Christal Cooper
Guest Blogger
Rev. Karen
Heyburn
Shacking up with God
“Moses
said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your
fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is this god’s name?” Then
what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you
are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3.13-14
The film, “The Shack” ( http://theshackbook.com)has been released. It is based on the book by the same
name written by Wm. Paul Young. There
was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth about the book in some
Christian circles.
Now
there is more of the same about the film. Pastors are telling parishioners not
to see it and admonishing staff and volunteers not to arrange movie nights for
their various small groups. Although the film had not even been released for
public viewing, the bells of all Christendom began a cacophony of clangs and
bangs. This should really come as no surprise. Do we Christians agree on much
of anything these days, except that each of us is right and the rest of us are
wrong?
This
book, and the film that follows it, is an allegory. Allegory is a story that
contains a moral or political virtue that must be revealed through the thinking
of the reader.
It
is also analogy. Analogy is an example comparing some event or situation with
another in some significant respects. It is a way to understand something that
is otherwise a challenge to understand.
The
best example of an Analogy is the understanding of God. Who or what is God? How
do we understand the Eternal, the Divine? I don’t want to get into the
philosophical exercise. Christians believe that God is One. There is one God.
We believe that God is evident as Three in One, “Father, Son, Holy Spirit”. We
call this the “Trinity”.
At
any time, we may encounter God in any of these three ways, and in those
encounters we meet all three. Are you still with me? Good, because theologians
throughout the history of the Church have wrestled with this idea and even they
don’t all agree. Entire forests have surrendered their lives for the books
written specifically about the “Trinity”.
Imagine explaining this complex concept
to children! Many have tried. Years ago, someone came up with the idea of an
apple. The apple has three parts: the skin, the meat, and the seed. All three
of these are still the apple, even though they are different, they are the
same. Except they aren’t. The skin of the apple is just that. The skin of an
apple. Bite into it and all you will experience is the skin. The seed is an
unrealized apple, yet no matter how hard you may try you can’t eat it and taste
an apple nor does it impact you as an apple does. The meat of the apple? Well,
an apple with parts missing! No matter what analogy, allegory, metaphor, or
example we use to explain “Trinity”, they all fall short eventually. “Trinity”
is a mystery of faith.
Some
theologians and Bible scholars root this mystery in Scripture, citing as
example Matthew 28.18-20, the “Great Commission”.
Others
cite Mark 16.15-16 as evidence that the Three in One concept is not Biblical at
all. Truthfully, every aspect you might want to embrace may well be supported
by proof-texting Scripture, finding verses that seem to say you are right!
Young
explores several moral dilemmas in the book, chief of them may well be why bad
things happen to God’s people. He takes us into a world that might help to
explain how we hold onto faith when the world is falling apart around us. These
are powerful issues, and Christians struggle with them each day.
Young
isn’t trying to write a theological treatise here. He is exploring creation and
our place in it. He is asking us how we might faithfully endure and comprehend
grief, guilt, loss, pain, joy, suffering. How do we make sense of the patterns
and anomalies within creation? He is
attempting to simplify a complex concept and perhaps make it more accessible to
Christians and non-Christians alike.
It
is a story. It is an engaging way to explore the issues of faith. Reading the
book presents the reader with questions and invites that reader to think about
the possibilities for answers. The best books do provoke thought and
conversation for those who read them. I suspect the film will do the same.
Does
Young present God as three separate “persons”? Yes. And, no. Young invites us
to move away from a male-focused concept of God and into a mystery the Church
is reluctant to explore. Does God have a gender? The introduction God gives to
Moses for the Israelites would seem to say “no”. God decides who or what God
is. We can have images, we can have metaphors, yet the fact remains that God is
greater than any term or concept we can produce.
In
the John gospel, Chapter 14, Jesus prays that we might all be one. He claimed
to be returning to his “Father” and that the “Father” would send the Holy
Spirit as a “replacement” for Jesus among humanity. That seems to indicate
separate yet equal expressions of God.
Although
Young presents us with God in three different ways, as a means for exploring
what and who God is in relationship with us, it is clear that God is present
and interacting with the lead character through each of those different ways.
Keep in mind that we have already suspended reality in accepting that the
character has received a letter from God and has entered a place wherein God
can be encountered without Mack needing to turn his face away as Moses was
warned to do.
This
is a story. A narrative that intends to evoke conversation and thoughtfulness.
I know that there are pastors and Christian educators who will not want to
discuss this story, and discourage their flocks from seeing the film. That is
regrettable.
It
is a perfect vehicle for a roundtable small group discussion. Allowing folks to
share what they have experienced in reading or watching, and then listening to
their stories of encountering God, is perfect food for discipleship.
Theologians and Bible scholars argue and debate doctrine and dogma. The rest of
us find ways to support folks on their faith and life journeys. Those debates
and arguments help to inform our approach but should never be the goal of our
approach. Many of us truly love the debates.
Folks
in our care just need to know that they are loved. They are loved by God and
that love is manifested through the rest of us. They want to know that their
struggles for answers are not theirs alone. They need to know that we are one
in the body of Christ and that they are free to explore and debate historic
doctrines and Church dogma. They are also free to shrug their shoulders and go
on loving God and one another.
That’s
what matters. Loving God and loving one another. The book, and no doubt the
film, focus on that love. Surely, we can agree to that, can’t we?
Karen is a retired pastor, Christian Educator, and church
musician. She has a BA in Humanities from the University of Akron, and an Mdiv
from Methodist Theological School in Ohio.
She loves her children, their spouses, her grandchildren, family
pets, and her spouse, who keeps her slightly crazy.
Karen loves to learn,
to cook, and be an encourager for others. She takes delight in helping people
reach their goals. She struggles with a need to be perfect, even while not
expecting perfection in others. She's an incurable dreamer, who sees "the
big picture" and often gets lost in the details. Her obituary will say of
her, "She had an idea."
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