The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, July 29th: Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13)

GOD IS NOT A CRUEL DRILL SERGEANT

Let’s see if we can describe a very common view of God.

If God were visible, He would appear to be in his early-sixties and stand about six-foot-four with broad shoulders (white beard and flowing robes optional). His jaw would be perpetually clenched, His nostrils flared, and fiery anger quite evident in His steely blue eyes. God would strut around regally with His nose in the air, and anyone unlucky enough to find himself in God’s presence would cower in fear.

According to this common impression of God, His personality is even more frightening than His appearance. He is a combination of Marine drill sergeant, sadistic football coach, and the most demanding boss you ever had. He knows He’s always right—you can’t tell Him anything!—and He’s just waiting to catch you doing something wrong so He can shout at you in a deep, bellowing voice and then inflict cruel punishment.

In short, God is angry and mean. He can’t stand having to deal with lowly peons like we humans, and the only satisfaction He gets is watching us cry in terror as He sends us to Hell for all eternity.

Regrettably, this distorted image is the way a lot of people see God, especially those folks who attended parochial school in the 1940s and ‘50s. (On the other hand, many people who came of age after Vatican II imagine God to be a laid-back hippie, wearing Birkenstocks and a “Celebrate Perversity” tee-shirt. This “If it feels good, do it” view of God is equally as misguided, and we’ll address this nutty notion in a future essay.)

There are many reason why people think of God as angry and mean. Maybe when they were young their parents and teachers used the “Put the fear of God in ‘em” approach. Kids are much more obedient when they are terrified.

When the only Bible verses your Sunday School teacher seems to know by heart are Hebrews 10:31—“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”—and Romans 12:19—“Vengeance is mine…saith the Lord”—you’ll tend to grow up thinking God is an ornery ogre; someone to be religiously avoided.

Sometimes a distorted view of God is the result of being raised by a mean and angry father. If a person’s understanding of “fatherhood” includes insults and abuse, dishonesty and dysfunction, then it’s not very comforting to be taught that God is also our Father. (“Oh no! Now I have to worry about another creep coming home drunk and slapping me around!”)

Others, who were not presented with a distorted view of God or fatherhood, still can develop a faulty view over time because of a guilty conscience. We know that God is perfectly holy and righteous, and we also know instinctively that we are flawed sinners. (St. Paul explains that all people, even those with no religious education, have God’s law “written on their hearts.”)

If we do not regularly confess our sins, receive divine grace and mercy, and reconcile our relationship with God, then guilt and shame will fester and grow, and a huge gulf will form between ourselves and God. We become convinced that God cannot or will not forgive us, and in despair we develop the erroneous notion that God is mean and vengeful.

Well, if this is the distorted view of God, then what is He really like?

In the 11th chapter of Luke’s gospel, Jesus offered a couple of interesting lessons on the nature and personality of our heavenly Father.

After teaching His disciples how to pray the Lord’s Prayer—a series of praises and petitions—Jesus compared God to a man sound asleep in bed at midnight. Suddenly a friend came to the house and pounded on the front door asking for bread. Jesus said no matter how outlandish and unreasonable the request, the man inside the house will get up and give his friend what he needs because he asked so persistently.

Jesus went on to explain why the man in the house (God) would be willing to make such a sacrifice for his friend (us). “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?” Jesus said.

The answer was obvious: despite being sinners, parents in their right minds (which excludes, among others, dysfunctional drunks and Alec Baldwin) would never purposely harm their children. “If you then, who are wicked,” Jesus said, “know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

God is just like a loving parent, except He never gets frustrated, resentful, or angry. Which means God is in a lot of ways more like a grandparent. Grandparents are so good at overlooking faults, forgiving quickly, and handing out undeserved treats. Their love for their grandchildren is unconditional.

Almighty God—the all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal Creator of the Universe—is not a sadistic drill sergeant just waiting for us to screw up so He can scream in our face, kick us in the pants, and order us to drop and do 100 push-ups. He does not want to condemn us; He wants to save us. God does not gleefully send people to Hell; He weeps with a broken heart when people willing choose to remain out of His presence.

God wants us to come to Him and boldly and persistently ask for good gifts: the gift of forgiveness, the gift of mercy, the gift of joy, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of eternal life.

There is nothing in God’s nature that is mean or cruel. Sure, He has a very clear understanding of good and evil, and He certainly does not want us to embrace sin—but only because He loves us. He wants to share His love with us and fill us with peace and joy. And that is not the description of a sadistic drill sergeant. That is the description of a loving parent, or better yet, a loving grandparent.

©2007