There were four blind men who went to the circus. The question
arose, “What does an elephant look like?” One blind man felt the
elephant’s leg and said he looked like a tree trunk. Another felt his tail
and said he looked like a rope. The third felt his tusk and said he looked
like a sword. The last man felt his side and said he looked like a wall.
Which of the blind men was right?
Perhaps the best answer is to say that each one was right—from his
own viewpoint. But each blind man was not completely right. Only by
sharing information could they get a more accurate view of what an
elephant is like. In a sense, this is the way it is with God.
On this Trinity Sunday—we are reminded that God—is a God of
many faces and dimensions. A God who loves us and who wants to be
in a relationship with us—who has chosen to share life with us—A God
who cannot be defined, or packaged or boxed up completely—Ever. As the story of the elephant reminds us—only by sharing our
experiences of God and listening to each other, will we come to a better
awareness of the awesomeness of God.
Did you hear about the man who died and went to heaven only to
find that heaven was full? St. Peter explained that they had a special
expansion program in progress and there would be room in 2-3 weeks.
Would the gentleman mind returning to earth to wait. He said,
“delighted” and returned, only to bump into an old buddy who gasped,
“I thought you were dead.” “I was—but they’re remodeling heaven and I
have to wait a couple of weeks longer.” “You mean you actually got to
heaven and saw all the angels and saints?” “Yes”. “Tell me about
God.” “Well first of all, she’s black…..”
Of course it’s just a story, but it certainly helps destroy some of the
comic-book, fairy-tale, holy-card, stereotyped myths about God—who
was always pictured to me as an old, white, Anglo-Saxon male with a
long white beard, enthroned on a cloud directly overhead but far, far away. When we think our perception of God—our Catholic, our
Protestant, our CCD—our Catholic School perception is the only one—
we are making a BIG MISTAKE!
I close with this: Call God what you wish—Creator, Ground of
Our Being, Life Force, Spirit Within, Lover, Love, Higher Power,
Father, Mother, ABBA, Yahweh, Jesus….God can handle it—just keep
calling.
Tags: 6-7-2020