Saturday, May 15, 2004
Saturday, May 15, 2004
So do not become proud, but stand in awe.
(Romans 11.20b
NRSV)
Comedian Bill Maher tells about a lawsuit that was brought against God. Somebody in Syracuse sued God for not giving him guitar-playing skills, and not bringing his pigeon back from the dead. In his own twist on reality, Maher comments, "But the judge said you can't sue God. Because if you do, the next thing they'll start to challenge Microsoft." Well, even Bill Gates is not God. Not yet, anyway. But have you noticed that God gets less and less respect?
In 2002 a man in Lake City, Florida, went to court requesting to change his name to God. He chose another name when a judge turned down his request. The second name he chose was "I Am who I Am." Those are the words God spoke to Moses when Moses asked God to tell him His name.
This man justified his bizarre request by saying that he needed to be freed from feelings of anxiety and rage that had continued to plague him since he served in Vietnam. "I was fatally wounded both in mind and in spirit,'' he said. "I didn't suffer any bodily injury. It's just what I saw, what I did. I killed myself.'' In fact this poor man, named Charles Haffey, bought a tombstone to be inscribed with his former name. He plans to plant it in the tall grass on his property. He said it will read, "Charles Walter Haffey, born September 23, 1948, and died October 21, 1968, Republic of Vietnam.''
Our hearts go out to anyone who is so affected by the insanity of war, but we need to be careful how we treat God's name. In the words of Isaiah the prophet, God is "holy, holy, holy." God is the Divine Other. God is not the "man upstairs." God is high and lifted up.
Dear God, in this crazy world, may I continue to grow in my respect and awe of your presence in my life. Amen.
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