, which is in the book of Job. He tames the waters of chaos, he hangs the moon in the sky. He's God. He's mysterium tremendum ad fascinans, but he is indeed good. So listen, perhaps Jesus is in fact your homeboy and I love it Great. But may you also today catch a glimpse of this mysterium tremendum ad fascinans, this mysterious, divine, other transcendent being and fierce force of God that is both awe-inspiring and attractive, and also a bit terrifying. But may you also, then, in addition to feeling the terror and fear and jaw-dropping power of God, may you also know in the deepest parts of your souls and trust that God is good. Amen. Love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg. Peace.
