Page 11 - pc_Issue6_Summer2018

Connection
To God’s Glory Alone
PRESBYTERIAN
11
presbyterian.ca
SUMMER 2018
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By the Rev. Peter Bush, teaching elder at Westwood Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg
What is “the glory of God”? And can we see it in the world around us?
These were the questions with which the presenters at the fifth and last of the “Sola” gatherings strug- gled. The gathering, held at Knox College in Toronto on Oct. 27, 2017, was the culmination of the Commit- tee on History’s five-year project ex- ploring the meaning in our time of the five “Solas” (onlys or alones) of the Reformation.
The Rev. John Vissers, Principal of Knox College, noted that John Calvin suggested the glory of God was evi- dent in three places: in creation “the heavens are telling the glory of God” (Ps, 19:1); in the person and work of Jesus Christ: “[Jesus] is the reflection of God’s glory” (Heb. 1:3); and in the people of God. Calvin marvelled that “the hope of heavenly glory” could dwell in human beings, “ear then and fragile vessels” that we are.
The Rev. Christine O’Reilly, pas- tor at Knox Presbyterian Church in Thedford, Ont., demonstrated from her life as a parish pastor how these three aspects of God’s glory appear. The glory of God appears not only in moments of joy, but also when sorrow is turned to joy, and tragedy becomes the oppor tunity for God’s redeeming work—God’s most glorious act—to be revealed. Such a recognition of God’s glory grounds our worship in the proclamation of the wor thiness (glory) of God, moving us beyond our feelings in the moment to God’s never-ending glory.
Ephraim Radner, Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe Col- lege, deepened the conversation, noting that God’s glory is often hid- den or at least not evident. In such a world, he wondered if human speech about God’s glory needs to be hum- bly contingent. This deepening was enhanced by Jinsook Khang, Chris- tian Education Minister at Vaughan Community Church, noting we easily name the good things happening in our lives as evidence of God’s glory, but are slower to describe difficult occurrences as being signs of God’s glory. Both Radner and Khang chal- lenged the simplistic equation that links God’s glory with “everything is going great.”
cold, austere rule in our lives, warned the Rev. Karla Wubbenhorst, minister at Westminster-St. Paul’s Presbyte- rian Church in Guelph, Ont., insisting that all things being to God’s glory can become a weapon used to hold people in line, a new kind of law. The antidote is to read God’s glory alone in combination with grace alone, Wubbenhorst insisted.
Vissers agreed, suggesting the response to the first question of the Shorter Catechism provides an an- swer. Often the conversation focuses on glorifying God, ignoring the enjoy- ing God part. Yet the response is to enjoy God is part of glorifying God. To enjoy God is part of glorifying God. Radner responded by remind- ing the gathering of the early church leader Irenaeus who said, “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.” Human- ity living “fully alive” brings glory to God, thereby avoiding the danger of the glory of God being used as an austere rule.
Barbara Leung Lai, Research Pro- fessor of Old Testament at Tyndale Seminary, noted that in the Old Testa- ment the glory of God brings about transformation in the individual. For example, Isaiah sees the glory of God in the temple and is transformed into a prophet. The glory of God, Lai argued, changes human beings into God’s instruments in the world.
Jinsook Khang neatly grounded the entire day’s conversation in her searching question: “How do we teach the next generation to recog- nize God’s glory?”
The entire conversation about God’s glory alone is available for viewing at presbyterian.ca/gods- glory-alone. The study guide, for in- dividuals or groups, built on the day’s discussion, is available for download at presbyterian.ca/gao/history. Study guides for the previous four conver- sations are also available for down- load.
The Committee on History thanks the donors of bequests to the Conference Fund of the Life and Mission Agency and the Ewart Endowment Fund for Theological Education for their support of this five-year project.
REFORMATION
The glory of God can become a