It’s understandable that we human beings like to define things and we do so largely in words. To speak, to record things, to communicate is a major part of being human. It helps us to understand our world and each other and gives us a degree of control. It also has its limitations.
We have all our house deeds and documents from the time before the house was constructed in 1889. I was reading them recently and noticed not only the legal language but the lack of punctuation. This, I’m told, is to avoid misinterpretation – and you have to be a lawyer to be able to interpret it.
In the church we expect our clergy to be our interpreters, to help us to interpret scripture and Christian teaching. Fair enough. But is it any wonder that they joke about drawing the short straw if they have to give the sermon on Trinity Sunday. How do you attempt to explain the dimensions and depths of God’s being – a mystery beyond words?
Nevertheless, some of us love getting our heads round things. So even in the afterlife it seems we won’t be disappointed. The story goes that when we get to heaven we will be faced by a choice of two doors, each with a sign on. One says “Heaven”. The other says “Lecture on Heaven”.
Chris Dawson