There are so many ways to describe God; some would argue there are infinite ways. The one we choose at any given time probably says a lot more about us than it does about God. God will not help us pin it down: when Moses asks who he should say sent him, God replies, “Tell them ‘Esher-Ayeh-Esher’ sent you.”
“I am what I am.” The perfect non-answer.
Any description we make, other than that great tautology, is incomplete, and thus inaccurate. Because, as the Tao Te Ch’ing puts it: “The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.” God is like a gem with an infinite number of facets, and we are restricted, for the most part, to considering one facet at a time. Let’s not confuse a single facet with the gem itself.
And yet every facet is beyond profound; every facet inspires awe. And pretty quickly, every facet opens into every other.
In spring, then, let’s start with “source,” or, if you prefer, the “Alpha” part of the “Alpha and Omega.” Let God be described, just for now, as that from which all things come. Go on a walk, and bear witness to it.
That’s enough for a spring morning, or a lifetime.
--The Rev. Barbara Talcott
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