Where is God now?

By Alexander J. Shaia
author, educator, spiritual director

With each disaster (Haiti, Katrina, Thailand) we hear responses that run the gamut from Pat Robertson's "caused by their sin" to Eli Wiesel's "[God's] here hanging on this gallows."

Wiesel, a devout Jew, may have a more accurate read of the God of the gospels than many Christians realize. In moments of heart-rending suffering, Christians are often left to throw scripture interpretations like stones, rather than providing messages of comfort, courage, and inspiration. World crises have become a mirror to Christianity's insecurity. How has this happened, and more importantly is there a resolution?

I think there is. And I think the problem is that we have been misreading the Bible itself.

For five centuries, Christianity's central belief has been that the traditional gospels were written to provide an account of the original words and deeds of Jesus by four trusted authoritative witnesses. And the last century has been marked by vociferous argument in favor and against that view. One side has held the gospels with heart-felt devotion and the words as inerrant. The other side, while holding to Jesus, has challenged the texts because of their historical inaccuracy and lack of internal logic. Each side seemingly wishes to defeat the other, believing that only one position can be correct. With the gospels themselves as a battleground, the wide center of Christianity appears anchor-less. And the gospels' power to comfort is diminished when tragedy strikes.

But what if the core difficulty is not the gospel texts themselves, but rather the generally accepted premise about them? What if there is a credible basis for moving past the dilemma that has lain unrecognized in the tradition for more than a millennia?

It is my belief that each of the four gospels was written to address the spiritual question of a specific community in a dilemma. Further, the choice of these four texts and their sequencing into a reading order was intended to reflect the progression of spiritual and psychological transformation found universally across eras of human history, faith traditions, and even schools of psychology. I name this approach Quadratos, for the four paths that comprise one round of the journey of growth.

In times of such suffering, in our world or in our own lives, rather than arguing over the meaning of particular phrases or trying to find someone or something to blame for the circumstances, we could benefit from this fresh understanding-- that each gospel is Jesus' teaching of a practice in response to a specific spiritual question, rather than merely a profound telling of words and deeds. This wider reading moves away from a view of the gospels as only historical documents and opens them as practical living in the midst of contemporary problems, even two millennia removed from village life of the first century.

Mark, the gospel that matches the second path, was originally composed for the Jewish Christians of Rome in 64 CE after they were condemned to execution, accused by Nero of setting the great city on fire. Mark was composed to address a people's genocide. Mark's gospel thus is organized around the question, how do we move through suffering? In large overview, the practices are two: pray, and be with pain. At the outset of Mark, we are taught to pray to God and that if appropriate, God will bring relief and sometimes swiftly. Then we are told that suffering is an experience in God - that God submits to it - and that God leads us in with the knowledge of how to be with great pain.

But there are four paths to the journey; moving through suffering is only one. We know that there are times in our past and there will be times in our future characterized by stability and then change. We also know there are great moments of epiphany and joy. But in between, there are times of trial and suffering, and we all know that in those times, it can feel like it is overwhelming, never-ending, and that there is now way out. Looking at the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti reminds us of this. But the gospel promise remains--that God is with us, present in suffering, and moving through it with us.

Alexander J. Shaia, author of "The Hidden Power of the Gospels" (HarperOne), is an educator, psychologist, spiritual director, liturgist, writer and practicing Christian. He is the founder and director of the Blue Door Retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

By Alexander J. Shaia |  February 4, 2010; 6:08 AM ET Save & Share:                 
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