God, the Omniscient

Philosophically speaking, as I understand it, the attributes of an object are those qualities that make it uniquely what it is. The attributes of a chair are what make it a chair, not a table, or a radio, or anything else, but definitely a chair. The attributes of wine are those qualities that define it uniquely as wine, attributes that change, incidentally, when it is consecrated to become the Blood of Christ. The attributes of an object uniquely define it. So, then, what are the attributes of God? What qualities make God God? If you think about it, many of the ways we describe God are human qualities… the best of human qualities, but still human. God as loving, just, compassionate. But what is it about God that makes God uniquely God?

Theologians with too much time on their hands have debated whether or not this is a meaningful question for humans to ask or ponder. And for centuries, they have debated how humans could determine the attributes of God if we wanted to. I think there is some value in asking the question, if only to remind ourselves that God is not human. God is not just a better version of ourselves… a being who ultimately perceives and thinks and reasons much as we do… but somehow is able to always do it right. "My thoughts are not your thoughts" says the Lord in Isaiah, "nor are your ways my ways." A piece of Scripture worth hearing, reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting.

It’s also interesting that as much as the theologians debate whether or how to describe the attributes of God, an awful lot of them come up with pretty much the same list in the end. And it includes a lot of the omni- words. Omnipotent. God is all powerful; infinitely powerful; no gaps or limitations in God’s power. Omnipresent. Present everywhere, all of the time. Omniscient. All knowing. All knowing. That’s the one I want to focus on this morning.

In a recent essay by Martin Marty, entitled "Watchful eye," Marty talks about the explosion of surveillance in the world in which we live [M.E.M.O., Christian Century, November 13, 2007]. "America [now] has an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras…. Every Briton can expect to be caught on camera on average some 300 times a day." Which leads Marty to reflect on the Divine Eye, a symbol for God consisting of a single eye, usually surrounded by a triangle and rays of glory. A book on church symbolism I have describes the all-seeing Eye of God as a " rather disquieting symbol" associated with the day of three-decker pulpits and three hour sermons. I still remember when I was in high school and playing in the Alton Civic Orchestra, we rehearsed in a church with the divine eye painted large on the proscenium, never blinking, looking out upon the congregation with stern disapproval. It would have been a rather disquieting place to worship, I think. I prefer our risen Christ, hands held out in welcome.

Marty writes: "Many an adult who was brought up religiously will remember being threatened with the [surveillance] data stored in the divine brain behind God’s all seeing eye, as pictured on the Great Seal and the dollar bill. In a footnote to the doctrine of divine omniscience, God was called the cosmic snoop who goes everywhere you go. This God, said parents and pastors who were frustrated because their snooping range was limited and their eyesight poor so their kids got away with stuff… [this all seeing-God] was waiting to whomp you. So be good. Eventually people yawned, however, because punishment for the behavior turned up by such data was left for a future life."

The all seeing eye of God, accumulating data on each of our lives, for which we will be held accountable in the life to come. Which is where all this fits in with this Sunday. Today is the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost. It is also the next to last Sunday in the church year. Two weeks from today is the first Sunday of Advent. And in these waning weeks of the church year, the Scripture lessons always speak of the time that is to come and the judgment that lies ahead for us all. "You shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him," says the prophet Malachi. "See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." And in the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the end times. "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven."

And in that time that lies ahead for all of us, we will come face to face with an omniscient God who sees all and has seen all.

So what do you think of an omniscient God?  Is it a fearful thing? Is it threatening or frightening to know that God sees all and that we will be held to account in the life to come? Can you live with the awareness that God sees everything we do in this life?  Or is it, as Marty suggests, a bit of a yawner for most of us, so remote and abstract to our daily lives here and now that we pay little heed to God’s all seeing eye?

In our Episcopal worship, we affirm our belief in an omniscient God every Sunday when we say the Collect for Purity at the beginning of the celebration of the Eucharist. "Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid." To God all hearts are open, wide open. To God each and every desire, good or bad, of each and every one of us is known. And no secrets are hidden.

God sees everything we do outwardly and visibly. And more. God sees into our hearts and our souls and our thoughts. Omniscient, of course, means even more than all-seeing; it means all-knowing. All knowing.

So how do you feel about an omniscient God?

Psalm 139 is one of my favorites. And in my pastoral experience, I have found that many other people cling to it, cherish it, draw strength and reassurance from its words.

"Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my ways.

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

You press upon me behind and before and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me."

This psalm speaks of an omniscient (and omnipresent) God. A God who knows our thoughts, all of our movements and activities, every word that we say. And psalm 139 speaks of a God who never leaves us, no matter what we think, or do, or say. And that is the comfort of the psalm, I think. It speaks of a God who cherishes us and accompanies us, no matter what. Omnipresent, in a wonderful and intimate way, no matter what we say or do. A God who, as the psalm says, sticks with us:  even if we take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, as far away as we can possibly get… even if we find ourselves in deepest unimaginable darkness… if we climb up to heaven… even if we make the grave our bed… even there God’s hand will lead us; God’s right hand hold us fast.  All knowing, all seeing, but no matter what always with us.

This does not mean there are no consequence for our sins, our unrighteousness. There are; our sins are dire stains upon our relationship with divine love. But those stains are self-inflicted, and with repentance and God’s grace, they can be erased.

So what do you think of an omniscient God?  Frightening?  Threatening?  At least sobering?  But I also hope you find that an omniscient God can be a very comforting God. Isn’t it a good thing that God already knows us through and through? Unlike most human relationships (maybe all human relationships), we need not fear that God some day will discover our carefully hidden secrets and then turn away from us. Nothing we have done or can do will surprise God or catch God off guard or change God’s opinion of us. Full disclosure is not a threat to God’s love for us; God already knows everything about us, and loves us still. "God you have searched me out and known me… Such knowledge is too wonderful for me."

It was an omniscient God who chose to come among us human beings, to share our human nature.  Advent is coming.  When that baby was born in Bethlehem, God knew exactly what he was getting into. And knowing all that he knew, God came to be with us, so that we might be with him, now and always. Amen.