August 20, 2023 “The Depth of God”

Readings: Psalm 13, Genesis 45:1-15 , Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28, Romans 11:33-12:8
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY on August 20, 2023

Way back in 1975 a French scholar of oriental and Christian traditions, Yves Raguin, published a book called ‘The Depth of God.’ I revisited the book recently and came to the conclusion that his insights were ahead of his time and certainly have a relevance to religious life in 2023.

 In the introduction he complains that Western Christianity has made God ‘Too obvious’. That theologians and church leaders have thought that by providing people with increasingly simplified definitions of what God is like they would bring God closer.

But the result had been, not to bring God closer, but make God seem smaller. The book suggests that the awesome, mystery, otherness, and holiness of God, often spoken of in other religious traditions, is in danger of being lost.

It is about the depth of God that I wish to speak today and take for a text Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways! (NAB).

To me these words of Paul speak about three things;
•    The Majesty of God
•    The Mastery of God’s Knowledge
•    The Mystery of God’s Ways.

The Depth of God…Majesty, Mastery and Mystery! Let’s look at the first of those.

The Majesty of God “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”

Twenty First Century humanity is held captive by the belief that everything we need can be provided by our own efforts. We put our faith in the miracles of science and technology and human progress for our salvation. Many believe that one day we are going to work it all out and that when we do, we won’t need God to fill in the gaps.

Such a world view elevates the place of humankind to that of being a deity. We are Lords of our own destiny, Kings of our own domains, Masters of our own Universe.  The problem is that we cannot enthrone humanity without dethroning God.  The price of inflating ourselves is that we make faith in God seem shallow.

Back when Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, he didn’t have that problem. As he thought about the majesty of God, his soul seemed to burst. The words flow out from him, “Oh… the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" Oh…The Depth.. the depth of God!

When I lived in Wales over in Great Britain, I used to regularly travel on a road that went from the place where I lived in Wales to my hometown of Moreton in England. It was called the A55 and it wasn’t the sort of road that you took your time on. It was the main four lane road that the big trucks took as they were headed to and from Ireland. It was the only road that led along the coast of North Wales. And it was usually extremely busy.

Summer travelers shared tales of lengthy traffic jams that had occurred when the annual road works created ten-mile-long hold ups. Accidents were regular. If you have ever driven in the British Isles, you’ll be aware that some folk, as in some places in the States, interpret speed limits as being minimums rather than maximums.

Once upon a time it was a wee winding road that wove its way through seaside towns, past castles, and churches. But as it had been straightened and widened and a bypass added here and there, it had become much like any other busy highway. You got on it, set your controls for the heart of the sun… and zoom… away you went.

But one time, I can’t recall quite why, I pulled off onto one of the roadside lay-bys, and was astonished to see the panoramic view that I had so often sped by. It was a clear day and spread out before me was the River Dee, the gentle rolling land of the Wirral peninsular where I grew up and a glimpse of Liverpool with its two grand cathedrals beyond.

As I looked at the view, I was suddenly awestruck at how much of my life had been shaped in that particular geographic area. That’s where I found faith. That’s where on numerous occasions God had broken through to my life with God’s love. That’s where I had felt a call to minister. That’s where I had served in the city of Liverpool.

As I stood in that lay-by with the traffic rushing by, for a while I was in another place. I was oblivious to the noise and busyness. All I could think of was how great were the riches of God, that God, the Great Creator King, should send a Son to die upon a cross for a person like me, that God, the Lord of all, should desire somebody like me to share in the work of the Kingdom.

I was completely overwhelmed, almost numb. If an angel had descended into view and said, “Hey, how’s it going” I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. As one of our hymns declares; ‘The things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of God’s glory and grace.’

Or as Paul says...“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”  When we take time out to consider how awesome God is, it can profoundly affect our lives.  How little room we allow ourselves for focusing on the majesty of God. Then there is this;

The Mastery of God’s Knowledge.  “How inscrutable are His judgments.”

Isn’t that a great word? ‘Inscrutable’. When Yvonne was a youngster her mum used to sometimes exclaim “Inscrutable Indeed!” when faced with a situation that was perplexing her, meaning “I do not have a clue what is going on but it seems good!”

The dictionary definition of inscrutable is “Difficult to fathom or understand, impenetrable, mysterious. This verse tells us ‘How impossible to fathom, how mysterious, how inscrutable are the judgments of God, How deep are His wisdom and knowledge.”

To me God’s inscrutableness is like this. Nobody knows us as well as God does. God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows exactly what is best for our life. God knows everything we are going through. God knows our temptations, our failures, our disappointments, our trials, our victories, our joys, our laughter, our thankfulness.

Sometimes when people are going through a hard time, you’ll hear them say, “God knows what I’m going to do now!” What they are actually saying is that they haven’t got a clue what they are going to do now because something bad has happened. That’s desperately sad. That the phrase ‘God knows’ has become equated with the fear that nobody can help! Say the phrase ‘God knows’ without faith in your heart and it is a cry of futility.

But proclaim 'God knows!’ with faith in your heart and it becomes a song of hope! God alone can truly judge the pros and cons of any situation. What looks to us to be a place of desperation, can be, through the eyes of faith, a great opportunity to encounter the grace of God.

In His life Christ demonstrated that 'God knows'. He was the healer. His touch bought peace. He was the One who forgave, even those who struggled to forgive themselves. He was the One who said to people, ‘Look for you this is right and for you this is wrong”.

He could do that because He knew people’s hearts and would sometimes speak a rebuke for their shallowness, at other times a great word of encouragement. The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all point us to the God who knows.

The Acts of the Apostles, point us to the God who knows how to build a Church. The letters of Paul and Peter and John and all the others point us to how faith works out in given situations. The book of Revelation goes further and points us to the God who knows how it all turns out in the end!  

The New Testament witness to an egocentric world which seeks to dethrone God is that we are fools to think that our understanding of God is anything compared to the depth of God’s knowledge of us. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments”… The Majesty of God, the Mastery of God’s inscrutable knowledge… and finally mystery…

The Mystery of God’s Ways “How unsearchable” proclaims Paul “are His ways!”

Sometimes theologians give Paul a hard time. Accuse him of being dogmatic or judgmental. But that’s not the Paul who comes across in this verse. In the book of Romans Paul writes on the great themes of the law of God and of the grace revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Then he reaches the eleventh chapter and it’s as though he must pause and take a breath, as though he is totally aware of the enormity of his task, as though he knows that his words are an imperfect vehicle to truly convey the depth of God’s love towards us.

I saw a picture in a National Geographic magazine of people walking around the rim of a large still active volcano. They looked small, like little ants on the edge, gazing down into this pool of molten rock and heat, shielding their eyes as they looked over. They had climbed so far, but now all they could do was gaze in wonder at an environment they could never penetrate.

So, Paul, having used all his impressive skills to penetrate the mystery of God and explain the glorious gospel of salvation, in chapter eleven pauses at the rim; “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways .“

The depth of God! If this be the God we are encountering during worship, if this be the God who claims the love of our lives, then how foolish we are to think that we can solve our problems without reference to God's presence.

 How foolish we are when we refuse to abandon ourselves to God's love. Such an awesome God can handle whatever we throw at Him. Such an awesome God is one we can trust to hold us. God has revealed God’s love through Jesus Christ. God sends love to be received in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. 

 I invite us today to trust in the depth of God’s love to meet the deepest needs of our lives. Amen!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.