{"id":2745,"date":"2008-12-05T20:50:01","date_gmt":"2008-12-05T20:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=2745"},"modified":"2010-12-22T11:20:11","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T16:20:11","slug":"6736","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us!"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (December 5, 2008) – John Weborg is Professor Emeritus of Theology at North Park Theological Seminary and a longtime columnist for The Covenant Companion. Each Friday during Advent, we will share one of his columns that originally appeared in the magazine. Today\u2019s installment first appeared in December 1993.<\/em>
\n
\nBy Dr. John Weborg<\/p>\n

Annie Dillard says that, \u201cIt is the fault of infinity to be too small to find.\u201d Might it also be the fault of God to be too small to find? That a person needs to look once, twice, even three times before one can find God, nearly always more hidden than revealed? Like Luther said, \u201cGod on the straw,\u201d overshadowed by his parents, dwarfed by animals, swallowed by a cave. Too small to find.<\/p>\n

In even more provocative speech, Luther said that if we had been at the city well in Nazareth, and Jesus had come to get water, whether for Mary to cook with or Joseph to use in carpentry, we could either say, \u201cthere goes Jesus carrying a bucket of water, or \u201cthere goes God carrying a bucket of water.\u201d Both would be correct. Is it the fault of God to be too small to be found? Is it also the fault of God to be too hidden, too overshadowed, too dwarfed, too swallowed up in something else to be found?<\/p>\n

“As Paul Tillich said, Christianity started in the cemetery, not at the cradle.”<\/h5>\n

It isn\u2019t only Christmas that possesses this issue. What about the irony of God overwhelmed by a political system that put him to death? In a way, the cross dwarfed him \u2013 imagine, God strung up on a cross. And the grave swallowed him – the big black hole of death consumed him in its voracious appetite to prove that life cannot win and that love, if disappointed long enough and disillusioned repeatedly, will give in to the obvious: the foolishness of committing oneself to anyone or anything.<\/p>\n

But then, as Paul Tillich said, Christianity started in the cemetery, not at the cradle. Might it be the fault of God to be too hidden, always seeming to show up under opposites – in straw, on a cross, in a tomb, yes, even stalking cemeteries? God shows up where God is most needed, not as the stoic observer or as the hero showing up at the last minute, greedy for glory and gluttonous for gain. This God in Jesus, carrying buckets of water, washing the feet of others, touching lepers, enjoying meals with outcasts, praying for his killers – this God appears too small to find and too hidden to be helpful.<\/p>\n

Wherever the need is the greatest, the testing severe, the pressure enormous, and someone comes along to pick up the load with us, it is the same God in Christ who carried buckets of water, showing that it is not the fault, but the genius and gift of the Infinite to be so small as almost not to be found. Those whom he joins along the way often feel that small anyway.<\/p>\n

Immanuel: God with us!<\/p>\n

Left to ourselves we shall but stray,
\nO lead us on the narrow way,
\nWith wisest counsel guide us;
\nAnd give us steadfastness, that we
\nMay henceforth truly follow thee,
\nWhatever woes betide us.
\nHeal thou gently
\nHearts now broken, give some token
\nThou art near us,
\nWhom we trust to light and cheer us.<\/p>\n

“O Holy Spirit, Enter In”<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: to read a previously published column as part of this special Advent series, search for the following story:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Advent: Holiday Time and the Fullness of Time<\/em><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (December 5, 2008) – John Weborg is Professor Emeritus of Theology at North Park Theological Seminary and a longtime columnist for The Covenant Companion. Each Friday during Advent, we will share one of his columns that originally appeared in the magazine. Today\u2019s installment first appeared in December 1993.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAdvent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (December 5, 2008) – John Weborg is Professor Emeritus of Theology at North Park Theological Seminary and a longtime columnist for The Covenant Companion. Each Friday during Advent, we will share one of his columns that originally appeared in the magazine. Today\u2019s installment first appeared in December 1993.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us!\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/\",\"name\":\"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/12\\\/05\\\/6736\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"CHICAGO, IL (December 5, 2008) – John Weborg is Professor Emeritus of Theology at North Park Theological Seminary and a longtime columnist for The Covenant Companion. Each Friday during Advent, we will share one of his columns that originally appeared in the magazine. Today\u2019s installment first appeared in December 1993.","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us!","datePublished":"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/","name":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us! - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-12-05T20:50:01+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T16:20:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/12\/05\/6736\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advent: Hard Sayings: God With Us!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2745"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5043,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2745\/revisions\/5043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}