The poet-priest R. S. Thomas asked why God appeared so frequently in his poems, responded simply: “I believe in God.” Pressed about what sort of God he meant, Thomas replied: “He’s a poet who sang Creation and He’s also an intellect with an ultra-mathematical mind, who formed the entire Universe in it. The answer is in a chapter of Augustine’s Confessions where it says, ”˜They all cried out with one voice, He made us’.”
For the Christian this God does not remain unknown, but has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ, in the characteristic way in which persons make themselves known to us, not as ideas and abstractions, not as collections of atoms and molecules, or the patterns of energy of sub-atomic particles, but as persons with a capacity for love and relationship. Love always involves both faith and hope. Without this trio there would be no human life as we know it.
That reality points us to the God who made us, and whose being and action the Christian creeds confess, as one who is a communion of love, and life, and relationship, the source of our being, the ground of our knowing, the goal of our living. To say Credo ”” I believe ”” is to open ourselves to the deepest possibility of our lives. As the great preacher St John Chrysostom said: “Let us then draw Him to ourselves, and invite him to aid us in the attempt, and let us contribute our share ”” goodwill, I mean, and energy. For He will not require anything further, but if He can meet with this only, He will confer all that is his part.”
Thank you for this post, Kendall. Archbishop Rowell is an under-appreciated treasure within the Anglican Communion. I have a sense that this is a man of God with as profound an intelligence as ++Rowan Williams but who can make himself understood in a more consistent fashion for the common reader. And to quote R.S. Thomas (one of my favorite poets) in a newspaper essay to good effect! What more could an anxious Anglican ask for with him morning coffee?!
That’s very good. It’s a solid example of the truth that it’s possible to write for a mass audience in a way that is profound and thought-provoking but not dumbed down.
Rowell’s treatment of “faith”–many readers will recognize–bears strong affinities with H. Richard Niebuhr’s discussion in Radical Monotheism and Western Culture. But for readers who have not read that modern classic, consider giving it a try. It’s not only clearly written; it’s also quite beautifully and movingly written.
Also, the last bit in Rowell’s piece–about God entering into personal relationship–reminded me of much of Austin Farrer’s writing. In fact, Rowell, if I’m not mistaken, is in the same Anglican tradition as Farrer and would know him well. For interested readers, a possibly useful introduction to this thinker, who’s been called the greatest genius the Anglican Church produced in the twentieth century, might be this collection (if I may be so bold):
http://www.continuumbooks.com/Books/detail.aspx?ReturnURL=/Subjects/default.aspx&CountryID=1&ImprintID=5&BookID=113799
Thank you Kendall for this post. I will look for more to read from this godly man.