This weekend I went on our All-church retreat to Tower Hill which is at the Michigan Dunes. The weather was beautiful but very chilly, so most of the adults spent the majority of the weekend inside conversing. But the youth were undaunted by the temperatures and the lure of Mt. Baldy was strong, so they spent most of their time out enjoying nature.
One of their activities was a worship service at God's Mailbox! I've never been to this particular landmark but my daughter went so it gave me the chance to talk to her about how she communicates with God and vice versa. I've always thought of prayer as the most direct way to communicate with God, but perhaps God appreciates mail as much of the rest of us.
Turns out that she did write a letter, a confession to be exact, and put it in the mailbox. Tradition says that God will send a reply within a few days, although it wasn't clear if one was to go back to the mailbox to pick it up or if it would come directly to ones home, etc. Either way my daughter was pretty sure that God wasn't going to write back because she figured, "he's got better things to do than watch us all the time. i'm sure he's too busy". However she wasn't exactly sure what he was so busy doing, and the longer we talked the more it seemed like God's mailbox and Santa's mailbox might be just a little too similiar for my taste. Send out a request. Be judged as naughty or nice. And then if you're lucky, you'll get a response in the form of what you asked for.
I think this is a very dangerous image of God to plant in our children's minds. And while the landmark of God's Mailbox is clever, I think it sends 100% the wrong message about the relationship that we should aspire to have with God. Perhaps a better (and more contemporary analogy) would be Facebook - you friend God, God friends you, and now you both post at will. Even the smallest status updates are read, commented on, and shared with other friends in your joint community. It's both a personal relationship but also an open one. And one that can keep expanding infinitely. (okay, maybe only to 5000 but then you can set up a second, third, fourth, etc. site. )
Maybe it's just because the only letters I write any more are Christmas cards, but i prefer thinking that God and I have a pathway that is direct and constantly open. And best of all it is portable. I don't have to go all the way back to Michigan to send or recieve communication!
Your blog pulled me in because I have been to Tower Hills (and it rained the whole week, but the food was great!), however I have to really chuckle about the facebook analogy.
ReplyDeleteJust this weekend, a parishioner asked me, after first saying "this isn't meant as criticism or complaint, though it will sound that way" (and did!, "How do you get anything done with as much time as you spend answering and commenting on Facebook?"
To the best of my knowledge, I get my jobs done. But I like this idea that God, who is much more powerful than I am, follows the status of every moment of my life, and will comment at will.
Loved it!