The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, December 23rd: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24)

GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH THE INCARNATION

Charles Colson once wrote: “It’s true that most Americans profess to believe in God, but this God is a far cry from the God of Scripture. More than a century of naturalism has eroded our belief that God is providential—that is, in charge of all events.” (If you don’t already subscribe to Colson’s daily email essays, please sign up at www.breakpoint.org .)

Mr. Colson has a point. Many people profess to be Christians, but they are actually Deists. They believe God created the universe and then left it on its own, similar to winding a watch and then forgetting about it. After creating the world, God apparently went on vacation and left no forwarding address.

The philosophy of naturalism, as Colson points out, certainly is a major reason why people think this way. When science classes and PBS documentaries constantly preach the idea that the natural world is all there is and human reason is the greatest wisdom in the known universe, it doesn’t leave much room for God.

Those who can’t quite swallow the notion that mankind’s creator is nothing but chance-plus-time, often settle for a happy medium: they cling to the idea that God is real, but after hitting the start button billions of years ago, this distant and uncaring God turned over the day-to-day management duties to the Laws of Physics and blind fate.

There is another possibly more powerful reason why modern Christians have embraced deistic beliefs: guilt. Although secular thinking proclaims that mankind is basically good (if we do bad things it’s because society corrupted us), most people know better. We instinctively know the biblical doctrine is true: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Most of us realize our basic urges are selfish and sneaky, while at the same time a moral compass deep in our hearts (our conscience?) tells us we ought to be charitable and honest. This internal conflict produces guilt.

The idea that an all-knowing, all-seeing God observes our every action and knows our every thought doesn’t sit very well with all that internal guilt. And here’s something to consider: Internet pornography earns more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, and eBay COMBINED. Our culture is not lacking in guilt-producing opportunities.

It doesn’t take much prodding for a person to jump on the Deism bandwagon if it means God no longer sees (or cares) about our behavior.

As Colson points out, however, this view of God is not scriptural. The God described in the Bible is not uncaring and distant. He is present. He observes everything—“Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father, and even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29-30). And most of all, He CARES.

The God of the Bible does what He does out of love. He created the universe out of love. He created us out of love. He did what we are celebrating this week out of love: take on human flesh in order to save us.

If God were truly distant and uncaring, He never would have bothered with the defining aspect of Christianity: the Incarnation. If God were on a cosmic vacation, He never would have lowered Himself to be born in a stinky old stable. He never would have walked the dusty countryside preaching and teaching, only to be misunderstood and mocked. And He certainly never would have offered up His life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

If Deism were true, we would not be celebrating Christmas this week. Instead, we would be celebrating the old pagan festival of Saturnalia, marked by a lengthy period of over-indulgence and drunken revelry. (Oh, wait a minute. That IS how most people celebrate Christmas nowadays—or as I like to call it, the Crassmas Season.)

When it comes to faith, the first and foremost question is: Is God real? Thankfully, most people answer, “Yes.”

But there is a second and equally important question: What is God LIKE? In other words, what is God’s nature and personality?

The answer is not an unknowable mystery, as Deism claims. God went to a lot of trouble to reveal Himself to mankind, culminating in the awesome miracle of the Incarnation. Then, just to make sure those of us living twenty centuries after the fact would not be confused, God inspired the Holy Scriptures to be written. (As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “God is the author of Sacred Scripture….written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit….[to] teach the truth….firmly, faithfully, and without error.”) 

The God described in Scripture is the true God. He is providential. He is in charge of all events. (Which is not the same as causing all events. God is aware of and allows bad things to happen—part of the deal of creating us with free will.)

If you want to know what God is like, pick up your Bible. It’s the best Christmas present you can give yourself.

©2007