Hi my name is...

An angel of the LORD came to Manoah to tell him that he would soon be the father of a child called Samson.  Overjoyed, Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” The angel replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is pil’iy.”

The Hebrew word pil’iy is translated a few different ways:

Too wonderful to know.

Extraordinarily unknowable.

Incomprehensibly beautiful.

Whoa.  In other words, try swallowing a concept like eternity, or do your best to understand what it means that the universe is unending, going on for light years and light years and light years and light years and light years…and then, then you’ll be close to being ready to hear and comprehend my name.  Good luck. 

And to think, this is just an angel of the LORD.  How much more pil’iy is the Name of the one who spoke something into nothing, the one who has always been, the one who engineered every blade of grass in every back yard and every star in every solar system, the one who created even the angel that visited Manoah.  This God is pil’iy! 

I’m starting to understand why the LORD told Moses that His name is I AM.  What else could God say?  Moses had come from a nation in which god’s were conceivable, there names were knowable and familiar, even taking the forms of animals.  But our God? Nope.  Sorry, Moses, if you want me to give you a name by which you can comprehend my full nature, you’d better just tell the people that “ME” sent you.  I’m just ME.  Come and find out what that means. 

And since God’s revelation to Israel so many thousands of years ago, God’s people have not stopped learning just who He is. 

He is a God whose might turns the most powerful man on the earth into a sobbing baby in order to free His people.

He is a God whose majesty sets the mountain on fire.

He is a God whose secret whisper breaks the cedars, whose laughter organized the periodic table of elements, whose shout orchestrates the galaxies. 

He is a God whose established the matrix for creation. 

But the most incredible, the most wonderful, the most pil’iy aspect of His identity is this: He let tiny men spit in His face.  Literally.  He put on flesh like people put on pants, He allowed Himself to be imprisoned my matter, He let us whip Him, beat Him, spit in His face, and nail Him to a tree.  He died. God died like a wild boy at recess sprinting past no-man’s-land to steal the flag.  Our God undid death by dying before running back victorious with His prize in His hand.  This is my God.

Can you hear Him laughing now when Moses asks for His Name?  Uh…Moses, you’re just going to have to get to know me.  My Name is pil’iy. 

This is why the angels around the throne are covering their faces.  This is why heaven is forever; the character of God—the wonder, beauty, and glory of His Name will take just that long to experience.  This is why I love Him. 

Koinonia

One thing that we take for granted far too often is the gift of Christian fellowship.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, "that what is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day."  I don't think any of us (definitely not me) are exempt from this, dare I say, sin of taking this gift of fellowship as lightly as we do (thank the Lord for his never ending grace and mercy).  Here I am a seminary student on my way to becoming a pastor of all things and as I was sitting in class I couldn't help but be convicted of how half-assed I engage, cherish, utilize this gift of fellowship.

When I attended undergrad at Hope College I had the privilege of living with a group of deeply rooted Christian brothers.  This rag-tag troupe was the weirdest, funniest, most genuine, loving group of men that one could have asked to live with.  During our time together we kept each other accountable, loved one another, and realized that we do life best when we are together. Thus, we long for the day when we can be back together in close proximity with each other.  After graduation we all have been dispersed across two countries but with today's technology we can still stay involved with each other's lives through prayer, advice and the sharing of stories.  We keep up with each other via email and usually do a good job of staying in touch weekly, but we aren't always the best at it.

"It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed."

Once again, Bonhoeffer reminds us that our chances to meet together is nothing less than grace and that this gift my be gone at any second.  Back to earlier when I was sitting in my ministry formation class...it was one of those classes where so many nuggets of goodness were said either by students or the professor that I just kept writing down thoughts as people were bringing up questions and comments.

We need to be better at communally discerning things in our lives as the church and as Christ's body.  This means praying for and with each other more; keeping each other accountable; reading scripture together; telling each other how we are hurting (Gal 6:2); sharing our joys.

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Heb 10:22-25 emphasis added)  Let us do as the writer of Hebrews says and not neglect to meet together.  Let us encourage one another with words and towards good works in love.

I'm going to give Bonhoeffer the last word because he is a lot smarter than I am:
"But if there is so much blessing and joy even in a single encounter of brother with sister, how inexhaustible are the riches that open up for those who by God's will are privileged to live in the daily fellowship of life with other Christians!"