Holy Name (Galatians 4:4-7)

What kind of image of God do you have? Think about those images and if helpful, try to jot them down. There’s no one right answer. We’re generally familiar with God being “Creator” “Lover” “Father” or “Judge”. This spiritual practice of honestly examining our perception of God shows us how we personally make sense of God. Some are coming from our intimate experiences of God while others may be taught. The key here is that our perception of God is to be renewed through our encounters with God and communities, not through indoctrination. Please keep in mind that although we confess we are created in the image of God, we at times create God in our own image or based on our perception of what God should be. 

In the lesson this morning, St. Paul suggests another image and changes the entire narrative of God and people through Christ. There are two images of God and two images of believers that St. Paul contrasts with. The first image of God is that of a master, which turns us into a slave. The other image of God is that of a father to whom we are adopted children through Christ. St. Paul would like to remind his readers of how they call God in their prayers: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” Calling God “Father” isn’t new to us as Jesus taught us how to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven…” We find great comfort in this parental image of God. It works even better for those whose biological father exemplified love and compassion. Also, this image might or might not work for those whose biological father wasn’t available to provide love. In this case, one might substitute one’s biological father with God as one’s real father. Or one might just be troubled by this fatherly image of God. 

The point I would like to make is this: as St. Paul shows us how to expand his perception of God through Christ, I would like to challenge all of us to do something similar. This practice helps us expand our imagination and experience of God. I also echo Bishop Spong’s words: “The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our behavior was not designed to call anyone into maturity.”

But I wouldn’t just suggest we try anything and everything to make a perfect image of who God ought to be. Scriptures become our guide and our spiritual practice of contemplation makes our encounter with God real. So, I recall St. Paul’s introductory phrase of today’s lesson as our starting point: “When the fullness of time had come…” This fullness of time is the coming of Christ. Then, I ask all of us, “When has the fullness of time come to your heart?” (It’s not December 25!) In other words, when is your Christmas in your life journey? 

It’s not just one specific day that this fullness of time comes. It is whenever we find ourselves in the presence of God. It can be when we’re in nature or when we sit in an empty church or when we laugh or weep together with friends and families. These are all those moments of the fullness of time constantly coming and availing itself to us, and we want to be in this moment of fullness more heedfully and intentionally. So, we sit and contemplate in silence, longing to welcome Christ who is coming, who is already dwelling, and who is waiting to be seen. From this inner experience of God, we expand our experiences of God. So, we develop the eyes of a poet: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28b-30)