Seeing God in a New, Radical Way

AM Psalm 40, 54 • PM Psalm 51
1 Samuel 31:1-13 • Acts 15:12-21 • Mark 5:21-43

This New Testament reading continues the debate regarding the Gentiles need for circumcision as “required to keep the laws of Moses.” Paul and Barnabas have been tasked with going to Jerusalem and speaking to the Apostles and Elders. They arrive and “share all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

It is striking that this verse opens with “the whole assembly became silent.” The outward symbol of one’s good grace with God is a matter of utmost importance to the religious leaders of the time. We humans like outward symbols. It helps give us sense of order to our world. A wedding band to tell us who is married, a uniform tells us about your professional life, and building structures tells us what is inside.

There is a church in San Francisco, Glide Church, that took down all the traditional symbols of Christianity and instead project pictures of the people that make up the neighborhood. This is not the same as the corner of Dickson and East Avenue, but an area of homelessness, addictions, and suffering. When gazing toward the front of Glide Church, the faces reflected back to you are the faces of God.

I imagine that this is what Paul and Barnabas were trying to achieve. They wanted the Elders to hear and “see” God in a new and radical way. God in the humanity around them.

Written by Susie Norys

A fellow human trying to make sense of God and the world around her.