Shelter in God/Shelter-ing God

Since the beginning of August, we have used portions of “Eagle’s Wings” by Michael Joncas in our Sunday worship services. It is a beautiful work of art that soars just as its name suggests. Listen:

You who dwell in the shelter of our Lord,
who abide in God’s shadow for life,
say to the Lord: "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!"

Refrain:
And God will raise you up on eagles’ wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of God’s hand.

This weekend my sermon will be “Shelter in God vs. Shelter-ing God.” Reading that title, you might think that the “sheltering God” part is a description of God, that it refers to God’s act of sheltering those who seek shelter. But I’m thinking of something different. I’m thinking of the many ways and means by which we humans attempt to shelter God. I’m thinking of how often we slip from seeking the shelter of God’s providence, protection, and grace into seeking to shelter God…to protect God.

There are many ways we do this. Sometimes we, like the people of Israel, seek to place God in a box—a small one like the Ark of the Covenant, or a larger one like the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. Our motivation may be to keep God near and be assured of God’s presence, but this effort is often less than a half-step away from an attempt to exert our own control over God. “Let’s keep God right here, in this denomination, in this sanctuary, at this altar so we know at all times where God is and what God’s doing!” Next thing you know, we’ve gone beyond keeping God in a box and are suddenly permitting or denying the requests of those who would dare to request access. You see, now that we’re sheltering God, we must protect God from all kinds of imagined affronts and intrusions.

Then we become small and our faith becomes small…

I invite you to think about these things as you read the scripture passage for this week. (Actually, I encourage you to read all of I Kings 8 if you can.) Ask yourself some questions: What are my tendencies to shelter God? Do I try to protect God from my shortcomings? From what I perceive as other’s failings or impurities? My desires? From what do I seek God’s shelter? From circumstances? Pain? To whom should I offer shelter?

And finally, I want you to keep this in mind. We at MCC Austin have declared that we discern God calling us to be a church without walls. Do you hear the hope in that? Do you hear a desire NOT to be a box in which we keep God? I think it’s a clear sign of hope and a very good start…

See you in church!