When we begin to let go of the various images we have fashioned into the idol that for so long has been the focus of our worship, we open ourselves to the embrace of the ONE who is so much more than we can possibly imagine or describe.  We live in a culture that encourages us to abdicate our role of peering   beyond our fears in order to  catch a glimpse of the HOLY so that we can become like children who faithfully follow in the footsteps of the loud and the powerful. And so, we have settled for definitions and images of the DIVINE that are mere talismans from which we dare only to ask for good fortune to somehow come our way.   Letting go of the  grand-pupiteer-in-the-sky-father-god is not easy. Moving beyond the idolatry born of our fears requires a faith that trusts that our movement is supported by the ONE we seek. 

I offer this video of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s testimony (I use this term in its full religious sense because Tyson’s proclamation represents the best of what this medium of communicating a profound experience can be) as a way to inspire questions about the nature of the DIVINE.

Tyson’s testimony about his encounters with the universe open me to an understanding of the DIVINE that has been described as panentheism which suggests that all of creation is in God and God is in all of creation; (pan=all, en=in, theism=god). Panentheism is not to be confused with pantheism which looks at the tree and sees god and so worships the tree.  Panentheism sees the tree as sacred because it is in God who is also in all that is. Where Tyson sees us held by the universe, I wonder if the universe is another way of speaking of the MYSTERY we call GOD, or is the universe held in God, and if so how might we begin to relate to all the various aspects of the universe knowing that that are both in and of God?  

Such an image of the DIVINE implies that everything that is is held in God and so all that is is sacred. It also means that as we move beyond our fears God is the very GROUND OF OUR BEING (Tillich). With all that is being revealed to us about the wonders of creation, can we begin to move beyond our idols trusting that as we put one foot in front of the other, God will uphold us? As we leave behind the talismans can we begin to seek more than merely good fortune and turn our ardent desires toward the adventure of an ever evolving universe? I wonder, can we possibly begin to feel the tender embrace of the DIVINE?