09-30-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 30, 2025
As many of you may have heard and some of you might have smelled, we had a little electrical fire at the church on Saturday. I don’t want to be dismissive of what occurred, but I am thankful I had a small wedding in the chapel; otherwise, no one would have been at the church on Saturday. We might have created a whole new entrance to the Forum had it not been discovered. Though I need to thank John Gembala, who came up after I smelled something burning, and he was the one who actually found the source. Joel Plaag came up a little later and helped us find the breaker to the junction box where the fire started. It was a marvelous team effort. And I am beyond thankful that it did not cause significant damage. 

Something a bit humorous was noticed by one of our church members Sunday morning in the Contemporary Service. A key line in one of the songs we sang was, “Set your church on fire…” Of course, that is the language of Pentecost, a Spirit-filled experience where God ignites something that appeared dormant and lifeless. The good news is that our electrician was able to determine the cause, and it had nothing to do with God. With that said, how often do people imply or outright blame God for something that I do not believe was God’s doing? Just think, a few thousand years ago, when a volcano erupted, God (or the gods) was understood to be the cause, and usually it had something to do with punishment as God (or the gods) was angry. Now, when a volcano erupts, really smart people talk about the movement of tectonic plates, magma, gases, pressure, and eventually a boom. Actually, really smart people give a little more sophisticated detail, but they are pretty clear about the cause, and God has nothing to do with it. 

How has the evolution of science and theology shaped our thinking about the ways God acts and does not act in this world? How has your own understanding modified over the years?

We are thankful, God, for all the ways your loving kindness is at work in this world, but we also want to apologize for any way we have accused you of doing something that simply is not in your nature. Keep our focus on Jesus, for there we can glean important insight about who we believe you to be. Amen.