Not long ago I had an exchange with a friend who had become quite frustrated by the complexity of our 21st Century lives. He felt like God was playing games with us. “If God wants us to know something, why doesn’t God just come out and say it like in the old days with the prophets? I wish God would speak up!”
This question set my mind whirling. I have spent a good part of the last 43 years wrestling with the great mystery in life. (In a paper written in a 1975 Sociology Class I even called this Great Mystery, GU, or Goo.) One of the big questions about the mystery is whether it is hidden or obscured.
If hidden, then there must have been something or someone who did the hiding. Hiding is an act of the will. In the Christian Scriptures, we are told that God hid the gospel to protect us from truths we were not ready to receive. In most traditions we are told that only some people are able to see beyond the veils of mystery and their job is to translate it for the rest of us. It is hidden from ordinary view to protect us from “the face of God.” These theological arguments require a great many assumptions and premises to adequately explain my friend’s frustration with the mystery of God. Their sheer complexity suggests that there must be a simpler explanation.
The principle of Ockham’s Razor says the most likely solution to a problem is the one that requires the fewest assumptions. As I considered this, a much better solution emerged. Perhaps the mystery is not hidden from us. Perhaps it is merely obscured by the observer.
Before I explain, I need to make a confession as one who enjoys taking pictures. The image above is a fake. As you can see from the position of the sun, it was taken in the afternoon. But, the scene was far brighter than the image portrays. This image was created. I used a faster shutter speed than my camera suggested. This means the shutter was open for a shorter amount of time and so less light hit the sensor. The result is an image that is darker than reality. Reality was obscured by me.
In a similar way, each of us obscures the mystery in our lives. We move and think and feel so quickly, that the presence of the subtle shades of color and meaning in our lives are lost. Our lack of attention sheds so little light on the mystery that it is far darker than reality. The subtle cues that would immediately suggest right from wrong are lost because our wants and desires obscure them. The gift of hope that rises from the mystery is hidden by the blazing heat of our fear and anger. The opportunity to love and trust our neighbor is shielded from us by our own frustration and distrust. We have found that it is far easier to obscure the great mystery in our lives than it is to embrace it as the center of our being. We hurry on, blaming the mystery for our lack of understanding and meaningful action.
Whether you call that great mystery God, Life, or GU, recognize that it is not hidden. It is simply obscured. Slow down the shutter speed. Take the time you need to peer through the haze of a hurried and self-centered life. Allow the mystery to become clear both within and beyond your life. It is speaking to those who have the ears to hear and the eyes to see.
Blessings,
Bob