God's bigger than a cow! (Where is God anyway?)

In our congregation we follow the Narrative Lectionary (a set of readings prescribed over a set length of time - in this case over 4 years) This week the story is from Exodus 32:1-14, when Aaron collects the gold from the Israelites and creates a golden calf.

For the people Moses has been the symbol of God for them, as God has spoken to him directly and because of this saved them from Egypt. However, Moses is gone up a mountain and they haven't heard anything from him in too long, and so they begin to have a spiritual crisis; their symbol of God has left them! Aaron decides to be helpful (I'll assume at least!) and gathers their gold to create a symbol of God for them - not they can rest easy because for them God is back. It is quite misguided - creating a false idol of the true God.

However, I wonder if they simply were missing what Moses and his presence had assured them of - God with them. Having Moses with them every day since they left Egypt (because of God's call for them) reminded them the promise God made, to always be with them and protect their people. Without Moses with them they have quickly forgotten this.

The creation of the Golden Calf is a misguided attempt to feel God's presence with them. We have the benefit of already knowing God's 10 Commandments to the Israelites, so we know we are not to make graven images of God to worship, so we do not have golden calves around for us to worship instead of God...however, we DO have idols that represent to us God. Idols that we sometimes forget are NOT God.

Sometimes our idols are statues and sometimes our idols are our traditions. Our church buildings and worship spaces have for many become idols. We sit in the same pew week after week, we get upset if someone messes with our traditions in worship, we are so stagnate in our spiritual connections that we think we cannot worship God unless it is done in the same way we have done for the last 40 years.

But God is so much bigger than our idols. God cannot be contained in a golden image of a calf, or a "traditional" worship service, or our favourite pew! Through some of these items we may see or feel glimpses of God, but these items or ways are not God and to try and close God into a little box (or a calf) does not interest God - probably why God was so upset with the Israelite for doing just that.

God is so much more than our idols - we need to be able to let go of these idols so that we can actually see God. The best way is to see God in God's children, the best way to see God is to feel God as we share the Good news, as we spread God's love through our actions.

Let us BE the face of God for people in the world today rather than showing others false images of God, or images that only capture a small fragment of who God truly is! This Thanksgiving we give thanks for all that God has given us, but let us also push ourselves to hear God's call to us as we remember all that God has given us - let us show the world who God is so that others are not tempted to find God in places that aren't true of who God is.