Do You Have A God Tattoo?

REFLECTIONS
October 4, 2009

Some behavior theorists believe we are the sum total of our life experiences. For example, I am a child of the sixties. This is the decade where I came to full maturity. This was a time of rebellion against authority and cultural norms. Rebellion against my parents seemed silly to me because I liked them. The long hair and different clothes, I rather liked. I still do. However, I admit a certain gratitude that no pictures of me in a silk paisley shirt, or cranberry cords with pink patch pockets has survived.

We have a myriad of ways to mark events in our lives. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, all are tied to dates on a calendar. We make note of these events year after year. Of course, the dates are not always positive. Yet they leave their mark on our hearts just the same. Those of us who have been around long enough can name dates such as November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968, June 4, 1968, September 11, 2001. These months and years book mark sad times in the collective heart and mind of this country. If you were around for any of the dates, you remember exactly where you were.

Events whether personal or global mark us. They leave something of the time and we carry it forward with us as we journey. The author of Hebrews writing to new converts to Christianity speaks mostly about the superiority of the Christian to other religious traditions. The writer shares the concept of a “spiritual imprint,” opening the letter with these words: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom God appointed heir of all things, through who God also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” The words were meant as formative training for the emerging first century churches. They were to pattern themselves after the life of Jesus, and in so doing their lives would be imprinted.

This pattern exists yet today. For when we gather to worship both individually and corporately, our hope is to experience holiness. We seek the touch of God in the hymns and prayers. This is especially true in the sacrament of Communion. In the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup, we claim the real presence of Christ with us at table. If we take this seriously, how can we not be imprinted by love, marked by grace, or touched by a holy hope?

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601