Without Eggshells--May 26, 2021

Without Eggshells--May 26, 2021

"Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." [Hebrews 4:16]

You don't have to walk on eggshells when you're approaching God.  What a relief.

I'm going to guess that you know people with whom you have to be careful when you try and start a conversation.  Maybe there are certain subjects you avoid delving into, for fear they'll launch into a tirade provoked by whatever culture war issue the talking head on the opinion show they watched last night told them to be outraged about. Maybe you're afraid of asking for their help with something and having them scold you or turn you down rather than be the help you need.  Maybe you know not to bring up a touchy subject in their personal lives.  Maybe they just seem crotchety about everything.  Maybe you are just afraid you'll be met with silence.  Maybe you're afraid of putting too much weight on the limb you've just gone out on to try and reach out to them, for fear it will break, and the relationship you were counting on will break once and for all.

Maybe all of us from time to time get in that frame of mind and are difficult to approach.

What amazes me here in this verse from Hebrews is the notion that God isn't like that.  You never have to curl up in timidity or shrink like a violet when coming to God, with whatever the need is, and with whatever concerns are on your heart.  You never have to worry about catching God on a bad day when God might be grouchy or grumpy, and you never have to worry about setting God off on some unhinged rant--don't worry, God doesn't watch the opinion shows on the cable news, and God won't be baited into getting riled up about whatever hot-button issue the pundits are peddling.

So often, we are taught--whether explicitly or implicitly--that we have to treat God like the ominous Wizard of Oz in his throne room in the Emerald City.  We pick up from somewhere the notion that we have to grovel, stroke God's ego, or offer God something in return for the help we are asking for.  Sometimes folks will start praying in what sounds like Shakespearean English, full of "thees" and "thous" and flowery flourishes, to try and sound pious enough to move the hand of the Almighty.  Sometimes we discourage people from bringing their needs to God because we give the impression that little things--from new kittens to nerves before a job interview to the friend you know is struggling--don't matter to God, or that God is too busy  to attend to individual troubles.  Sometimes we can fool ourselves into thinking that God is so busy steering the cosmos or ordering world events that God can't be troubled with the tears of a child who is afraid of a thunderstorm, or the worry of a parent seeing their kids move out on their own.  The writer of Hebrews tells us to ditch those fears and to approach God with the confidence of knowing both that God is real and that God really cares about us.

And the reason we can have that confidence, in his train of thought, is Jesus.  Because God knows what it is to live this human life, with all of our anxieties, fears, hopes, and foibles, God knows what it is to be concerned about all those messy details of our days.  In Jesus, God knows, from the perspective of experience, what it is to have your heart broken, or to worry about people you love, or to care for who will take care of someone important to you when you are gone.  So we can have confidence that we won't be smacked down or belittled when we pray, and we can know that we aren't setting ourselves up for rejection, either.  God has chosen to be completely for us in Christ.  And if we know that God was willing to go all the way to death and resurrection for our sakes, then surely, God will be willing to bear hearing the cries of our hearts.

So, for whatever is on your heart today, bring it.  Whatever things you fear are too big to name, or too small to bother to mention, bring them.  Whatever things you still might be nervous to bring to another human being, bring to the God who has promised to listen.  

Picture yourself walking right up to God's kitchen table and pulling up a chair to talk about what's on your mind. And as you walk, let your feet step with assurance--there's not a single eggshell under your feet to worry about.

And if you're not there yet--if it still seems like too much to go bounding into God's space with your list of worries with boldness--then maybe the first thing we can ask for is the courage to be bold as we come to God.  Even that isn't too much to ask.

Lord God, give us the courage to approach you honestly and authentically, and to sit at your table knowing you have saved a place for us and set a mug in front of us for conversation.