A Divine Connection

So far in our curriculum of love series we have looked at dismantling the God of wrath and getting rid of this notion that God’s love is conditional. Now as we enter into the third part of our series we are going to take a look at ways to connect with God. I am glad that we started with removing bad ways of thinking of God before we moved on to ways to connect with God, which is our focus for this week. But before we look at connecting with God let’s first look at the ways that we, as humans, connect with each other. When meeting with someone for the first time, one of the very first things we learn about them whether we ask for it oor are offered it, is their name. A name, as ordinary as it is, is an important thing to know. Knowing someones name makes that person known to you. Then you can learn other things about them like what they do for a living or where they live, etc.

A few weeks ago, my family was at our community pool and Madisyn made a friend while she was playing there. They obviously learned each others names, but then before we were all going to leave, Bekkah and this girls grandma talked with each other, they learned each others names, but even better was the fact that we learned that this girl and her family live in the same street as us. We have been neighbors this whole time but due to various circumstances we have never had the chance to meet each other. And now because of that we feel a bit more connected to our neighborhood than we did before.

Well this is exactly what we see happen in the Bible. And like before I want to use some well known scripture to help add to the already packed scripture we have today. When God chooses Moses to be God’s voice to the people, Moses knows and/or assumes the people will not trust him and not believe he was actually sent by God. So Moses wants to be sent by God with God’s name. And God gives it. I AM Who I AM. Not only that, but then God goes on to say that not only is that my name, but you should also know me through my relationship with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. God not only gives them God’s name, but God gives them context to understand that God is the God of their very own ancestors. This is their God they have followed and who they remember had chosen them to be their people. Moses now has a way to connect himself to God and them to God, through a name and through a past relationship.

Now, Moses and the people of Israel know the name of God. It is a way for the people to be able to connect with God and engage with God. But there’s more to it than that. In Hebrew and Aramaic the word for ‘name’ is shem. While the word does indeed translate as ‘name’, it means so much more than that. Shem also means a person’s standing, their reputation, fame, essence or even soul. It is the frequency or tune to which our body exists in the world. So as the creator of ths series Pastor Strommen says, knowing and using a name is more than the indicator we use for someone, it is attempting to tap into who they are on a spritiual and cosmic level. Now if we step that up from using on one another to God, then that means that God has given us God’s own name so that we too can be in tune and vibrate at the same frequency as God because we are sharing the same essence as God when we use God’s name. I don’t know about you, but I often viewed the story of God sharing God’s name with Moses as profound, I never thought of it as God giving us this intimate way of connecting with God in a way that we hadn’t before.

Which is why when we take a look at John 16:23-24 it seems like an odd passage especially with it being so short, but in this context it is a wonderful passage that reminds us that when we ask in the name of Jesus we are using his name. We are calling on the incarnation of God in what it is we are asking for. We are using that in-tune connection to God through Jesus to receive what it is we are praying for. And what is so important about that idea of being on the same wavelength as God through God’s name, is that we are no longer simply seeking what is best for us, but what it is that God feels is best for this world. Our desires and motivations are shifted to be in tune with God which then shifts the way that we think, act, and ask.

What is so wonderful about the life of Jesus is that he is both human and divine which gives us an even closer connection to God than we have had before, as well as an example of what it looks like to have and maintain a close relationship with God. That is where the Mark 6 passage comes in. Even though this specific story was chosen we can actually see lots of examples of Jesus going off alone to pray. Which is the point of what we see. Jesus, throughout the gospels connects with people through healings, teachings, and just human contact, but Jesus also achieved a close personal connection to God through prayer. Prayer is probably one of the most important ways that we can connect with God especially if we consider that following in the way of Jesus is important. Jesus did so many incredible things that we focus so much on those things, but he also spent time in solitude with God. Jesus went away to pray to strengthen that remain in the right frequency with God.

In fact, if we look at another time Jesus was praying in Luke 11 we see that when he finishes praying, one of his disciples asks him to teach them how to pray. Then Jesus teaches them the Lord’s prayer. Jesus tells them to pray in this way: Abba, which means father, but is an intimate form of father often talked about more in terms of daddy than the father which today we tend to view as more formal than intimate. So right there Jesus tells us to be intimate in our conversations with God. Communicate with God in a loving and meaningful way and start it off by using an intimate name for God. Then Jesus says that we should call God’s name holy. Remember that even though the gospels are written in Greek, Jesus would have said these words in Aramaic. So when Jesus first said these words he would have not only used the word Abba like we just talked about, but he would have also said to call God’s name, shem, holy. Shem that connection, that reputation calling, fame recognzing, frequency sharing way of being with God. The one prayer that Jesus calls us to pray, which we will pray in just a little bit is a call to an intimate parental relationship with God where we ask to share in God’s frequency with God and all creation.

When you pray make sure to also allow some time for silence because pray is a conversation with God and we should allow time for the holy to speak back to us. We should allow time for our connection our wavelengths to remain together and in sync so that it is felt and received both ways, allowing God to fill us up so that when we aren’t in prayer we will continue to feel God’s name, God’s connection with us whenever and wherever we are. Which I believe is what leads Paul to say what he does in Philippians 4. He tells us to be glad in the Lord always and not be anxious about anything. Why? Paul reminds us that the Lord is near. I believe that this nearness not only is that God is everywhere, but also that when we are connected to God in the way that we have been talking about then we can remember that the Lord is near. When we remember that then that anxiety can fall because instead of feeling anxious we instead bring all our requests, and our thanks to God. How? Through prayer and petitions. Whatever is going on we can bring it up to God. The way we bring it up to God is through the way Jesus taught us, by calling on God in a loving way and declaring the holiness of the very essence of God and connecting to God so that we are in tune with God.

When that happens Paul says, the peace of God a deep resounding, earth shattering, life altering peace, that goes beyond any kind of peace that we could never know in this life will keep our hearts and our minds safe in Christ Jesus. Look at how Paul words that, our hearts and our minds. Our hearts and minds which essentially encompass our whole being. Or to use the words I have repeated too often already, our essence, is kept safe in Christ Jesus. Paul outright says that when we are connected to God our whole being is kept safe in Christ Jesus with a peace that is beyond this worlds measuring and imagining. This is the kind of relationship and connection God desires for us. God has given us everything we need to develop and deepen our relationship with the very one that created us. We are blessed beyond measure to have a God who is so eager to know us fully and connect with us in ways that will change abd bless our lives forever. Abba, may your name be made holy. Amen.