A GOD OF TRUMPS IS A GOD OF LOVES

            A favorite recollection from my recent trip to Norway and Germany comes from stories told during a walking tour of areas formerly divided by the Berlin Wall.  The communist leader, Walter Ulbricht, erected a massive television tower as a monument to the superiority of communism – a system of living that denies the very existence of God at the same time it denies human dignity – let alone obligation to obey Him.  The tower included the largest glass disco ball in the world and it stands in the eastern sector of Berlin to this day.  The problem was that each time the sun came out enormous crosses of light shone down from his tower in four directions.  (Of course they are still visible and I saw them myself!)  When no amount of re-positioning of the glass panes inhibited the crosses Ulbricht and his government became the laughing stock of Eastern Europe.  Father God trumps in the love of His Son through the light of His Cross.

             For those who cry there is no proof God speaks I must ask what credible alternative explanation is offered.  God invented both speech and light; I am pretty sure He can employ either at will.

            The second story concerned the far more somber “zone of death” that extended back into East Germany from any point on the wall.  Persons entering this zone were shot on sight and some two hundred died in the years of the wall.  Buildings standing in the zone were dynamited to leave a clear field of fire; one was a church that butted against the wall and included several towers.  When the blast charges were detonated the church crashed to earth – excepting one of the towers – which was unscathed and was dubbed the “extended middle finger of God” to the East German government.  True, some Christians might object to the idea of God lifting a bird finger but let’s back the truck up.  He also invented fingers and – although we know He loves everyone from communists to Egyptian pharaohs – it looks from Berlin like He responds with a wry sense of humor to efforts to dethrone Him.  God trumps again.

             What finally brought the wall down – following wave upon wave of demonstrations in 1989 by (mostly) Christians who refused to live in fear any longer – was yet another exercise of God’s love of a good joke.  Gunter Schabowski was the highest ranking spokesperson for the communist government and a more dedicated communist would not be found.  When the politburo voted to (slightly) ease travel restrictions on East Berliners Schabowski missed the meeting even though he was to address a news conference about these decisions that very evening.  He also failed to study the minutes that were thrust into his pocket later that day, although he was known for his meticulous attention to detail.  When asked he mistakenly reported that all restrictions were lifted – effective immediately.  This was broadcast all over the nation and world and the guards had no choice but to permit the exit of thousands over the next few days.  The wall – and the Iron Curtin in Germany – fell within weeks.  God trumps one more time with the aid of His amazing sense of humor.  The joke was transmitted through the spokesperson least likely to utter the words he indeed spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

            We can be grateful that we do not have a God whose iron fist is His default, even against governments who think the fist an appropriate tool for social improvement.  We can more easily appreciate a God with a sense of humor who remains relentless in loving us into His Kingdom.  This is precisely the God we have and are invited to serve by reciprocating His love, His justice, and even His sense of humor.  So how then might we of the community of faith – and any others who might choose to join us – show the fruit of repentance during this season of both wonders and horrors?

            We can view someone we think wrong to the bone through the lens of Him who died for that one.  We can speak and stand for truth of some issue in the personal, political, spiritual dimension of our lives, disregarding the disapproval that will result.  And we can lighten up on ourselves and on others, asking God to show us how funny we look to Him as we focus our attention on ourselves and our agendas.  None of these things is remotely possible without a major refocus on God’s face.  With it nothing is impossible, thanks to the God who trumps us with His love.