Reflection for the Week - November 18

We can always affirm or deny a belief in Divine action in the world. If this is the case, the extent to which either of these directions is legitimate will depend on how we evaluate varying degrees of subjectivity and objectivity, since such a process will enable us to have some measure of credibility for claims about the probable or doubtful dimension of Divine involvement. Reliable trust and suspicion in these matters would seem to be a valid goal. In order to start to move towards reliability, checking one’s own assumptions will be primary. Another prominent feature of this type of exploration will be to observe and assess the character, spirituality, and wisdom of the claimer, and to connect that to God, the biblical text, self, other, and world. It’s not a good idea, nor is it an act of love to let someone make it up as they go along (I would wager there can be valid criteria for such a challenge), but neither is it gracious to not consider a claim about what God might be doing. There’s no easy way out of this tension. We’ll have to aim to be responsible as we interact with each other’s stories and attempt to come to better interpretations of God.